Although it might seem like a radically new and trendy concept, growing an organic vegetable garden is far from being new. This was the way our species grew any kind of garden or crop for thousands of years. Vegetable gardens were relatively small and could be completely tended by only a few people or even just one person.

Then we had to go and screw things up by developing gigantic agribusiness which relied on synthesized fertilizers and pesticides. And then we even had to go and genetically modify some of the plants we grow. Due to fallout from these "advances", we are turning to having an organic vegetable garden once more.

Choosing Where It Should Go

You won’t do yourself or the environment any favors if you choose to place your organic vegetable garden in a bad location. Shady areas are not good. Areas with really sandy soil don’t do too well, either. Ideally, you are looking for a patch of ground in a sunny area with soil that drains well. If you can't find it, then you should consider a greenhouse.

Don’t make your organic vegetable garden too big. Start small at first to get the hang of it and not make it too much like a second full time job (unless you plan this on being your second full-time job). An organic vegetable garden of thirty inches wide should be more than enough to handle. You don’t want it so big that you can't easily reach all areas of it. Make it as long or as short as you can handle.

Preparing A Planting Bed

You will have much better chances of success with your organic vegetable garden by first preparing a planting bed instead of just planting seeds in the ground. You also don’t want all of that good growing soil to wash away. A planting bed raises your organic vegetable garden off the ground by ten or twelve inches. You can make a frame or buy prepared ones in gardening stores.

Put down a good layer of organic compost into the planting bed about three weeks before you start doing any planting with your organic vegetable garden. Organic compost tends to be made from plant materials or animal manure. There are now commercially available organic composts. You can also read gardening books, go on the web or on organic gardening forums to find organic compost recipes for your organic vegetable garden.