Starting Your Own Vegetable Garden

Growing up in a big city, farming and gardening were not a part of my upbringing. My thumb was any color far away from green! All that changed when I married my husband, a farmer. I now live on a large farm with my husband and two young children.

Although my husband farms 350 acres of corn, soybeans, and alfalfa, the harvest has always been used to feed our cattle, or it has been sold to a seed company. There was no picking fresh vegetables from the fields, and cooking them up for dinner! However, I was able to have my first "pick from the plant and eat" experience when I discovered many wild raspberry plants around our farm. They joy of picking all these beautiful, sweet, juicy, raspberries right off the plant and eating them, making a pie or jam with them..... it was wonderful. I was hooked! I knew I wanted to try my hand at growing some of my own food.

First things first..... pick a location. We chose a small area, about 15.5 feet X 11.5 feet in our backyard. You want to choose the sunniest brightest spot in your yard.

Next..... prepare the soil. The spot we chose was all grass, so we had to dig it all up. We did this by hand with just a pitch fork, rake, and a shovel. But, you might want to use some kind of a tiller. I chose not to add any fertilizer to the soil this first year, because we found out that the area used to be a cattle yard back in the 1950's, so the area had been heavily fertilized! :) You may want to add some compost or organic fertilizer to your soil.

What do you want to plant? You will have to decide what vegetables your family likes best, and what crops will grow best in your space. Some easier vegetables to start with are : tomatoes, green beans, potatoes, onions, sugar snap peas.

Plot your rows and/or form mounds. It is a good idea to separate your garden into rows before you plant. I have found that, in a small vegetable garden, it is helpful to form mounded rows, about a foot apart, to plant your seeds in. That way, as the the little plants are growing, the mounded soil will stay warmer to help them along. Also it will be easy to tell where your plants are (on the mounds), and where you need to weed (in between the mounds). If your rows are about a foot apart, you will be able to walk in between the rows. This will be very helpful when you are pulling weeds, and when you are harvesting your vegetables!

Plant your seeds. Once you have decided which vegetables to plant, and your area is all prepared, it is time for the real fun to begin! Please refer to the seed packets, and follow the guidelines of when to plant, how far apart to plant, how deep to plant, and when to harvest each kind of vegetable. Another thing to consider is starting some harder to start items (like tomatoes or peppers) from an already thriving plant that you can buy at a local greenhouse. Then all you need to do is transplant it into your garden. This is a really good option for beginners.

Watch everything grow and weed, weed, Weed! It is so fun to watch your seedlings emerge from the soil. You will be surprised how much ownership you will feel, and how proud you will be of your little "babies." Unfortunately, your little seedlings will be competing with numerous weeds. I have chosen to not use any type of weed killer on my garden to keep the vegetables as healthy and safe as I can. So, I weed the old fashioned way, and pull them out by hand. It is a lot of work, but it is worth it in the end.

Finally, Enjoy your beautiful bounty! It truly is worth it in the end when the time comes to harvest your veggies. There is nothing like the taste of a fresh vegetable that you grew in your very own backyard!