Planting Vegetable Gardens Basics

There are several basics of planting vegetable gardens know matter what type of vegetables you're going to plant, no matter whether you live in the city or the country, and no matter the size of the garden you're going to plant.

All plants are going to need a growing medium, whether its soil, a solution for hydroponics, or even just water. Your soil or the medium that you're going to planting your gardening is one of the most important aspects to vegetable gardens. You need to decide whether you're purchasing organic soil, potting soil, or just going outside and digging up some backyard dirt. The beginnings of your vegetable garden plan and how well they grow depends upon the soil. You need to understand that sandy soil is loose and allows the plants to breathe, clay helps to retain moisture, and a mixture of clay, sand and silt as well as nutrients is what's going to be needed in order to start your garden out right.

If you're unsure of the type of soil you're going to be meeting you may want to speak to a master gardener or stop by and talk to your county extension office possibly to have the soil analyzed. Remember, what you're plants are grown in determines the type of care they're going to need and what type of nutrients you may need to add to the soil.

The lighting system you're going to be using for your vegetable garden is also just as important. Everyone knows that the natural sunlight is actually going to do the best for your plants, but if that's not available you'll have to choose a type of artificial source. Most vegetable plants need approximately 5 hours of sunlight per day so you'll need to make sure that you're plants are going to get that or they will not thrive.

The type of soil and the amount of sunlight is going to determine the type of vegetables you can grow successfully. So you'll need to understand the growing season of each type of vegetable. This may mean that you may be planting in the spring, the middle of summer, or possibly even in the fall. Of course, if you're planting indoors, you'll need to understand how climate can affect your plants. Your indoor vegetable garden will have to have a regulated climate as well as humidity level.

As long as you take the time to understand that planting vegetable gardens need a few basics such as the proper soil, the proper sunlight, and of course humidity and water you're going to do just fine. Planting vegetable gardens is a wonderful way to enjoy a bit of peace and relaxation as well as harvest your own homegrown fruits and vegetables.

Vote For Your Favorite "Build Your Block " Project

If you live, work or play on N.E. Alberta Street, you are invited to vote for one of three finalists in the Umpqua Bank’s Build Your Block program. Umpqua Bank will help make the winning project a reality with a grant of up to $10,000 and support from bank staff.

Heathcote Botanical Gardens vegetable gardening classes start Saturday

Heathcote Botanical Gardens is offering a series of nine seminars on vegetable gardening, beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday. The series is titled “A Year in the Organic Garden” and is designed to enable students to begin preparing their home gardens and continue learning through the fall growing season and harvest time.

The Prince of Wales opens his garden at Clarence House

Before the Prince of Wales throws open his garden at Clarence House for a favourite cause, Joanna Fortnam gets an exclusive preview.

Master Gardener: For busy green thumbs, raised beds require less maintenance, extend growing season

There are many reasons for building raised beds in the garden. Raised beds give the garden a framework, they reduce soil compaction and they extend the growing season.

Asheville-area Home & Garden Calendar

Send items for the home and garden calendar to Polly McDaniel at pmcdaniel@CITIZEN-TIMES.com two weeks before the event. Or mail to McDaniel, Asheville Citizen-Times, P.O. Box 2090, Asheville, NC 28802.