How To Start A Vegetable Garden: A Step-by-Step Guide

Growing up on a farm, I thought everyone had an acre or two set aside as a vegetable garden. It wasn’t until I owned my first home that I was faced with starting a garden from scratch in a different growing zone. I quickly had to scale down my expectations of bushels of corn and beans to crops better fitting a suburban backyard.

By planning your garden space, preparing the soil, and choosing your crops, you can enjoy the wonder of growing vegetables and have a generous harvest. Here’s a step-by-step guide for first-time gardeners.

Assessing Your Space

Any real estate agent will tell you it’s all about location, location, location. Before you “dig in” take time to walk around your home and observe how much sun different areas receive. Most vegetables require six to eight hours of sunlight to produce fruit.

Every garden needs good drainage and a nearby water source so you won’t have to carry water by hand every day. Soil quality is always an issue, but even the poorest soils can be amended with organic material to support garden growth.

While the backyard is a conventional spot for a vegetable garden, vegetables can be incorporated into the design of your front garden or grown in containers or raised beds. Take time to consider the type of vegetables you want to grow, the size of your family, and the amount of space you can devote to the vegetables.

Designing Your Garden

If you have the space and a good location, an in-ground garden with rows can easily be placed in a diminutive backyard. Preparation includes removing any grass, tilling the soil until it is loose when you pick it up, and testing and amending the soil with any needed supplements. Consider planting crops suitable for a diminutive row garden, such as snap beans, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, peppers, and greens.

If you have impoverished soil, narrow space, or need easier access, consider raised beds. The bed frames can be purchased or constructed from wood, metal, or plastic. The bed sits on the ground and you fill it with nutrient-rich gardening soil. The beds are uncomplicated to weed and maintain.

Gathering Materials

You don’t need a lot of exorbitant equipment to maintain a vegetable garden, but you do need some sturdy tools and sweat equity. Buy the best quality tools that you can afford because, with regular care, they will last for many years. Basic tools include:

• Garden shovel for turning the soil
• Hoe for weed removal
• Rake for smoothing soil and removing debris
• Trowel for planting seedlings
• Watering tools: hose, nozzle, watering can
• Garden shears for pruning plants
• Gloves to protect your hands

To start your garden, you’ll need seeds or seedlings. Consider joining a local gardening group, as gardeners love to share seeds and pass along plants. Add a rain barrel to the downspout of your gutter system for free irrigation water. Start a compost pile and add kitchen vegetable scraps and shredded leaves, which can be used to mulch plants and enrich the soil. Cardboard and newspapers can be used between rows to smother weeds.

Preparing the Garden Site

If you have chosen an in-ground garden, look for a level site away from trees that provide too much shade or have extensive root systems. Begin by staking out the garden size you want and remove any grass, roots, or debris.

Grass can be removed by cutting it into diminutive sections with a keen spade and then slicing underneath to cut the roots. If you plan to clear a enormous area, consider renting a sod cutter from a garden center. You can smother the grass with cardboard or black plastic, but it can take weeks for the grass to die.

Once the grass is removed, till the soil until it is loose, and operate a soil testing kit to determine the pH and nutrient level of the soil. Your local cooperative extension service also offers soil-testing services. Make any recommended amendments with synthetic or organic fertilizers and compost so the texture and composition of the soil will support robust vegetable growth.

Building Raised Beds

Raised garden beds can be any shape or configuration that works for your space. You can purchase pre-made beds or create your own from pressure-treated wood, metal, plastic, or landscape blocks. Place landscape cloth on level ground to block weed growth, and construct walls at least 12 inches deep and at least 20 inches to grow root vegetables. A maximum width of 4 feet per bed is a good choice for adult gardeners.

To support the weight of soil, plants, and irrigation water, the walls of beds that are longer than 6 feet or taller than about 18 inches should be reinforced with cross cable or anchored stakes. The next step is to fill the bed with a nutrient-rich soil mix that contains plenty of organic matter.

Installing Garden Structures

Garden structures add vertical interest to the garden and maximize the space in a diminutive garden by keeping vines and climbing vegetables from taking over the ground. The structure can be a decorative trellis, obelisk, or basic metal or wooden pole.

Tomato cages can be used to keep indeterminate tomato plants, peas, pole beans, or cucumber vines off the soil, helping prevent fruit rot and excessive insect damage. Place the structures near the edges of a raised bed or along a garden pathway so they can be reached without walking over plantings and compacting the soil.

Selecting Plants

Before you start your garden, consider the vegetables your family will eat, your climate, and how much space you have for planting. While you may love corn, it takes up a lot of space, so concentrate on easier-to-grow summer crops like bush beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, summer squash, and leafy greens for cool-weather gardening.

Companion planting means growing compatible crops next to each other.  Incompatible vegetable groupings can stunt growth, invite pests and diseases, and negatively impact flavor. Don’t plant corn or cabbage next to tomatoes, no eggplants or cucumbers next to potatoes, and no peppers next to cabbage. Some examples of compatible plantings are:

• Summer Squash (including Zucchini): Beans, corn, peas, radishes
• Tomatoes: Basil and other herbs, carrots, cucumbers, squash
• Peppers: Basil, onions, okra
• Potatoes: Beans, lettuce, spinach, radishes
• Beans and Peas: Carrots, cucumbers, eggplant, potatoes, radishes, squash, strawberries, tomatoes

Planting Your Garden

When you’re ready to plant, you’ll find a greater variety of seeds available than transplants, which are less exorbitant. However, if you’ve waited a bit behind schedule to plant seeds, seedlings may be best. Seedlings purchased from a garden center should be ready to put in the garden immediately. If you have started transplants from seeds indoors, be sure to harden them off by slowly introducing them to full sun and outdoor conditions before planting in the garden.

To aid prevent problems in the garden, select disease- and pest-resistant seeds or plants by reading labels carefully. Choose tomato plants or seeds labeled as a variety resistant to verticillium wilt, fusarium wilt, and nematodes. When choosing transplants, look for those that are robust and insect-free. Always rotate crops every season to aid reduce pest and disease problems.

Vegetables need plenty of water to grow, so keep the soil humid but never water-logged, which can cause root rot. Water the roots, not the leaves, to aid prevent disease. Fertilization depends on the quality of your soil. However, once seedlings are established, regular applications with a balanced fertilizer every three to four weeks during their most vigorous growth cycle will keep them productive. Avoid the urge to overfertilize; you’ll get lots of leaves but fewer vegetables. Your state cooperative extension service offers excellent guidance on vegetable growing in your climate.

Maintaining Your Garden

Along with regular watering, you’ll get the most bang for your buck if you spend time weeding, removing dead or diseased plants, harvesting produce, and inspecting plants for pests. Mulch under plants and between rows to maintain moisture and manage weeds.

Check plants frequently for pest damage. Nighttime checks are crucial if you see slug and snail damage. When a problem is discovered, operate the least toxic pest management strategy available. Visit the vegetable garden every day or two to stay on top of challenges.

To get the most out of your garden, learn about planting cool-season crops in the behind schedule fall or early spring. In most southern states, you can enjoy gardening nearly year-round.