Growing your own organic vegetables

A gret video with lots of hints and tips on grwoing your own vegetables

rotating crops in your vegetable garden

Assuming that you plan to grow vegetables more than one year, it is important that you rotate your crops. Crop rotation prevents building diseases up in the soil and preserves micro-nutrients. Rotating is not very difficult, but does take a little advance planning as well as a basic knowledge of the vegetable families. Vegetables are broken down into basic family groups. These groups should be rotated together as they use soil in similar ways and share similar pests.

Alliums - Onions, Garlic, Scallions, Shallots, and Leeks.
Brassicas -Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, and Kale.
Crucifers - Turnips, Radishes, Rutabaga, and Collards.
Cucurbits - Cucumbers, Squashes (from zucchini to pumpkin), and Melons.
Legumes - Peas, Runner and French Beans.
Mescluns- Arugula, Swiss Chard, Chicory, Endive, Escarole, and Radiccio.
Solanaceae - Tomatoes, Peppers, and Eggplant.

There are some plants that, when planted close together, will benefit each other. Likewise, there are certain combinations of plants that will inhibit the growth of one or both types of plants. Here are a few combinations to avoid:

* Potatoes – inhibit growth of tomatoes and squash
* Beans – inhibit growth of onions
* Broccoli – inhibits growth of tomatoes
* Carrots – inhibit growth of dill

This isn’t to say that you can’t grow these plants together in the same garden, just don’t grow them right next to each other.

An excerpt of an article from the helpful gardener

Planning your vegetable garden - Overview

Advance planning for your vegetable garden is a must as there are many factors that can affect the success and manageability of your vegetable garden as well as your enjoyment of it.

The traditional method of vegetable garden design was to plant long, orderly rows. Most home gardeners now opt for planting in beds rather than rows. This method allows you to concentrate your compost on the area where the plants are growing rather than wasting it on the paths between the rows. Walking between the rows also ruins the soil structure, so beds are really a better way to go. The beds do need to be small enough so that you can easily reach in to weed and harvest all the plants without stepping on the bed itself. Also, if you raise your beds about 8 to 12 inches, you will have improved drainage and the soil will stay warmer in colder weather, such as early spring.

Another popular style is potager, which mixes flowers in together with herbs and vegetables in an ornamental fashion so that the garden is both functional and ascetically pleasing. Many vegetables also thrive in containers, so you don’t even need a garden in order to get those garden-fresh veggies.

Location is another consideration when planning your garden. Many people tend to want to hide the vegetable garden away in a dark corner and save spotlight for the flowers. Vegetable gardens, however, need sunny, open spaces in order to thrive, so you won’t reap a bounty if you are not willing to devote some real estate. Also, think about location when planting. You can economize space by planting vegetables next to each other that mature at different times. This way, you have already harvested one when it’s neighbor is becoming mature, so both have plenty of space and sun when they need it most.

An excerpt of an article from the helpful gardener

Starting a Vegetable Garden

Starting a vegetable garden is not as easy as it looks. There are some definite things that a beginner should know before embarking on the task. Without this initial knowledge, a beginner puts his garden at risk of pests and diseases, and you may even prevent your plants from growing altogether. If you want to start a vegetable garden the professional way, there are four phases you need to go through.

1) Observation

This is the stage that most beginners forget when starting a vegetable garden. They often think that they can just break the soil and start growing what they want - but this is rarely the case. There are many things you need to note about the location of your garden before you start planting. Here are some things you can start with.

• Temperature. What is the average temperature in your garden? Note that this is not a fixed number. The temperature in your garden changes throughout the day, as well as the seasons. Plus, some spots are hotter than others.
• Water flow. How much rainfall does the location receive? How does it move through the space? Are there spots that flood?
• Creatures. There are insects, birds, and other animals that share the garden with you. What do they eat? Where do they stay?
• Sun. How much sunlight does each area receive? How does the sun move across your garden? Are there shady spots caused by trees and tall buildings?
• Soil. What is your existing soil like? Check out the soil quality in all areas of the garden.

Observing your garden in detail sounds like hard work, but investing some time making these observations will pay off in the long run.

2) Analysis

After you have noted your observations, it is time to analyze them before starting a vegetable garden. What do your observations mean? How can you use them to ensure that you will have a thriving garden?

This would also be the perfect time to note any possible problems or obstacles that you will be facing. For example, if you have a spot in your garden that regularly floods, note that the water needs to be channeled elsewhere or has to be prevented from collecting there in the first place. Or, for another example, if roaches are gathering in your garden at night, you need to find ways to prevent them from coming, or to neutralize them when they arrive.

At this point, do not set firm solutions yet. Keep your proposals vague and open so that you will be more creative when solving them in the planning stage. In other words, referring back to the roaches problem, you want to put "neutralize or prevent" rather than "pesticide".

3) Planning

Now is your chance to get specific. Review your analyses and observations together and see how you can use them to create the best possible vegetable garden from what you already have. Judging from the movement of the sun, what is the best position for your fruiting plants? Based on the current status of your soil, what specific things does it need to be optimized? More Nitrogen? More silt? More clay? To get rid of your roaches, will you use insecticides, naturally repelling plants, or a predator such as a chicken? This is the stage where you propose specific solutions to each of your problems, as well as how to utilize your existing opportunities.

4) Execution

This is the part where you finally get to start your vegetable garden. After all the hard work you have done observing, analyzing, and planning, the execution will become so much easier and simpler. You will just be putting in practice what you already know in theory.

Of course, this is also the part where you might discover that you had not planned or interpreted things perfectly. That is fine, as long as you make adjustments as you go along. Gardening is such a dynamic activity that it is very rare for anyone - even professionals - to predict what will happen after starting a vegetable garden.

Tim Warren is an expert in starting a vegetable garden. He owns and maintains Vegetable Garden Guide, a resource for beginning vegetable gardeners.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tim_R_Warren

Growing Vegetables is a Great Way to Save Money on Groceries

Growing vegetables is a good way to save money and get more variety on your table than you ever thought possible. With the price of produce being pushed ever higher each year, I am taking action to grow my own. You can too. Growing vegetables is something that almost anyone can do.

Get a few plants established and give them reasonable care, and you'll be taking a big step toward freeing yourself from the high price of groceries. A $100 investment in vegetable seeds will produce more vegetables than a person can eat during the normal growing season.

It is amazing what seeds, soil, water, warmth and sunlight can produce. If you want an enjoyable hobby that can help you save money, keep you fed and give you a real sense of accomplishment, then growing vegetables is right for you. Start small and expand as your comfort and success might suggest.

Even if you don't have a green thumb, you can still do reasonably well by following a few basics.

• Start seeds indoors where they will get good attention.
• Use potting soil to ensure a good start to your seedlings.
• Keep seed trays warm and well illuminated.
• Move seedlings out into the sun as soon as possible.
• Use homemade cold frames to get seedlings outside but sheltered from harsh elements.

If your climate isn't conducive to growing a garden, then build your own greenhouse for growing vegetables. A homemade greenhouse isn't difficult to build, and it can be done for less than half the cost of a comparable kit on the market. A greenhouse is good for protecting your vegetables against wind, hail, frost and driving rains, and it can extend the growing season considerably.

Whether you garden in the open sun or in a homemade greenhouse, there are techniques that you can employ to make your gardening experience more enjoyable, less work, and more rewarding in terms of production. Here are a few tips to consider:

• Use fabric mulch to retain moisture and control weeds.
• Water your plants with a dripper system and you won't waste any water.
• Select varieties that are productive and allow you to harvest over a long season.
• Use organic methods and you won't wonder what is in or on your food.
• Grow for fresh use, canning, freezing and drying.

And, if you think that growing vegetables is just a summer time adventure, then you are in for a surprise. There are gardeners growing vegetables year round using unheated greenhouses, cold frames and row covers. There are dozens of varieties of vegetables like kale, broccoli and lettuce that can be successfully grown in cooler weather and harvested throughout the winter.

So, what are we waiting for? Growing vegetables provides us with a year round hobby that can save money, keep us fed and make us less dependent on others. Best of all, we can grow varieties of vegetables that you just can't find in the grocery store. And, when you want fresh produce, just step outside and harvest.

Clair Schwan is an experienced vegetable gardener and provides year round produce for himself and his family from a raised bed garden in the sun, and homemade greenhouses. Instead of complaining about the price of food, he is doing something about it. See his advice on vegetable gardening, building greenhouses and other frugal living tips at http://www.frugal-living-freedom.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Clair_Schwan