Growing a vegetable garden is so rewarding.
But gardening isn’t for everyone at every phase of life.
I know because I experienced it.
When I first tried gardening 20 years, my garden became a joke among people I knew. I barely had time to plant it let alone weed and water it. And it grew nothing but weeds.
I felt like gardening was something I could never do.
A few years later, life settled down and I gave gardening another try. And I just love it.
Now I’m sharing some things I’ve learned help me have a successful garden.
Grow what you can maintain
First, if you really want to grow fresh produce, plant what you can maintain. That may be a tomato plant in a pot on your deck, or a couple small, raised beds for lettuce, radishes and onions.
Summer is when we want to be outdoors having fun. And if your garden is more of a chore, maybe it’s too big and overwhelming. Scale it down a bit.
Don’t forget, local farmers have tonnes of fresh produce during the summer months and it’s always a joy to support them.
Plan ahead
In early spring sit down and plan your garden keeping companion planting and crop rotation in mind. Some vegetables grow better if planted beside their companions. And you can help prevent disease by changing up where you plant things year after year.
Plant at the right time
As the weather warms, plant according to the specific recommendations. For example, lettuce germinates best in cooler soil, while pumpkins like a warm soil. And most plants like tomatoes and peppers need to wait until after the last frost and the ground warms up.
Plant a border of marigolds around the garden to help with certain pests and bring colour to the garden.
This year I planted some cosmos and snapdragons for summer bouquets. And the pollinators love them!
Maintain
As little plants begin to grow, be sure to thin them out if necessary. This will produce a better crop.
And did you know tomatoes have female branches with pointed leaves, and male branches with rounded leaves? The female branches produce the tomatoes. As the male branches begin to die, snap them off so the plants energy can go into producing tomatoes.
Now there’s just the three Ws left – weeding, watering and watching it grow!
Weed
Weeding is probably the hardest part of gardening. It’s so easy procrastinate. As the weather warms up, the weeds want to take over! But weeds take nutrients and water away from the plants so it’s important to get rid of them.
Dig up the big weeds, weed around the plants and hoe the rows.
Water
Water as needed, depending on rainfall. Your garden needs to be watered three times a week totalling about 1 inch of water.
I have a watering system set up with timers on my sprinklers so I can get the watering done before I get out of bed in the morning!
Watch it grow
Now, sit back, enjoy a cold drink on the deck and watch the garden grow.
Check out these posts on gardening as well:
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