How to make a vegetable garden in your garden

The advantages are numerous and the difficulty is not high

vegetable garden in your garden

Making your own garden will only bring advantages, such as being free from the consumption of pesticides, taking the products from the garden directly to the table without them suffering from transport, having the pleasure of messing with the land, transforming an inactive area into a productive area, contributing for the preservation of the environment (you significantly reduce your CO2 footprint), mental hygiene and possibly extra income. So let's get down to business!

The first step in making a vegetable garden is to choose carefully which types of vegetables you intend to grow, as each one has a specific value:

Leaves and Stems

They are richer in minerals, especially calcium and iron. Among others: chard, watercress, celery, lettuce, chicory, chicory, kale, spinach, mustard and cabbage.

fruits and seeds

Another group of green vegetables rich in minerals and various vitamins. They are peas, green beans, eggplants, broad beans, green beans, jiló, peppers, okra and tomatoes.

Roots, bulbs and tubers

Rich in vitamins, they are yellow or red in color. They are: carrots, cucumbers, onions, radishes, beets, yellow turnips, white turnips and sweet potatoes.

Seasonings and Condiments

Garlic, chives, cilantro, cumin, mint and parsley.

Ideal choice for your space

Those who live in an apartment will naturally not be able to grow very large vegetables, such as squash, potatoes and corn, as they cannot be grown in pots. But it is possible to guarantee spices and medicinal herbs, such as parsley, coriander, chives, basil, pepper, boldo, sage, rosemary, chamomile, etc. It is possible to plant these condiments not only in pots, but also in planters and long-life milk cartons.

Small or landless yard

You can form beds inside wooden crates, old tires and other containers that can be drilled into the base so that excess water can be released. In the case of tires, it is necessary to cut bases either made of wood or plastic to be fitted inside the tire, forming a basin. It is also possible to build masonry beds near the backyard wall or the hallways of the house.

In addition to spices and medicinal herbs, you can also grow smaller vegetables in these spaces, such as lettuce, carrots, beets, radishes, peppers, tomatoes, etc. So that your garden grows healthy and strong, take the same care as with vegetables grown in land.

Large yards or land

It is possible to use any piece of land to plant something, but it is necessary to have at least six square meters to have a traditional vegetable garden. So: an area of ​​six to ten meters is ideal for providing vegetables for one person, so for four people the ideal would be 40 meters, and so on.

But before you start planting, you should be careful with the soil, such as preparing the land, fertilizing. The space reserved for the garden needs:

  • Receive sunlight for most of the day. The incidence of the sun's rays on the earth helps to prevent pests and diseases that can damage your garden. Leafy vegetables, however, are more tolerant of shade and need less sun;
  • The terrain cannot be too steep and there cannot be an area that floods easily;
  • Having access to clean water for watering, since many vegetables are consumed raw and the planting cannot depend only on rainwater;
  • Stay at least five meters away from toilets, sewers and contaminated areas.

To prepare the land you will need some specific tools. Of course, you won't need to buy them all to take care of your garden, because some you can improvise with things from home, but here is a list of tools and what they are for:

  • Rake: It is used to collect materials such as loose leaves, remove clods and to level land.
  • Transplant spoon: used to transplant plants from their pots to the final location, in small gardens it can be replaced by a normal spoon without problems.
  • Hoe: used to weed the land, make holes, mix the soil with fertilizer and form beds.
  • Curved shovel: used for digging and removing soil and for mixing fertilizer.
  • Sancho: one side of this tool is for weeding between the plants, the other sharper side is for fluffing the earth and creating furrows.
  • Scarifier: to break the crust that forms on the earth's surface and to soften the earth.
  • Watering can and hose: to water plants.

Once the land is prepared, weeded and free of weeds, you can start planting. To find out whether you should plant seedlings or seeds directly, you need to analyze what types of vegetables you want to grow. Lettuce, cabbage, chard, chicory, among others, are sown first and then taken to the final place. Others, on the other hand, can be sown in the definitive location, such as peas, broad beans, okra, beans, carrots and radishes.

To test the quality of the seeds, carry out the germination test: line the bottom of a dish with cotton or porous paper, moisten well and place ten seeds on top. Water every day, if at the end of the sixth day at least 8 seeds are germinated, it means that they are of good quality.

You may need to use seedbeds too, which are nothing more than beds or crates in which the seeds are spread and can germinate before going to the final location. Sowing soil must be meticulously treated, it must be completely free of foreign matter, plant or animal. The ideal mix for seedbeds is made up of equal parts washed sand, earth and black earth.

Make furrows in the soil five centimeters apart, distribute the seeds evenly in these holes, cover the seeds with the soil mixture and to keep moisture and prevent the seeds from sinking with irrigation, place dry grass on top, but remove when the seeds start to germinate.

putting your hand on the ground

Use a hoe to stir the earth to a depth of 25 to 30 centimeters. Divide the land into beds, you can separate a part of the land to be the seedbed, that is, to germinate the vegetables before they are planted in the final place.

The beds should be between one meter and 1.20 in width, between 15 cm and 20 cm in depth and the length you like best. Between one bed and another, there must be a space of 20 cm to 30 cm. A few days before transferring the seedlings, it is necessary for the bed to receive organic and chemical fertilization, a process that should only take place once, then it's just a matter of taking care of the planting.

The good development of plants

With the beds formed, it is necessary to be aware of: irrigation, the appearance of weeds, diseases and pests.

Irrigation

In the first three days after transplanting the seedlings, the recommendation is that watering be done in the morning and in the afternoon, or until the plants are well attached. Thereafter, the amount of water will vary according to the vegetable and local temperature. Therefore, carefully observe the planting until you decide which is the most suitable frequency for watering. Generally, a daily watering is sufficient for both sowing and for vegetables that require more water. On very cold days, avoid watering in the evening.

weeds

They represent extra expenses with water and fertilizer. Furthermore, if they are not uprooted, they end up causing shade and a decrease in production. Therefore, weeding should take place as soon as possible. When young, weeds can be easily removed by hand or with a hoe.

soft earth

To provide the necessary aeration to the plant's roots and maintain the soil's moisture, so that the nutrients are well used, the soil needs to be well fluffed once a week. This procedure is called scarification.

Pest and disease control

It sometimes happens that the garden is attacked by pests and diseases and, many times, these attacks could have been avoided. It is normal that, from time to time, an aphid or a spot appears on a leaf or another. What is not normal is for the garden to suffer systematic attacks. See how to avoid them below.

sunny place

It is necessary to have incidence of the sun's rays most of the day on the planted area to eliminate harmful agents to the vegetables;

well prepared soil

When well nourished, the plant prevents disease. Use as much well-tanned organic matter as possible, combined with soil correction, repeating the fertilization at the right time. Give preference to natural fertilizers, such as limestone, and organic ones;

Seeds treated and of good origin

They guarantee better quality of germination and healthy plants, without contamination;

Crop rotation

A very important practice to avoid the increase of pests and diseases in the garden. Never plant two crops of the same vegetable in the same plot. Always switch.

Where there was a root product, replace it with a hardwood product and vice versa. For example: where you planted kale, plant beets; where there was lettuce, plant carrots; in place of cabbage, plant radish and so on.

Area cleaning

The crop residues left on the land are only useful for pests and diseases. Use them to make organic fertilizer.



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