Sunday, February 1, 2009

Container Gardening Your Vegetables

By Sydney J. Calderon

We're all used to seeing rising prices, but the cost of food seems to have skyrocketed in the last few years. One way to protect yourself against high food prices is to grow your own vegetables. This is also a very good way to insure you will have plenty of fresh, wholesome food, even in the face of food shortages. Surprisingly, just about anyone can grow a good vegetable garden just about anywhere. You just have to put in a little hard work.

Starting a vegetable garden isn't difficult, but it will take some attention and time. By following some guidelines, however, you will soon be well on your way. If you have never had a vegetable garden before, you may find it easier to start on a small scale or even try container gardening. In this way, you can get used to how plants grow. You can also familiarize yourself with the amount of work you will need to do.

In order to grow your own vegetables, you'll need to have plenty of sunshine. Select an area on your property that receives at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight. Having it closer to your home is convenient, but not always practical because it will be shaded by your home or trees, if any.

Having the right soil is important. There are certain types of soil that are more difficult to grow things in. In order to improve the soil you should mix it with organic compost or a high quality fertilizer. It is best to mix these materials into the soil about 2-3 weeks before planting.

If you want your plants to grow well, you must be sure to have good drainage. You don't want your vegetable garden standing in water after a soaking rain. If your plants stand in water, too long, they may drown. Be sure to dig drainage ditches around your garden. Another option is to use agriculture tile to facilitate drainage.

Vegetable seeds can be purchased almost anywhere where you can buy the gardening tools you need. There are a number of catalogs and online stores where you can purchase a large variety of seeds, including heirloom seeds. If you want your garden to be successful and your plants plentiful than you want to buy proven stock.

Knowing exactly where you will be placing each plant is something that you should keep in mind. In order to keep things straight you can place markers to help remind you. You also want to make sure that they are placed evenly apart but not too close so that they crowd each other and fail to thrive. - 15266

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