What makes the best vegetables? Is it the taste of super fresh veggies straight out of the garden or is it being able to provide nutritious vegetables for your family to eat and to reduce your grocery bill? Perhaps it is being able to grow loads of vegetables or the biggest veg? Learning to grow your own food doesn’t need to take a lot of time and even small spaces can be highly productive in producing food for you and your family and friends and even your local neighborhood.
This post contains affiliate links: I am grateful to be of service and bring you content free of charge. In order to do this, please note that when you click links and purchase items; in most (but not all) cases I will receive a referral commission. Your support in purchasing through these links enables me to keep blogging to help you start homesteading and it doesn’t cost you a penny extra!
See Disclosure, Terms and Conditions for more information. Thank you for supporting Misfit Gardening.
Steps To Growing A Successful Garden
Being able to grow the best vegetables you have ever tasted starts right now! Once you try your first ripe homegrown tomato off the vine or the freshest salad right out of the garden I’m sure you will want to come back for more! Growing your own vegetables opens up a kaleidoscope of colors, flavors and textures to try in the kitchen and you will gravitate to firm favorites which grow well in the garden and delight you at every meal.
If this is your first time gardening, get your garden off to a swift start by buying transplants or plant starts from the nursery. Plant starts are a great way to get into your gardening groove without all the overwhelm of starting plants from seed and what seeds to buy. Learn more in the Homesteading and Gardening In The Suburbs Podcast episode below.
Grow Vegetables You Love
The best vegetables to grow are those you love to eat! Don’t try to grow everything in the garden, especially if you are new to growing vegetables. Take it step by step and grow a couple of veggies you enjoy eating here are some examples of easy to grow vegetables to try:
- Potatoes – try growing in a bag of compost (or a grow bag if you’re in the UK) for a no dig method of growing. See more about growing potatoes.
- Salad greens – a garden fresh salad is wonderful especially with a mix of leaves in colors and textures.
- Garlic – plant cloves in fall and harvest the following summer. See more about growing garlic.
- Tomatoes – these are the gateway plant for many gardeners! With so many varieties available to the home grower there’s sure to be something to enjoy!
- Cucumbers – fresh or pickled and preserved, cukes are loved around the world and are easier to grow then you might think! Learn how to grow and preserve them here.
- Beans – us British folk love our beans and growing them also makes the garden really pretty with the flowers. Pole beans need trellis to grow whilst bush beans do not need support to grow. Learn more about growing beans in this post.
- Zucchini – once growing these plants are highly productive and good for a new gardener to try.
If you end up with lots of excess produce, consider donating to local food banks and initiatives to support people in your community with fresh vegetables.
Location
The location you choose to grow is important for the success of your garden and being able to grow the best vegetables. Your plants will need 8 hours of sunlight to grow well. Southern climates will need some shade in the afternoon to stop plants becoming frazzled by the heat. If you have a shady backyard, you can grow in pots and containers and move them with the sun. Containers with wheels or a plant caddy
Healthy Soil = Healthy Plants
Growing the best vegetables all starts with the soil. A soil rich in nutrients means that the plants which will grow in it will be more nutrient dense, healthier, less susceptible to pests and diseases and are tastier! Plants work with the soil microorganisms to take in the nutrients and water in the soil which in turn become the nutrients in the plants. The easiest way to amend the soil is with 2 inches of well rotted compost on the soil.
Compost is called Gardener’s Gold for good reason! Compost helps to break up clay soil and bind together loose, sandy soils as well as retaining water and feeding the plants. If you are looking for compost at the nursery, look for an OMRI listed compost that is organically certified and try to avoid one with added fertilizers. Better yet, make your own compost!
A good soil which contains minerals needed by the plants and provides water and nutrients for earthworms and soil microorganisms is key to growing great tasting vegetables. I always add compost, rock dust also known as azomite
Mulch
If you have a lawn which isn’t treated with pesticides or commercial fertilizers, you can use your grass clippings on your garden as mulch rather than them going in the garbage. Mulch is one of my most used resources in the garden and I often use compost as a mulch. Mulch cover the soil helping to keep water in the soil and reduce the evaporation AND can help to feed the soil and your plants! Learn more about mulch in this previous post. Certain types of mulch can also be used as effective weed control for pathways and large areas you are setting up as a garden too plus, it can help attract beneficial earthworms to the garden by keeping the soil moist and providing a source of food.
Water
Plants need water to grow and they draw water up from the soil by their roots. Water them when the soil is dry under the surface, if your plants look wilted and floppy and the soil is dry, then they likely need water. Check the soil by putting a finger in the soil and seeing how moist or dry it is. Soil should feel like a wrung out sponge or wrung out wet cloth.
I recently switched to soaker hoses
Handling Pests
A walk though the garden to check your plants is the best method of pest control. Catching the problem early by seeing nibbled leaves, eggs, larvae and bugs can help you take action before you love your precious vegetables! The best method in handling pests is to take a leaf from permaculture and to use an integrated pest management system. Companion planting is a great way to get started with this type of pest management. Growing flowers among your vegetables will attract beneficial insects which will help pollinate or take care of the bag bugs creating a thriving ecosystem. My main DIY bug spray for small pest problems is tea tree castile soap
Keep A Garden Journal
A garden journal is one of my most used garden tools. Record when you planted seeds or starter plants and where you planted them so you can keep track. I like to make notes on the weather and pest issues I may have seen so I can track those each year.
A garden journal can be a simple lined notebook from the dollar store or a diary. Keep it handy and make notes of how your garden grows. A good record keeping journal can be used at the end of the year to review information such as:
- which vegetables grew well
- which varieties of vegetables you grew
- which bed or location the vegetables were grown
- weather patterns
- pest problems and how or when treated
- feeding or fertilizing
- when plants were able to be harvested
Keeping good records will help you improve your garden each year.
Summary
Growing a garden provides you with the freshest, delicious fruits and vegetables at home. Plants need sunlight, water and good soil to grow and thrive to become healthy, nutritious food to eat. Keeping good records helps you to be able to improve your gardening skills as you try to grow new vegetables or grow a bigger garden.
If you liked this post please take a moment to share it using the share buttons below or pin the image below to Pinterest and save it for later and join us over on YouTube to get to know me and my homestead in the suburbs or join the Facebook group for advice and support on homesteading or learn how you can get more tips and tricks by signing up for my newsletter and get free printables in the Homestead Resource Library.
As remuneration for running this blog, this post contains affiliate links. Misfit Gardening is a participant in Affiliate or Associate’s programs. An affiliate advertising program is designed to provide a means for this website/blog to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to websites offering products described in the blog post. It does not cost you the Reader anything extra. See Disclosures, Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy for more information.
Share this:
