Growing Vegetables Because its Good For You - Healthy Eating and Living

Today, growing vegetables is more important than ever. We hear all the time about additives, pesticides and other unwanted extras in our food. In growing your own vegetables you will know exactly what is in your cabbage or carrots, broccoli, peas and beans. They taste great, they look great and they make YOU look great.

It’s a wonderful healthy exercise for all the family, get together and dig over your patch of yard. In these days of rising obesity growing your own vegetables tackles two issues in one. The first subject to look at is your land, if you have a back (or front) yard then you are laughing.

Land

Pick your area well, lots of sun, good shelter from cold winds, a southwest slope is ideal but do not be put off if your garden doesn’t face in the right direction. So long as you have some sun all will be well. If you don’t have a garden don’t despair lots of vegetables can be grown in containers, from herbs to potatoes, tomatoes to lettuce you can still reap all the benefits of home produced fare. If that too is not an option then go ask the City council if there is some waste land that you can turn into a garden. Tell them to look at Michelle Obama’s initiative and get together with a bunch of friends and start work.

Soil type

Look at your soil type, some plants love limey (alkaline) soil others love acid soils. Look around your area and see what grows naturally. Ask other gardeners they will be only too glad to impart their knowledge.

Planning

Plan your garden carefully, if you make it too big it will be very daunting especially when the weeds grow. Your crops will need rotating to avoid disease and unwanted pests. If you have a good design it makes rotation much easier.

Manure

The next step is to make sure that your vegetables will grow. Add manure to your garden preferably organic manure but lots of it. If you add manure in the fall it will get a chance to break down and become absorbed into the ground, but if it happens that you don’t get your garden going until the spring add manure at that time and put a layer of organic compost on top to plant into.

Vegetable choices

Now, think about what you like in the vegetable range. If you hate cabbage, then don’t grow it. What’s the point of growing something if you are not going to eat it? Try everything once, if you find that beetroot just won’t grow or the slugs love your lettuce just too much then grow things that will work. It is always good to try a vegetable or fruit that you have never tasted or a variety that is rare, there are plenty of choices on the market.

Seeds

Where do you get the seeds? Ideally it would be best to get your seeds from an organic source, but realistically it is an expensive if preferable option. You can buy seeds from seed savers, from the supermarket, speciality garden centres or gather them from friends. Seed packets have great pictures on them which will give you some idea of what your plants should look like when they have grown. They will also tell you what the soil type should be, when to plant, at what depth and how far apart and when to harvest your produce.

Planting

Plant your seeds at the right time. If you sow your seeds too early and the seedlings come up, the chances are that a night of frost would kill them. You can start your plants in the greenhouse on a sunny window or in the sun room of your house. Harden them off by leaving them outside during the day and be sure that all danger of frost is gone before they are finally planted out. Thin out your plants once they have become established and you can see which ones are the strongest. Make very sure that you leave enough space for them to develop to their full potential. Weed your plants and they will do much better than if they are struggling for survival. In hot weather water your plants in the evening after the sun has left them preferably using rainwater which you can divert from the roof into storage tanks.

Growing vegetables is a lifetime interest, enjoy your gardening time and encourage your family to participate. Producing food for the table fulfils a primitive need to provide for your family. Knowing what is in the food you are providing is one of the most important aspects of growing vegetables.