Growing Vegetables For Beginners

Growing vegetables for beginners is probably simpler than you think. Although there are some important rules that you need to follow, vegetables are like all other forms of life - they want to grow! So all you really need to do is make sure they have what they need and protect them from harm. Easy, right?

The first step in growing vegetables for beginners is to make a list of the vegetables that you want to grow and check that you have the right conditions for them. If you live in a temperate climate with relatively mild temperatures and sufficient rain, you can probably grow most of the best known veggies that are used in traditional cooking.

A small vegetable garden in May outside of Austin, Texas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Some of the easiest vegetables to grow in your garden include: carrots and beets from the root vegetables category; beans; cucumbers and zucchini or squashes; and lettuce and radishes for salad. If you start out with these, you will have a good variety of vegetables for the dinner table. They also provide some variety in your gardening experience, because they grow in different ways.

You can add tomatoes if you have a good sunny spot for them but be warned, tomatoes are not as easy to grow successfully as you might think. They can be susceptible to disease, and they need a lot of water and sun. However, overall they are not too difficult, and vine-ripe tomatoes are well-worth the bit of extra effort!

The next step in growing vegetables for beginners is to plan your vegetable garden.   You can grow vegetables in your flowerbeds, of course. They do not necessarily need to be all together in one place. However, it is sometimes easier if they are in a particular spot. You will want this to be somewhere that gets sun, but is not too hot and dry; is well-drained, not boggy; is sheltered from strong winds; and is easily accessible for you to water the plants.

This last point is very important. Many people site their vegetable garden a long way from the house because the vegetables are not as attractive as flowers. But your vegetable crops will do much better if you can reach them easily, and especially if you see them all the time. 'Out of sight, out of mind', as they say!

If you are growing pole beans or other climbing vine-type vegetables, you will need to give them something to climb. Keep in mind that they will shade your other plants so you may want to have them on the north side of your vegetable patch. If your vegetable garden is bordered by a wall, of course you will want the tallest plants at the back, against the wall.

Blossoms on a tomato plant in a residential vegetable garden. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You will need to prepare the soil by digging to clear out any weeds and then adding a good layer of compost. Then you can begin to plant. Check instructions on the seed packets for planting dates.

Some seeds are best not planted directly into the garden but germinated in seed trays indoors or in a greenhouse before being planted out as seedlings. This can take a couple of weeks, but it is worthwhile because you will not waste space on seeds that do not germinate or have plants growing too close together. You can choose the strongest-looking seedlings to put out in the garden, and space them properly, as well as giving them a head start if you have a short growing season.

Good luck with your garden planning! With these tips you should find that growing vegetables - even for beginners - is easy as well as fun.