14 Organic Vegetable Gardening Tips

Gardening is one of those pastimes that is more than a hobby - it's personal! And to complicate it, Mother Nature doesn't always help you out. How, then, do you succeed with your vegetable garden? It's never a sure thing, but these gardening tips and bits of advice might help.

1. Keep a journal. Record when you plant, how much you planted, how much you harvested, any bug or disease issues and what you think you might do differently next year. Then next year, refer back to what you wrote. You'll be surprised by how much you can forget in a year if you don't write it down.

Raised bed of lettuce, tomatoes, 6 different types of basil, marigolds, zinnias, garlic chives, zucchini. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

2. Keep a positive attitude. That total fail with your tomatoes this year? It will make a good discussion piece with other gardeners. And next year can only be better. Hopefully.

3. Tis better to cover your tender plants before the heavy rain and hail starts, not during. Keep your eye to the sky and take weather forecasts seriously.

4. Every year is different. Don't ever think you've got this thing in the bag, because if you do, you're jinxing your next crop.

5. Plan for moderation. When planning out your garden during the winter, reduce the size and number of plantings you think you want. Looking at those seed catalogs makes you go overboard - I know from experience!

6. It starts and ends with your soil. (I would double-bold that if I could.) The health of your soil is more important than you might realize. Healthy soil makes healthy disease-resistant plants that give a good yield.

Also, it's soil, not dirt.  :-)

7. Kitchen gardens are placed near the kitchen for a reason. Gardeners who break their backs digging, hoeing and weeding, don't want to walk too far to pick a few things to go in the dinner.

8. When seed packs say not to plant outside before the first frost date, they mean it.  But sometimes you can get away with starting before the approved planting date by using row covers, cold frames, or Wall O' Waters. It's up to you if you want to take your chances.

9. If you're planting a seedling, peat pot and all, tear off the bottom of the pot. The pots are supposed to decompose but that can take a while and you don't want your seedlings to become root-bound.

10. Pole beans aren't the only thing that can climb a trellis; so can cucumbers, melons and squash. Think vertical - especially when you're space-challenged.

11. If you have raised beds, you can use an old window or door screen to cover small seedlings so they're protected from birds, bunnies and bugs.

Powdery Mildew on a tomato plant. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

12. Worms in your garden are a good sign. Slugs are not.

13. Your tomatoes will never taste exactly the same from year to year; it's going to depend on the weather and water conditions.

14. Water your vegetables in the early mornings. Midday watering can mean evaporation in the hot sun, and can sometimes burn the leaves if they get wet, and nighttime watering might give your plants powdery mildew problems from being moist all night.

These vegetable gardening tips should give you a leg up, but they're only the beginning. For more, get yourself a gardening app for your phone or iPad, read gardening books and magazines, talk to experienced old-timers, and get out there and experience it firsthand. There's nothing more rewarding than growing a successful garden!

Growing Squash, Pumpkins And Zucchini

Growing squash, pumpkins and zucchini (a.k.a. courgettes) is rewarding if you have enough room in your garden. The plants are rather demanding in terms of the space that they need but you can harvest many delicious examples from one plant so most gardeners find them a very rewarding vegetable crop.

Squash, pumpkins and zucchini are all members of the same plant genus, Cucurbita, along with cucumbers, watermelons and gourds. They grow on vines. Technically they are fruit, not vegetables at all. However, they are often treated as vegetables in the kitchen.

Growing Squash

Squash growing on vine. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Squash is a wide term that covers many different fruits but zucchini is a type of summer squash which will be covered later in this article. Therefore, under this heading of growing squash we will consider only winter squash such as butternut squash, acorn squash etc. Although these are called 'winter squash' they are grown in the warm season and harvested only a little later than zucchini.

A sunny corner of the vegetable garden is a good place for growing squash, pumpkins and zucchini. You can train the vines to grow out of the vegetable bed so that they do not take over too much of your precious composted soil. If you have more than one plant, they should be at least two feet apart, depending on the variety.

Water them regularly but do not allow the ground to become waterlogged. Harvest them when the vines that they are growing on start to become dry and shriveled.

Growing Pumpkins

Pumpkins are native to North America which is part of the reason why they have become so strongly identified with American traditions like Halloween and Thanksgiving. They will grow pretty much anywhere in the States except for Alaska. They prefer slightly acidic soil, pH 6.0 to 6.8.

Pumpkins like warm weather. In most climates you can plant in June or July for harvest in the fall. They like a certain amount of water but not too much. If the ground is too wet, the fruit can rot. On the other hand if the soil is very sandy or there is not enough water, the fruit will not grow well.

Growing Zucchini Or Courgettes

Zucchini is a summer squash thought to have originated in Italy. It is less sweet than pumpkins and most winter squashes and belongs to a different family in the same genus. The name 'zucchini' is used in North America and Australia and comes from the Italian (plural in Italian, but used for both singular and plural in English). The French name 'courgette' is used in all other English-speaking countries. Both 'zucchini' and 'courgette' mean 'small pumpkin'.

Zucchini flower being pollinated by a honey bee (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Zucchini are very easy to grow and often produce bumper crops for home gardeners. The flowers can also be eaten and make a beautiful garnish for salads. If you do pick the flowers, you will have fewer fruit. This can be an advantage if you tend to have a glut of zucchini each year.

One or two starter plants is enough for most gardens. You can grow them from seed and plant out as seedlings. They should have three months of frost-free growth outdoors when daytime temperatures are warm but not scorching hot.

Zucchini can grow to 2-3 feet long but they are usually harvested at around 8 inches when immature. If left to grow too long they become more fibrous and the seeds become harder.

Growing squash, pumpkins and zucchini relies on good pollination. This is naturally done by bees but if the bee population is not numerous in your area, you can help it along by hand pollination. Insufficient pollination will result in fruit that does not develop properly.

How To Grow Onions And Leeks

Are you interested in finding out how to grow onions and leeks in your vegetable garden? If so, you're in the right place, as we've got a helpful article for you today on doing just that!

Onions and leeks are part of the allium family of plants, along with garlic and chives.  They grow upward from a bulb and are mostly quite simple to grow. They are also great for fitting into a small space because of their upright growth.

To grow onions and leeks successfully you will need a relatively sunny site that is well drained. If your soil tends more to clay, you can still grow them but you will need to dig some grit into the soil first to help with the drainage.

How To Grow Onions

Freshly harvested golden sweet onions. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

To grow onions you can either start from seeds or from immature onions that are supplied as small dried bulbs known as "sets." If you start from seeds, germinate them in a seed tray first and pick the strongest looking specimens to plant out.

Do not add manure or other fertilizers that are heavy in nitrogen. Onions do not like very nitrogenous or acid soil. They will rot if too wet, and unless the weather is very dry, they do not require much watering.

It is possible to grow onions all year round if you have good drainage. You can plant once in the spring and again in early fall. There is no advantage in harvesting them when they are small. Leave them until the leaves begin to die off and turn yellow.

To harvest, dig them up with the leaves intact and let them dry for a couple of weeks until the leaves are completely dried. You can then tie them by the leaves or hang them in nets to store. Most onions store well, but those with thick necks should be used first.

Leeks (Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

How To Grow Leeks

Leeks like a little more fertilizer than onions. Dig the fertilizer or compost well into the bed and allow a couple of weeks before planting. Leeks also require more water than onions.

Most gardeners grow leeks from seed planted directly into the bed in spring. Spread the seed in rows with about a foot between rows. Thin out the seedlings so that you have a row of plants about 6 inches apart. Be careful when weeding at this stage, because leek seedlings look a lot like grass!

Different varieties of leeks require different growing times so you can spread your harvest by mixing the varieties in your garden. You will probably want some if not all of them to be winter harvesting leeks, which can be ready at a time when your garden is not producing many other vegetables.

Both onions and leeks will suffer if they are surrounded by weeds. They do not have a very strong root system and are easily overwhelmed by competition. Therefore, be sure to weed around them frequently.

To grow onions and leeks successfully year after year, be sure to rotate them to different places in the garden. This will help to protect them from the fungal diseases that they can suffer from.

Plants of the allium family are good for repelling pests that do not like the strong smell, so you can often help other vegetable plants if you grow onions and leeks or garlic around them in a companion planting.

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.

Using A Garden Planner To Plan This Year's Vegetable Garden

This time of year, there's probably not much to do outside in your garden, but it is a great time of year to do some planning ahead! A garden planner is very helpful if you want to set up your vegetable garden in the most efficient and attractive way. You will be able to harvest many more delicious vegetables for your kitchen if you have taken some time to plan your garden before you start.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There is not a one-size-fits-all vegetable garden planner because every garden is a little different. Your soil type, climate and the amounts of sun, shade and shelter in your garden will all play a part in determining which are the best vegetables for you to grow and where to locate them in your garden. However, you can use the hints and tips in this article to construct your own vegetable garden planner.

If you are planting vegetables within a bigger garden that also contains flowering plants and trees, then you can simply pick a good place for each vegetable according to whether they like sun or shade, etc..

On the other hand, if you have a dedicated vegetable plot, there are some points to consider when you are deciding on its location, as well as the location of individual plants within it. Most vegetables like to have quite a bit of sunlight but not necessarily to be in constant full sun.

Many plants require a lot of water in order to grow big, healthy vegetable crops, so one principle of your vegetable garden planner might be to site your plot near to a faucet or water source. If you do not have a faucet near your garden, you could grow your vegetables in a place that can be reached by a hose from your kitchen window - or install a rain barrel or tank to collect rainwater that you can then use to water your garden in a more sustainable manner.

You can also consider companion planting. This is a system of planting vegetables beside others that are mutually supportive. It may seem weird that plants can support each other, but they do, usually by repelling certain pests. The best known example is the 'three sisters': squash, maize and climbing beans. There are many other examples too, such as the allium family (onions, garlic, leeks) with the nightshade family (tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, eggplant), the brassica family (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower) and carrots.

Square foot gardening is a popular option for many new vegetable gardens. This usually involves raised or ground-level beds of 4 ft width, divided into one foot squares, with a different vegetable in each square. Depending on the size of the plant, some plants will need a whole square for each, and others will happily grow two, four or more to a square foot. Having the beds only 4 ft wide allows you to reach everything. If you want a bigger vegetable garden, it is best to create paths between beds so that you have good access to your plants for weeding, harvesting and other tasks.

Do not forget to rotate the vegetables in your garden. This is essential for preventing many diseases from becoming established. For example if you always grow tomatoes in the same place, the fungal and other diseases that tend to attack tomatoes will gradually gain in strength over the years until they become a real problem in that spot. By keeping track of where everything is planted in your vegetable garden planner each year, and moving crops from one spot to another every year, you can prevent this.

3 Must-Know Vegetable Gardening Tips

Welcome back!  We're back from vacation - it sure is good to see how much the garden has grown! How is your garden coming along this summer?

Few things in life compare to the simple pleasure of biting into a freshly picked tomato while it is still warm from the summer sun! When you grow your own vegetable garden, you can experience this little piece of heaven all season long.

However, growing an abundant supply of fresh vegetables year after year takes some practice - especially for organic gardeners. For most people, becoming a consistently successful vegetable gardener comes after years of hands-on experience. However, you can shorten your own learning curve by adopting some tried-and-true vegetable gardening tips from the pros.

Here Are 3 Vegetable Gardening Tips You Need to Know:

Tip #1: Amend Your Soil. 

Compost. (Photo credit: wisemandarine)

Few gardeners are blessed with an abundant supply of beautiful, rich topsoil. Depending on where you live, you may find yourself struggling with heavy clay, rocky, sandy or other less-than-ideal soil conditions.

Each of these soil types presents different challenges ranging from retaining too much water (or not enough) to being devoid of the essential nutrients plants need to survive and thrive. For example, if you have heavy clay soil and you just dig a hole in the ground and drop a plant into it, chances are good that plant won’t make it. The heavy clay around your plant will act like a bathtub whenever it rains, which means your plant will be forced to sit in a pool of water with nowhere to drain.

So your first step will be to identify the type of soil you have so you can take the appropriate steps to amend it. Once you know what you are dealing with, you’ll be able to determine which specific amendments are needed to make your type of soil a hospitable place for your vegetable garden. Be sure to choose organic and naturally occurring substances to keep your veggies chemical-free and healthy for you to eat!

Cucumber plant climbing up the trellis. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tip #2: Grow UP.  

Whenever possible, make sure you take advantage of vertical space in your garden by utilizing fences, trellises, and other structures to keep your plants off the ground.

There are many advantages to growing your vegetables vertically. For starters, you can grow more food in a smaller area, which is great for urban gardens or those with limited growing space. Plus, growing vegetables on structural supports makes harvesting and weeding around your plants a lot easier. This is especially true for older individuals or those with other physical restrictions because less bending and stretching is required to perform these tasks.

Growing vertically benefits your vegetable plants, too.  Raising the plants off the ground leads to better air circulation around them, which is associated with fewer fungal infections and pest infestations.

Tip #3: Give Your Plants Some Friends. 

Companion planting is a smart way to increase the yield of your vegetable garden, and is a common practice among most organic and sustainable gardeners.  Learning which plants work well together is an important step towards maximizing the efficiency of your vegetable garden.

Companion planting of carrots and onions (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Some plants are particularly beneficial to one another, so it makes sense to group these plants together in your garden. These beneficial plant combinations may add needed nutrients to the soil, deter unwanted pests or attract beneficial insects into your garden.

You may have heard how Native Americans planted “the three sisters” – maize (corn), beans and squash – together because each plant benefited the others in some way.  For example, the corn stalks provided structure for the beans to grow upon, while the squash provided an effective weed barrier as it spread out along the ground.

Vegetable gardening is an acquired skill that evolves over time. However, applying these 3 must-know vegetable gardening tips will lessen your learning curve significantly.