The basics of vegetable gardening

Here is a truism that more and more people are rediscovering: nothing tastes quite as good as the vegetables you grow yourself in your own home garden. Millions of folks are adding food gardens to their landscapes and reaping the benefits of fresh, organic, vitamin-rich vegetables. As these guidelines will show, while it takes a bit more effort and advance planning to grow vegetables than flowers, the results are well worth it.

Before you decide to start a vegetable garden, size up your yard to make sure you have an appropriate site. Vegetable crops need well-drained soil and plenty of sunlight, and it is best to have a convenient water source nearby. If you have a spot that receives at least six hours of sun daily and is well away from trees and shrubs whose roots might compete for moisture and nutrients, then you should be able to grow vegetables successfully.

Root crops and some leafy vegetables will produce a decent crop with even less sun. Keep in mind that you can always improve your soil, so rocks and weeds need not be a deterrent.How large should your garden be? That depends on how much time you can devote to it and how many people you want to supply with fresh produce. A garden of four and a half by six metres (15 by 20 feet) should provide a supply of your favourite vegetables for a family of four.

If space is limited, check what local produce is easily available before you decide what to grow. For example, if peppers, tomatoes, and corn are sold by most of the vendors at the farmer's market, then skip those crops and grow ones that store well, but are usually less available.

Basic vegetable-gardening tools have not changed for centuries, and if you do any gardening at all, you probably own most of them already. But because vegetable gardens require a great deal more digging and cultivating than flower gardens, it is a good idea to make certain that your tools adequately suit your height, weight, and strength.Long-handled spades, for example, are difficult for short people to use; and if you are tall, doubling over a short hoe will almost surely give you a backache.Before you buy any gardening tool, try it for size — it should feel well balanced when you pick it up; the working end should not weigh too much; and the handle should fit your grip comfortably.

Do not buy everything at once, but start with the essentials:

• a square-ended spade and a round-ended shovel, for digging
• a garden fork, for light digging and harvesting root crops and potatoes
• a steel rake, for breaking up and smoothing the soil
• a hoe, for weeding, cultivating, and opening seed furrows
• a trowel, for transplanting
• a garden hose and a watering can
• a file or sharpening stone, for keeping the cutting edges of the tools clean and well honedIn addition, you should consider investing in a garden cart or wheelbarrow — it is almost a necessity if your vegetable patch is any distance from your house or storage shed.

A visit to the local garden-supply store can easily convince you of the need for a variety of other tools and equipment: weeders, cultivators, tillers, sprayers, stakes, netting, fencing. All have their uses, depending on how much gardening you do and the problems you face.