silverguide.site –

Maybe it’s because I’ve lived in cities my whole life, but I can’t think of anything more luxurious than popping out to your garden and eating a fresh tomato straight from the vine. How decadent to enjoy its crisp, bright flavor and the smug satisfaction that you coaxed this food into being with your own hands.

But what does becoming a modern day Demeter actually entail? What if you don’t have a yard, or even a balcony? And is it worth growing your own food when supermarkets exist?

“A vegetable garden can be any size,” says Matt Mattus, senior director of horticulture at the American Horticultural Society. You don’t even need access to outside space, he says.

Yes, it’s more effort than popping to the store, but there are huge benefits to growing your own veg, experts say. First, the taste and freshness. “There are no words that can describe the crunch and flavor of a fresh-from-the-garden carrot or potato,” says Mattus.

There are also health benefits, says Carole Connare, editor of the Old Farmer’s Almanac – not just because we’re eating fresh and local greens. “When we stick our hands in dirt, it promotes wellbeing and calmness,” she says. Indeed, research has shown there are bacteria in soil that can increase serotonin, lower stress and strengthen our immune systems.

So, if you want to grow a vegetable garden, how do you start?

What do you need to start a vegetable garden?

Consider the area available to you, because that will determine the kind of equipment you need.

As Mattus noted, even the smallest space can accommodate some form of vegetable garden. “Greens and herbs grow beautifully indoors under LED lights,” he says. With just a windowsill and some sort of tray – a plastic or glass food storage container, for example – you can easily grow microgreens, which add flavor and nutrients to sandwiches or salads.

In small outdoor spaces, like a balcony, pots or window boxes can form a garden. “Many vegetables grow very well in containers,” Mattus says. Tomatoes and peppers, for example, thrive in large pots as long as they get at least five hours of sun.

Interactive

When you have access to more outdoor space, like a yard or a community garden plot, you need to figure out the quality of the soil you’re working with.

“It’s a simple test,” says Connare: if you dig up a bit of soil with a trowel, how does it look? If it’s dark and crumbly like a cake, then “that’s really good soil”, she says. But if the soil is light colored and feels like sand, growing anything in it will likely be difficult.

Bad soil isn’t a big problem. The solution is to work with raised beds, filled with high quality soil from a garden store.

“Many people start with a raised bed,” says Mattus. Usually, this measures about 4ft by 8ft, and 12in to 14in deep. He suggests filling it with a combination that is half loam (a mix of sand, silt and clay, considered the ideal garden soil) and half composted leaves, mixed in with composted or aged manure.

Investing in good soil will likely be one of your bigger expenses. Besides that, Mattus says, a new vegetable gardener only really needs a shovel, a trowel, and possibly some stakes or cages depending on the crop. “A vegetable garden can be relatively inexpensive,” he says.

How do you decide what to plant in a vegetable garden?

Start by choosing a few vegetables you enjoy. “If you’re going to start a vegetable garden, you want to like the results,” says Connare.

Planting varieties of vegetables that you can’t find at your local market, or plants that taste better fresh than store bought can be rewarding, says Mattus. The flavor of fresh, homegrown tomatoes and potatoes is “unmatched”, he says.

Some crops are easier than others, Connare says: most greens, such as lettuce, kale and arugula, tend to grow quickly and easily; starches such as squash are generally prolific and disease resistant; and radishes are “a wonderful crop for not a lot of work”.

More from How to start:

More difficult crops, according to gardening non-profit the Square Foot Gardening Foundation, include celery, melons, cauliflower, eggplants and broccoli.

Check the seed packet to find out if a certain plant will work in your garden. It will likely be printed with information about when to plant the seeds (usually expressed in “days since last frost”), how far apart to place them, and whether they need direct or indirect sunlight.

Don’t forget to ask other enthusiasts for advice. “When you go to your local plant store, or even a big box store that sells plants, people there tend to be very knowledgeable about what works in your area,” says Connare.

What common mistakes should beginners avoid?

“People start too big,” says Connare. Be realistic about how much time, energy and money you’re willing to commit to your garden. “Whenever I’m driving around, I look in people’s backyards and I see raised beds and even a little greenhouse, and after a year or two, they don’t get used.”

There’s also no need to spend lots of money on fancy equipment right away. “You’ll certainly find reasons to spend money later if you get the bug,” she says.

People often buy plants that are too mature, like tomatoes that are already in bloom, or oversized parsley, says Mattus. “Larger plants exposed to cold temperatures can bolt prematurely once warm weather arrives,” he says, meaning the plant has been stressed, goes to seed early, and produces vegetables that are bitter and unpalatable.

Connare also suggests gardeners stagger their planting when possible. “It’s OK to not get it all in the ground on April 15th,” she says.

Many flowers and vegetables perform better when planted later, agrees Mattus. “Gardening is not just a spring activity,” he says. “It’s a season long process.”