So you’re ready to start growing your own vegetables…. Awesome! But where do you start?

Luckily there are tons of options! It all depends on the space you have available and what you plan on growing. You should start by deciding if you want to plant right off the ground, using raised beds or plant in container pots. The choices are really based on preferences or what you are growing. If you are very limited in space or want to start small just to ‘taste the waters’ so to speak, using container pots is a great way to start! I have a great big back yard but I prefer raised beds myself. Like me, if you have ample space, raised beds offer great benefits.

Even though I have ample yard space, I’m somewhat limited on a spot because my backyard is partly shaded. If you decide to pick a spot in your backyard, I would suggest two things: one, make sure the spot you pick receives lots of sunlight during the day, and two, make sure you raise the area. You can raise the area by simply adding lots of soil, enough to make a mount, higher than the ground. Raising the area has many benefit, for one it provides better drainage. Though some plants prefer cooler shady area, but most do well in full sun. For example eggplants, they prefer the heat, so full sunny area will be the ideal spot to plant them.

Whatever option you decide to go with, make sure you prep the area thoroughly and make sure that your soil has a good balance of nutrition by mixing a good mixture of topsoil and fertilizer, which I will discuss more on future posts. Or you can simply go to your local nursery and purchase good organic potting soil. Like us, plants and vegetables require food and water. So making sure your soil is rich is one of the many steps of having a successful garden. If you decide to use pots to grow your vegetables, make sure to choose the right container size as choosing the right size is key. The right size container is essential for better drainage and also helps improve root system for vegetable with larger roots. It also helps by providing space for your vegetables to grow and thrive. Proper size holes underneath the container are also essential to help with drainage. If the container is the right size but doesn’t provide adequate drainage, it doesn’t help, so be aware.

If you decide to go with a raised bed, your options are limitless. Like pot containers, they sell countless types of raised beds by both sizes and materials. This year, I decided to be creative and build my own raised bed using 2 x 6 x 10. Simple raised beds are very easy to build, and if you are unsure where to start, they are numerous videos on the internet that can help you. I’ve had to do my own research before I built my raised bed and I’m very pleased with the results. I will discuss the many choices of building your own raised bed(s) in future posts. The idea is also the same, make sure you have a good mixture of soil in each bed, and size also does matter. So make sure you build your raised bed according to what you plan on growing. Also make sure your raiseds beds are located in an area that receives plenty of natural sunlight during the day. I find that adding a layer of garden fabric underneath the bed before adding soil helps prevent weed from coming up from the bottom. It helps a lot as you will learn that weeding is time consuming and a very big part of gardening.

I can go on forever but I think this is enough to get your started. I will discuss more in future posts on how to mix your own soil and what size planters or raised beds are recommended depending on your plant selection. I look forward to hearing from all of you. I would love to know which option you have chosen in the past and how it worked for you. And if you are just starting, I would also love to hear from you. Does this article help and which option do you plan on going with? Any tips, suggestions and/or ideas would be greatly appreciated. For inspiration, I’ve added a few photos that I’ve come across the internet, depicting vegetables in either container pots or raised gardens.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s plant something! Be creative and have fun!
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Learn more at http://morninghomestead.com/gardening
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