It’s so rewarding growing your own veggies! As such, it’s more than worth it to invest the time and effort into establishing your own veggie garden. We’ve looked at the benefits of having a veggie garden in our previous blog but you may be wondering, “Where do I start with veggie gardening?” Read on!
1. PREPARE YOUR PLANT BEDS
Before you start planting you need to prepare your plant beds. It’s crucial to prepare them well because healthy plants need soil with enough nutrients. They need living soil. And this is provided through the way in which you prepare your beds.
There are different ways in which to prepare your plant beds:
SINGLE DIGGING
This involves turning the soil over to a depth of 30cm. However, this method is best suited where the soil is deep and fertile and not too compacted.
DOUBLE DIGGING
Double digging means that soil is dug out to a depth of 30cm and then placed next to the bed. The soil at the base of the bed is then loosened to a further depth of 30cm with a garden fork. Now a layer of compost is added to the bed and any type of organic material. Lastly, this is covered with the soil you removed and placed next to the plant bed. This method is quite labour-intensive.
SHEET MULCHING
Sheet mulching involves layers of mulch and organic material being placed on top of the ground. Over time this breaks down to form beautiful, nutritious soil for your veggies. Bear in mind, however, that this method requires time to stand before planting. This is so that the material can break down and decompose and form the soil needed for your plants.
Before you begin the layering process be sure to thoroughly water the soil where you plan to make your bed. Once this is done cover the area with cardboard or newspaper. Be sure to cover the area thoroughly and use a thick layer of cardboard and newspaper (even up to 8 layers) to ensure no soil is sticking out. This is to make sure weeds are not able to grow through this layer.
Now add a layer of brown mulch. This should be about 10cm thick. Brown mulch refers to shredded bark, wood chips, twigs, sticks and dried leaves.
Now add a layer of green mulch (grass clippings), then a layer of brown mulch and another layer of newspaper or cardboard. On top of this add compost and then a layer of soil. Continue layering in this way.
Add a layer of compost and then end off with a nice, thick layer of mulch.
TRENCHING
Trenching is similar to sheet mulching. You layer in the same way as sheet mulching but the difference is that you need to dig a trench.
Once again you remove the top layer of soil (called topsoil) and place it next to the trench. Dig up the bottom of the trench with a garden fork to loosen the soil.
Now add a layer (20cm) of sticks and brown organic material and you can even add some tins. Make sure though that the tins are not aluminium. You can test this with a magnet. If the magnet sticks then it is tin.
Your next layer should be cardboard and dried leaves. To this add a layer of greens (vegetable peels, weeds). Each layer should be 20cm.
Add a layer of compost now and water deeply. Then add some soil. To this you can now add a layer of wet newspaper. And more soil again.
Continue layering in this way and finally end off by adding your layer of topsoil. To this add a layer of compost and finally apply a layer of mulch.
As you can see preparing your garden beds must be done thoroughly to ensure you have living, nutrient-rich soil for your plants. This is important to keep them flourishing and to get a good harvest.
2. PLANTING
Once your plant beds are prepared you can start planting. You can choose to plant seeds or seedlings. There are pros and cons to both, however, remember that if you choose seeds, always buy organic or heirloom seeds. This way you will be able to harvest the seeds from your plants to replant. You are not able to do this with hybrid seeds.
It’s also important to choose what to plant according to a planting chart. A planting chart will show you which vegetables to plant in which months of the year. A helpful planting chart can be found here.
3. REGULAR WATERING
Your veggie patch can not thrive without regular watering. When it comes to water it’s important to remember to water early in the morning or in the evening.
In addition, it’s important to water for a longer period of time to allow the water to really soak down deep into the soil.
4. WEEDING
It’s important to keep on top of the weeds. A tip to remember is that you need to weed regularly. Also, be sure to pull the weeds up before they go to seed and produce the next generation of weeds.
Another excellent tip to remember is that mulch is your best friend when it comes to weeds. Applying a thick layer of mulch (at least 5cm) ensures that the weeds don’t get sun and consequently aren’t able to grow.
It will take a bit of prep getting your veggie garden up and running but it’s absolutely so worth it!