Great tasting vegetables, conveniently available right outside your door, grown organically and costing very little, the benefits of growing your own vegetables are certainly attractive. Many people have learned how to grow vegetables from their parents or grandparents, from following TV programmes or reading books and magazines and the popularity of the activity can be seen by the demand for allotments all across the country. Previously when income levels were lower and food less readily available, most people would have grown at least a few varieties of vegetables at home. Now that food costs are on the increase again, more and more people are attracted to the idea of growing their own.
It really ought to be simple to grow a few vegetables in your garden but for various reason, many people who try for the first time come across obstacles that affect the resulting crops and sometimes discourage them from trying again.. Weather has a big part to play with temperature and light both influencing the healthy growth of vegetables. Then there is the importance of nutrition because all living things need fuel to survive and grow healthily and of course pest and disease can cause issues too.
In order to maximise the success of your first vegetable crop it pays to plan your schedule and workload carefully from the outset and attempt, as much as possible, to manage the factors that have major influences.
One of the first things to consider is how you are going to get started with your new plants and whether you should grow from seed or started with small plants. Most seed varieties can be kept for around 2 years (except parsnips) with some like cauliflower and courgette able to remain viable in their seed packets for up to 5 years. However, to maximise your success rate always opt for fresh seed from a reputable supplier. Using a well known supplier and selecting a type that is well suited for your own growing environment will help you focus on some solid selections.
There are two main alternatives to growing from seed. Firstly potatoes, which are grown from seed potatoes that are stored upright from mid-February onwards while they begin to sprout young shoots. Seed potatoes are available in most garden centres, from online suppliers or at one of the many potato days or fairs held during January, February and March up and down the country. The other option for vegetables such as broccoli, cabbages and leeks is to purchase a plug plant. These are small plants that have already been grown from seed by a professional nursery. They are an option if you don’t have the time to sow from seed yourself, or you are making up time and are too late to grow from seed. Several companies provide plug plants in variety packs to give you a good selection of vegetable types to try out.
Once you have your seedlings or plug plants outside in your vegetable plot you then need to make sure they have the best conditions possible to grow well and stay unharmed until the crop is harvested. In the early part of the year the weather will probably be your biggest challenge. In the UK an overnight frost can arrive almost unexpectedly right up to May, so keep a sheet of horticultural fleece or other suitable material to insulate the plants if you think temperatures may dip too low. Heavy rain or thunderstorm can also damage a plot of young plants so afford your plot any protection you can if a storm is forecast. Your plants may look quite sorry for themselves after a storm, but don’t worry too much as they are able to continue growing as long as their roots are not exposed and you don’t step on the saturated soil right next to them.
Finally, as the vegetable garden fills out with crops, your plants may come under attack from disease or pest damage. There are various manual ways of protecting your plants such as covering carrot seeds with fleece, secured at the edges by soil, to prevent the intrusion of carrot fly and putting up some slug defences if you are growing lettuces, potatoes, beans and many other vegetables. Not all slugs will be interested in your precious crops but those that are will need to be stopped from getting to your plants if you are to keep your crop for yourself. All kinds of slug protection methods have been proposed, so if the one you try first is not effective, just try one of the others.
With a little luck and some simple effort you will enjoy your first attempt to you’re your own because the satisfaction of eating your home grown vegetables is very satisfying and very flavoursome too. But don’t give up if you experience a few problems to start with. Keep trying and as you get used to the challenges the problems will reduce and before long you’ll wonder why you waited so long from creating your home grown vegetable garden.
About the Author:
The opportunity to grow your own vegetables is something many can take advantage of. Mike is an enthusiastic gardener and vegetable grower and offers a few points of advice for anyone just startng out.
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