Vegetable Gardening 101: 22 Basic Rules and 14 How to Videos

Planting a vegetable garden helps to promote sustainability, it saves you money, and it helps to ensure that you are eating healthy, organic homegrown food. Right now in the Philadelphia region (Zone 6), gardeners are beginning to think vegge gardens; and there is a great selection of seeds to choose from at Philadelphia home and garden centers and in seed catalogs. Remember when deciding whether to plant seed or to buy starter plants, a garden center may carry only three varieties of green bean plants, but they may offer ten types of green been seeds. It’s always cheaper buying seeds, and many times you will have seeds leftover for next year. A pack of seeds can produce hundreds of plants and most times cost less than a dollar,

If you’re deciding on whether or not to plant a vegetable garden this year, there are four important questions you should ask yourself first; then, if the answer is still yes, there are 22 basic rules to vegetable gardening.

How much work do you want to do? Vegetable garden will require tilling the soil and adding compost before planting; and if it’s a large bed, that can be a lot of work. Also, if you don’t mind weeding in between summer vacations and long weekends away, then you should be alright. Don’t forget, you’ll need to do some work pest and animal and rodent control. And finally, you must remember to keep up with the harvest. It’s obvious, the smaller the bed, the less work. Raised beds are an excellent idea for smaller more contained vegetable gardens.

What do you like to eat? Don’t plant something you don’t eat.

How much space do you have for a garden?

You may have a lot of ground, but that doesn’t mean it can be converted to garden space. If you don’t have much room, you can grow vegetables in containers on the porch or patio, as long as full sun is available. And last but not least, make sure the hose can reach the garden.

How much sun do you have?

You need at least 6 hours of sun to grow a successful vegetable garden, but 8-10 is ideal. Southern facing gardens are best. Also, remember not to plant near buildings, as well as, too close to trees as there budding and growing leaves can shade the garden. Make sure to plant taller vegetables towards the back of the bed as they can shade the shorter vegetables.

Here are the 22 Basic Rules When Planting a Vegetable Garden

Must have at least six hours of full sun each day (Possible shade growing vegetables)
Must have fertile and well-drained soil
Test soil for correct pH (*See below*)
Windy areas should be avoided because winds can dry out or break plants
Water supply nearby for convenience or long hose
Have easy visibility and access to garden. This will allow you to monitor the general health of the garden and garden animals
Garden should be surrounded by a fence or barrier to keep out animals, deer, etc.
Use stakes, tags, or markers to mark out where different rows will be planted
Draw a diagram of your garden showing each row according to height of plant requirements Plant tallest crops in back, and successively shorter crops in front
Establish your pathways early so that you won't be walking across areas which will be planted
Build a trellis or set in stakes for green beans, peas, tomatoes, and other crops that need support. (Can use the fence)
Perennial vegetables such as rhubarb and asparagus should be planted off to the side where they won't interfere with future planting
Early producing crops (radishes, lettuce, spinach, carrots, beets, onions, etc.) should be grouped together with extra space for successive plantings
Create mounds for the vining plants such as cucumbers, pumpkins and melons
Water your garden thoroughly the day before you intend to plant
Sow your seeds according to package directions; planting space and depth is critical, so don't crowd too many plants into one space
Plant extra seeds in each row to allow for failed germination
Cover the seeds with fine soil (no clumps of soil or rocks)
Firm the soil over the seeds to insure good moisture contact
Water thoroughly using a gentle spray so that you don't disturb or uncover the seeds
Keep seedlings moist. Seeds need moisture to germinate, so keeep the soil moist until the seedlings sprout
When the seedlings sprout and develop second or third set of true leaves, thin them out but keep the strongest plants. Thin while the seedlings are still small, so that you don’t disturb the roots of the remaining plants.

*Test soil for Correct pH - Different types of vegetables require different degrees of soil acidity. The acidity or alkalinity of the soil must be adjusted according to which crop you’re planting in that space. Usually, soils in moist climates are acid and those in dry climates are alkaline. A soil with a pH lower than 7.0 is an acid soil and one with a pH higher than 7.0 is alkaline. Your garden centers should be glad to test a soil sample for you. If your soil needs to be more acidic, sulfur may be used to lower the pH. For raising the pH, lime is most commonly used.

Click each below: 14 Videos on how to grow vegetables:

Green beans, Peas, Tomatoes, Rhubarb, Asparagus, Radishes, Lettuce, Spinach, Carrots, Beets, Onions, Cucumbers , Pumpkins, Melons

Click here for: Vegetables said to tolerate shade

Next article: Vegetable Gardening: Starting Seed Indoors

The gardening season is fast approaching; please feel free to subscribe to the Philadelphia Gardening column today. From growing annuals to zucchini, you can find it here; and it's free; just click the subscribe button at the top of the article.

You can also find me on the Web at: