Veggie Garden Primer

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Dont Make the Mistake of Starting a New Garden
Without Reading this Book First!
By Kenny Point

Growing Organic: A Veggie Garden Primer

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http://veggiegardeningtips.com
Copyright

Copyright 2011 by Kenneth E. Point.

All text and photographs are copyrighted and may not be used in any context
without the express permission of the author. This ebook in its PDF file format
may be freely shared in the entirety, provided that no unauthorized changes or
deletions are made to the content or the links contained within.

The Veggie Gardening Primer is published together with a companion email
series both of which can be obtained at: http://veggiegardeningtips.com/primer.
It is recommended that you follow along with the supplemental material and
exercises provided in the accompanying email series as you read through the
Veggie Garden Primer ebook.


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Dedication

This eBook is dedicated to my mother, Marlene Point who encouraged
and inspired my first vegetable garden. I was hooked from the very
start and the intense fascination with plants and all things related to
gardening has grown, flourished, and directed me in many rewarding
directions!


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Table of Contents
Copyright ................................................................................................................ 2
Dedication............................................................................................................... 3
Table of Contents................................................................................................... 4
1. Perfect Times for an Organic Vegetable Garden! ......................................... 6
Welcoming Invitation to Begin Growing Your Own ........................................................ 6
Compelling Reasons to Raise a Backyard Veggie Garden ............................................ 7
Simple Investments that Guarantee Compound Returns.............................................. 9
Reaping the Rewards of Your New Ornamental Edible Garden...............................12
2. Avoid these 7 Deadly Gardening Sins or Suffer the Consequences.......... 15
Slipping into Careless Habits that Encourage Weed Growth.....................................15
Stressing Needlessly over Insects Visiting the Garden.................................................17
Relying on a Yardstick to Organize the Vegetable Plot ...............................................20
Treating the Precious Soil in Your Garden like Dirt........................................................22
Wasting Water, Wasting Time: Failed Irrigation Techniques .....................................24
Growing the Right Plants at All the Wrong Times......................................................25
Falling Prey to the Hidden Hazards of Tilling the Garden...........................................28
3. Charting a Garden Strategy before Breaking Ground................................ 31
Location, Location, Location....................................................................................................31
Basic Garden Organization and Record Keeping............................................................34
Fencing Out the Nightmares that Prey Upon the Garden ..........................................38
Raised Beds; the Only Way to Grow.....................................................................................41
4. Popular Myths that Bamboozle New Gardeners......................................... 44
Vegetables are the Ugly Stepchildren of the Landscape.............................................44
Its Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature....................................................................................45
The Only Good Weed is a Dead Weed ...............................................................................47
You Can Spray Your Way to a Healthy Harvest ...............................................................48
Summer is When All the Action Takes Place in the Garden.......................................49
Hybrid Seeds are the Best Option for the Home Gardener........................................51
Tomatoes Reign in the Backyard Vegetable Garden.....................................................52


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5. Productive Edible Crops for the Home Gardener........................................ 54
Choosing Vegetable Plants and Seeds Wisely.................................................................54
Low Maintenance Crops for the Beginner Veggie Gardener .....................................56
Finicky and Challenging Vegetables for Beginners to Grow......................................57
The Spice of Variety is the Best Seasoning for the Kitchen Garden........................59
A Selection of Incredible Edibles for the Home Garden..............................................60
6. Following a New Path to Gardening Expertise............................................ 62
Soiled Fingers and Green Thumbs; One Always Leads to the Other ......................62
More Ideas for Creating and Enjoying a Bountiful Veggie Garden.........................63
Digging Deeper to Discover Hidden Garden Treasures...............................................65


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1. Perfect Times for an Organic Vegetable
Garden!

Your future veggie garden in early spring
Welcoming Invitation to Begin Growing Your Own
Maybe you always thought that gardening and raising home grown vegetables
just wasnt your thing. The griping included; it takes too much time and effort, I
dont know how, theres no place for me to put a garden, I hate bugs and pulling
weeds, everything Ive ever tried to grow has died you get the picture!

Well forget about the past, and what youve heard or believed that its like to
grow a vegetable garden. Im betting it will become a fun and rewarding
experience for your entire family. It can be a little challenging at times, down


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right frustrating at others, but through it all you will grow right along with your
garden.

This eBook is your invitation and a quick introduction to the basics needed to
begin your journey into the fascinating world of organic vegetable gardening.
Good luck, enjoy the trip, and all the best of gardening to you!

Compelling Reasons to Raise a Backyard Veggie Garden
We all eat, but for most there is a disconnection between the earth and the food
that shows up on the table at dinnertime. Food production is a chore thats
outsourced and entrusted to others while we go about our daily grind.

For something as indispensable to our health and well-being you would think
that we would take more of an interest, but that hasnt been the case. Little
thought or concern is given to where our food comes from or how its produced.
Well things have an odd way of changing, and changing quickly
Serious Threats to the Safety of Our Food Supply
Rising oil prices, environmental concerns, quality and safety issues, drought, food
shortages, pesticide and chemical abuses, bacterial contaminations, and the
increasing demand for higher quality produce are just some of the reasons
driving consumers to take closer scrutiny of their food supply.

Just as we regained confidence enough to start eating packaged spinach again,
what did we hear but news of health risks and recalls associated with tomatoes
distributed across the entire country. Whats coming next? And to make matters
worse, the governmental watchdog agencies never seem to be able to locate or
identify with certainty the cause or source of these contaminations!

Its not just the mysterious contaminants that are a cause of worry, there are also
toxins introduced in the form of pesticides, fungicides, and insecticides that are
an essential part of the commercial agriculture system. Growing your own food
enables you to control and manage everything that is applied to the fruits and
vegetables that find their way into your familys meals.


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Rising Food Prices and Declining Food Quality
And if the news reports of the latest food scare or poisoning dont provide
enough incentive to consider growing your own, just take a trip to your local
grocer. There youll find a quart of strawberries selling for as much as a gallon of
gasoline. Oranges costing over a dollar apiece, and melons priced by the pound
as if we could eat the rind and all.

Talk about sticker shock, thats just what I received when I recently placed a few
fresh apricots into a bag and watched in dismay as the scale raced right past five
dollars! Those attractive fruits took on a different blush and began to suddenly
look a lot less appetizing.

At these prices you would expect to receive the highest quality, fresh, delicious,
and organically grown produce available, but that just isnt the case. All too often
what you find at market is far beyond its prime. The produce very likely has been
harvested green, shipped over thousands of miles, and then kept on a grocers
shelves until its wilting, flavorless, and suffering nutritional losses.
Hopping Aboard the Local and Organically Grown Bandwagons
The benefits of locally and organically grown produce provide another reason
why this is a perfect time to discover how simple it can be to raise superior
quality fruits, vegetables, and herbs in your own home garden!

If youre ready to climb aboard the organically-grown bandwagon, theres no
better place to start then right out in your own backyard. With the increased
attention being placed on organics, higher demand leads to higher prices in the
marketplace, but the reverse is true in the gardens economy.

Growing organically may require a little more time and hands on effort; but it
wont cost the gardener more money. In fact, in the long run I would expect that
gardening organically and sustainably would be less expensive and could turn
into a self sufficient affair that is less dependent on outside resources.


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A homegrown vegetable garden can go a long way towards saving money and
improving the quality and safety of the food that is placed before your family at
mealtime. Just imagine indulging in your own:

Strawberries picked ripe and bursting with sweet flavor.
Heirloom tomatoes just like your great grandparents used to grow.
Tender, juicy melons, homegrown and slipped from the vine at harvest.
Sweet corn that is fresh and tender enough to eat without even cooking it.
Pungent herbs for seasoning that will truly stimulate your taste buds.
And it doesnt get any more convenient than strolling out the back door to
pick the ingredients that youll use that same evening for dinner!

Yes, a back yard garden will open up all sorts of possibilities for you and your
family to prosper from a world of fresh produce unlike anything that you will find
at the grocer. Youll save money and insulate yourself from rising food prices
during these fluctuating economic climates.

Today is a great time to try your hand at raising produce. The talent to grow a
backyard vegetable garden is an increasingly valuable asset to possess. And
creating a bountiful vegetable garden is far easier and more affordable than
many imagine.

Simple Investments that Guarantee Compound Returns
Beginner gardeners often wonder; Whats it all going to cost for me to create
and grow this brand new vegetable garden? Following is a summary of the basic
gardening expenses that a new gardener should budget for as they prepare to
plant their first organically grown garden.

Tiller Rental $75 Sure, hand dug garden beds are an expense free option to
renting a tiller, and may even produce better immediate results if you have the
time, muscles, and desire. But using a tiller or hiring a contractor to custom till
that new garden area is faster, easier, and over time your garden beds will look
and produce as well as one that was painstakingly double dug from the start.


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Seventy-five dollars should take you from a grass lawn to a smoothly cultivated
seed bed in an average sized garden. Using a quality, professional rear-tine tiller
will help make the job painless and result in a better-prepared planting area.

But dont go out and spend money to purchase a new tiller because if you follow
my suggestions for implementing a raised bed garden youll find that the
machine will spend more time collecting dust in the garage than it will in kicking
up dust out in the garden. So save the cash and put it towards gardening tools
that will see a lot more dirt time on a regular basis.

Garden Tools $85 The recommended list of basic gardening tools includes:
a sturdy digging fork, bow-style rake, hand trowels, and a watering can or hose.
Your garden tools are an investment and good equipment, if taken care of
properly, will provide you with many years of service and make tending to the
garden less of a chore.

I spent fifty dollars for a Spear and Jackson style digging fork, but after twenty
years of heavy use Im still working with that same durable and indispensible
gardening implement. A digging fork is the tool that I reach for more often than
any other on a day-to-day basis out in the garden.

There are other tools and gardening equipment that you may want to purchase
in the future but the ones listed above will get you off to a great start.

Compost or Mushroom Soil $30 A load of finished compost or mushroom
soil will add valuable organic matter, nutrients, and beneficial soil organisms to
support the growth and health of your new vegetable garden. Compost would be
my first choice but its not as easy to locate and may be a little more expensive
than mushroom soil, which is readily available for bulk purchase in most areas.

Spread half of the compost over the growing area after making one pass with the
tiller, and then finish tilling to mix the amendment into the soil. The remaining
compost or mushroom soil can be spread and raked into the upper inch or two
of soil after the garden beds have been tilled, arranged, and shaped.


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If you want to splurge pick up a bale or two of clean straw. It around $4 a bale
and will find many uses in the garden, from mulching plants to lining the
gardens pathways to keep them weed free and easy to navigate. If there is a leaf
collection/recycling center in your area you may be able to obtain free mulch and
leaf mold, but beware of the possibility that it may contain unwanted weed seeds
that can become a problem in the garden.

Seeds and Vegetable Plants $40 The amount of your gardening budget
devoted to seeds will depend on the size of your growing area and the types of
plants you wish to grow. If youre looking to trim the overall garden budget this
is a category where you can obtain low cost alternatives but dont skimp on
quality.

One way to reduce expenses is by starting your plants from seeds instead of
purchasing transplants. New gardeners may find it easier to buy transplants for
crops such as tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers, which are best started indoors
under lights. Growing heirloom seeds will also enable you to save your own seeds
for future plantings.

You can also shop around for the best prices on seeds or purchase them in
smaller sized packets. Then there are groups such as the Seed Savers
Organization and local garden clubs that are devoted to preserving seeds and
sharing them with others.

Liquid Kelp/Fish Fertilizer $10 Apply as an organic spray throughout the
growing season to provide maturing vegetable plants with an extra boost of
nutrients to support growth and fruit production. Youll get better mileage by
adding this fishy solution to water and spraying it directly onto the leaves of
vegetation rather than applying it to the gardens soil.

Insecticidal Soap Spray $15 Just in case a few aphids, mites, or thrips invite
themselves to dinner in your new garden, youll be prepared for them with this
safe pesticide. Sprays, even organic ones like this soap spray are a last resort and
shouldnt be used indiscriminately or as a quick cure all for every garden woe.


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So there you have it, about $250 max to get that new vegetable garden planted
and growing. If you have a friend with a tiller and already have a few garden tools
then you can get growing for the cost of a few measly packets of seed.

With a little luck, good weather, and the tips Ill share, you can possibly recoup
your investment through savings on the fresh produce youll be harvesting in
your very first year of raising a garden! After that your returns and savings will
only compound and multiply with each succeeding year.

Reaping the Rewards of Your New Ornamental Edible Garden
As great as it is to enjoy and share a bountiful harvest from the home garden, the
benefits of growing your own go far beyond actual food production to include
perks that are easily overlooked.
If You Think You Eat Good Now, Just Wait Until the Harvest Is In
You may pride yourself in eating well because you frequent farmers markets,
gourmet shops, and the new mega supermarkets, but they all pale in comparison
to what a backyard garden can supply to you and your family. That produce at
your local market wont look nearly as appealing after youve been spoiled by
your own fresh, homegrown, fruits and vegetables.

While there is an improved selection and better quality produce available in some
areas for the discriminating shopper, it wont come cheaply or anywhere near as
conveniently as it can from a home garden. And there are many varieties and
types of produce that Id wager will never become commercially available.

A backyard garden will open the doors for your family to enjoy all types of fresh
and gourmet produce including: flavorful herbs, ethnic varieties, delicate fruits,
exotic mushrooms, uncommon vegetables, heirlooms that have been favored for
generations, and other rare culinary delights that are inaccessible or unknown to
the general public.

Theres also the advantage of having the options to harvest produce at its peak
of ripening perfection, or at an undeveloped stage when it is still a tender baby


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vegetable if you prefer. Youll have your fill of new-fangled garden delights such
as pea shoots, edible flowers, alpine strawberries, and other hard to find
delicacies that are seldom enjoyed outside of exclusive gourmet circles.
Beautiful Organic Produce Fresh from the Garden

Harvesting Fresh Produce, Sunshine, Clean Air, and Majesty
In terms of freshness its impossible to lose much during the short journey from
garden to kitchen counter. Add in the fact that your homegrown produce will
develop the ultimate levels of nutrients, flavor, and complex sugars by ripening
on the vine, unlike the commercial produce that is often picked green, shipped
long distances, and ripened by artificial means.

As much as I believe in and promote organic fruits and vegetables, Im even more
convinced of the importance and benefit eating local and fresh. Being organically
grown just isnt good enough if the produce has lost significant quality due to


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shipping and storage issues. With a garden in your backyard you can be assured
that the food you are eating is as vital and alive as it could possibly be.

Other added perks received from gardening include: fresh air, sunshine, healthy
exercise, the satisfaction of safeguarding the environment, pride from creating a
beautiful edible landscape thats a joy to behold, and the peace and harmony
that come with seeing what can be accomplished as you work hand-in-hand with
the Creator!

Theres something very empowering and rewarding about eating food that
youve grown with your own hands, and harvested fresh from your own small
piece of the earth. Whether youre into gardening to improve your health by
raising nutritious organic produce, for the financial rewards of saving money on
the familys food bill, to enjoy the attractive sights and unique flavors of gourmet
varieties, or for the unmatched quality and freshness you just cant go wrong by
learning how to raise a little produce in your own vegetable garden.


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2. Avoid these 7 Deadly Gardening Sins or Suffer
the Consequences
Ive learned some gardening lessons the hard way; by making mistakes and
suffering through until I finally realized what was wrong and fixed the problem.
Others lessons came a lot easier and were handed down or stumbled onto. But
none of the lessons were fully appreciated until I began to observe things much
closer and from a broader perspective.

This chapter offers food for thought and a few gardening ideas that may seem
contrary to the normal wisdom and practices of raising a vegetable garden.
Hopefully in the end it will make your time spent in the garden more enjoyable
and less of a burden!

Slipping into Careless Habits that Encourage Weed Growth
No one would knowingly send out an invitation for weeds to come plague the
garden, but many gardeners unwittingly do just that by practicing a few bad
cultural habits. The worst part is that some of these practices are considered to
be routine and normal gardening techniques rather than the weed perpetuating
mistakes that they really are!

Some view weeds from the perspective that the only way to handle them is
through the ordeal and effort of physically removing them from the garden. One
thing that surprises visitors about my garden is the absence of weeds and many
just assume that I put a lot of effort into eliminating them well theyre wrong
about that one.
Weed Free Gardening Secrets
I dont devote much time pulling weeds and think the secret to that relates to a
healthy soil, shallow cultivation techniques, early weed identification, not leaving
the soil exposed, and preventing weeds from setting seeds or spreading in the
garden.


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Ill delve deeper into these techniques in more detail in a future Growing Organic
eBook but following are a few common gardening mistakes that allow weeds to
quickly take control and overrun a garden.

The biggest mistake is to allow weeds to become established in the first place. I
realize thats not much help if youre already struggling with a weed problem. The
point is that many gardeners neglect to maintain the garden as the season
progresses, and by the end of the summer allow anything and everything to grow
unchecked in their gardens.
Keeping It Covered to Reduce Weed Growth
If you dont replant new crops as the mature growth is harvested and removed,
then at least sow a cover crop to deny weeds the opportunity to grow and
multiply freely in the vegetable plot.

Bare soil and empty growing beds invite and encourage weed growth, so if you
have to leave your beds vacant for a length of time, lightly cultivate the soil with a
weed weasel or rake to disrupt the weed seeds that are in the process of
germinating, and cover the soil with a mulch of shredded leaves until you are
ready to replant.

Weeds are much easier to control if you attack them while they are young or
before they even have a chance to emerge from the earth. If you wait until theyre
mature and reproducing, they can become almost impossible to control. In
addition, youve given them the opportunity to consume moisture, nutrients, and
sunlight that should be reserved for your cultivated plants.
Are You the Source of Your Serious Weed Problems?
Another major blunder is to allow weeds to flower and ripen their seeds within or
around the gardening area. Permitting this is no different than going out and
planting weeds in the garden yourself, so dont be surprised by the results.


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Simply uprooting mature weeds isnt good enough. Some weeds go into survival
mode after being uprooted and will hang on just long enough to produce a crop
of seeds right under your nose. So once youve pulled the weeds, get rid of them.

Be careful about the plants that you include in the compost pile. Leaves are okay
but avoid placing flowers or seed stalks from weeds in your compost piles. The
same rule applies to the roots of persistent grasses that spread by sending out
runners. Dont take a chance on propagating them through your compost.

Keep an eye on your finished compost piles to make sure weeds dont turn them
into breeding grounds. Its best to keep the piles cultivated or covered. Im even
cautious of using compost, leaf mold, worm castings, or other soil amendments
from sources that may have allowed exposure to contamination from weed
seeds.

Weed seeds are always present in the garden, but fortunately they require a
favorable combination of temperature, soil depth, moisture, and even light in
order to germinate. If theyre stuck deep within the ground theyre not likely to
germinate, but when you till the garden fresh weed seeds are brought to the
surface where they find the ideal conditions needed in order to germinate.
Stressing Needlessly over Insects Visiting the Garden

The first thing that comes to mind when many people think about gardening and
growing vegetables is that they are going to have a fierce battle on their hands to
prevent the onslaught of legions of destructive insects.

Well heres a little tidbit to consider; the vast majority of the insects that youll
encounter out in the garden are actually there to help and assist in your efforts to
create a beautiful and productive garden!
Eliminating Bugs isnt the Key to Gardening Success
You may regard wiping out insects as a goal for growing a successful vegetable
plot, but if you do youre heading down the wrong track. Dont get me wrong,


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Ive destroyed my share of bugs, but its an error to view all insects as the enemy
and set out on a seek and destroy mission to eliminate everything that walks,
crawls, flies, or otherwise moves through the garden.

A Lady Bug Patrolling the Garden

Following that type of a strategy of annihilation will actually do more harm than
good for the garden and will eventually lead to even larger issues with
destructive insects. The problem with killing bugs at random is that you wind up
destroying the good ones right along with the bad.
Beneficial Pollinating Insects
Youre probably familiar with the first group of beneficial insects, which is made
up of the pollinators. The most common and well known of the pollinators is the
hard working honeybee who continues to play a vital role in food production
despite Colony Collapse Disorder, mites, viruses, and other woes that have made
life difficult for them.


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In addition to honeybees, there are countless other crawling and flying beneficial
insects that contribute to the pollination of our crops and are essential to
maintaining the productivity of our gardens. They quietly go about their work
never causing a problem and do nothing but good for the sake of the gardener.

Other pollinators include mason bees, various types of flies, wasps, and even
butterflies. Without the visiting pollinators the plants that we grow would be
incapable of reproducing or bearing the delicious vegetables and fruits that we
enjoy.

The plants themselves understand the importance of attracting pollinating
insects, which is part of the reason they display the colorful and fragrant
blossoms to attract the good bugs that some gardeners take for granted and
recklessly destroy.
Beneficial Predatory Insects
The second group of beneficial insects, which are not as widely recognized,
consists of the predator bugs. These are the gardens assassins that target and
hunt down the harmful insects that want to destroy our plants. Beneficial
predator insects include: ladybugs, green lacewings, pirate bugs, trichogrammas,
praying mantis, ambush bugs, tachinid flies, wasps, spiders, and certain
nematodes.

Perfect examples are the parasitic wasps that patrol the garden and feast upon
those hard to locate and control leaf miners. In most cases a healthy population
of tiny parasitic wasps is your best bet to control leaf miners which find refuge
from sprays inside of a plants leaves and have also been developing resistance to
the pesticides commonly used against them.

There are hundreds or thousands of beneficial insects present in our gardens, and
their main purpose is to control the populations of destructive insect pests such
as aphids, caterpillars, grubs, and beetles. One problem with the use of chemical
pesticides in the garden is that they blindly wipe out all of the insects and the
good ones die alongside the destructive ones.


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Garden Pest Solution: Protect Your Beneficial Insects
Unfortunately, it can take the beneficial insects a longer time to reestablish
themselves and return to the job of controlling destructive insects. This results in
a void during which the harmful pests take advantage and wreak havoc in our
gardens. This in turn causes the gardener to create a vicious circle by resorting to
more and even stronger chemical pest controls.

Beneficial insects should be protected and made welcome in your garden, and
even their eggs should be sheltered from harm. Its best to positively identify
destructive bugs, and apply natural controls that only affect the offending pest.
There are biological insect controls such as Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) that are safe
and employ bug viruses to sicken and kill specific varieties of insects.

Other natural insect controls are available to safeguard your harvest by trapping
the pests, or by creating a physical barrier between your plants and the insects.
So rather than applying harsh pesticides that are an equally deadly hazard to
good bugs and bad, recognize that insects are a natural part of the equation and
that the presence of a limited number of bad bugs can be tolerated in the
garden!

Relying on a Yardstick to Organize the Vegetable Plot
Sometimes a little chaos and confusion can be a good thing when it comes to
design aspects of the vegetable garden. Just consider the randomness and
variety that you discover when you observe the way plants grow in nature; you
wont find plants lined up in perfect rows or growing in all-exclusive communities.

Following natures example offers certain advantages to the backyard vegetable
garden as well. And a measure of disarray and confusion can actually enhance the
overall appearance and growth of the veggie patch.
Whats Your Logic for Planting the Garden in Rows?
Many gardeners arrange their plants in nice, orderly rows that are separated by
swaths of empty, non-productive space. This common practice of planting in


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rows is a carryover from commercial agriculture where its required in order to
allow room for large farm machinery to plant, cultivate, and harvest the crops.

The assumption made is that whats good for professional growers must also be
in the best interest for the home gardener nothing could be further from the
truth. The heavy equipment thats a necessity when farming hundreds of acres
isnt a factor in the backyard garden, and theres no need to space your plants as
though you intended to drive a tractor through them.

Instead you can plant in a fashion that will enhance plant vigor, suppress weed
growth, and increase productivity. Simply modifying your plant spacing can
effectively double or triple the amount of area available for vegetable growing.
This will allow you to plant a smaller garden, or raise more produce than you
would if growing in rows.
Its all a Matter of the Spacing Technique and Strategy
Theres nothing magical about planting your garden in rows. In the case of the
home garden, planting in this manner results in reduced vegetable harvests and
forces you to spend more time and labor tending to the garden. Not to mention
the wasted water, fertilizer, and soil amendments that are applied to bare ground
that isnt being used to actually grow any vegetables.

A better option is to use wide row or raised bed plant spacing where crops will
grow closer together but still have adequate room to mature and bear fruit.
Whether youre growing vegetables, herbs, or even a flower garden, efficient
spacing provides many benefits and will save you time and effort, and make for
easier gardening.

Ignore the spacing distances printed on the back of that seed packet; theyre
better suited to the farmer than the back yard gardener. You can get away with
planting things a little closer so that the plants are an equal distance apart in all
directions and youll realize big gains in production and efficiency.

The trick is to devise a spacing that allows the leaves of your plants to just barely
touch each other when they reach a mature size. Start with the recommended in-


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row spacings and then modify them slightly. For example if the usual spacing is
eight inches apart in rows that are twelve inches apart, you will just sow your
seeds eight inches apart in each direction.

If youre wondering about what happened to the rows and how were going to
maneuver around without them then youll just have to wait until the next
chapter to see how all the techniques you are learning tie together perfectly in a
way that saves time and resources while increasing production and reducing
weed growth.

Treating the Precious Soil in Your Garden like Dirt
There are significantly different philosophies when it comes to fertilizing the
vegetable garden. One focuses on the more is better school of thought and looks
to the fertilizer gods of N-P-K (nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous) to supply
a plants every need.

The other school of thought doesnt put as much faith in N-P-K, but instead
probes deeper into plant fertilization and puts more emphasis on a balance of all
nutrients rather than overwhelming quantities of the major players. This school
also recognizes the vitality of the soil itself, and the capacity that it has to provide
for the needs of growing plants.
Feeding the Gardens Plants vs. Feeding the Gardens Soil
Some gardeners view fertilization as the cure all when it comes to caring for their
plants. They grab a bag of fertilizer with the highest numbers that they can find,
till it into the garden each spring and assume that it will provide their plants with
everything needed to bear a productive harvest of fresh fruits and vegetables.

This practice sometimes results in the disappointment of leggy tomato vines with
no fruit, plants that are more susceptible to insect infestations, or a garden soil
that is deficient in micronutrients and trace elements and is way out of kilter in
supplying what plants really need to grow and bear fruit.


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Whats been overlooked is the critical importance of the soil itself in the entire
growing process. Garden soil is much more than simply dirt, or a foundation for
the plants to grow out of. In fact, a healthy garden soil is as alive as the plants
that are grown in it.
The Life of Ordinary Garden Soil
The soil in the garden breathes, takes up and processes nutrients, supports
many life forms, and can actually grow in a manner similar to the plants
themselves. Its the soil, containing millions of microorganisms and organic
compounds that actually feeds and supplies nutrients in a form that plants can
utilize. We frequently take the soil for granted and do little to enrich or improve
it.

You can improve your garden and enjoy healthier plants by focusing more
attention on the condition of the soil and worrying less about fertilizing the
plants. Feed the soil and the soil will feed the plants. Maintaining a fertile soil
thats active and full of life will help ensure that your plants are receiving
everything, including the unidentified elements needed to support their health
and productivity.

Unfortunately many of the practices that we employ in the garden such as;
frequent tilling, applying chemicals to the soil, and leaving the ground exposed to
the elements, destroys the vitality of the soil and eventually leads to problems
that are made evident in poor plant growth. A better approach begins with a lab
soil test to determine exactly what excesses and deficiencies are present.
Healthy Growth is Tied to a Vibrant, Healthy Soil
On a positive note its possible to restore health and vitality to even poor soils by
following simple techniques and practices such as crop rotation, composting, and
growing cover crops, which increase the amount of organic matter, improve the
texture of the soil, and encourage the presence of beneficial soil microorganisms.


24
If there literally was a Mother Earth what better representation could be made
than the dust of the earth that brings forth life, yields nourishment for all, and
reclaims organic matter from previous plant, animal, and human life.

Take time to explore the soil as you cultivate your garden. Examine it, smell its
earthly aroma, sink your fingers deep into it, and recline on it instead of a chair;
theres more there than a quick glance could ever reveal. And a healthy vibrant
soil is essential to the growth of our gardens and our selves!

Wasting Water, Wasting Time: Failed Irrigation Techniques
For optimal growth your plants may need more moisture than most areas will
receive in rainfall. And even if drought isnt an issue in your garden there may still
be periods when you need to supply some form of irrigation. Its not enough to
simply walk through the garden with a hose or watering can whenever the soil
looks dry or your plants begin to wilt.

If youre going to take the time and effort to water your garden be sure to do it
the right manner or you could waste precious water resources and at the same
time do more harm than good to your plants without even realizing it.
Getting to the Root of Inefficient Irrigation Practices
A consistent supply of moisture is important to maintaining your plants growth
and health. Many beginner gardeners provide frequent but shallow irrigation to
their vegetable gardens, which is a big mistake.

Shallow irrigation encourages plants to develop shallow root systems, rather than
promoting strong root growth. For the best results in your vegetable garden, you
should follow cultural practices that aid your plants in developing deep,
expansive root systems. Shallow rooting harms your garden in a number of ways:

Shallow rooted plants will become dependent on frequent irrigation and will not
be capable of reaching moisture that is deeper within your gardens soil levels.
These plants will therefore be more susceptible to stress during drought
conditions.


25
Shallow root systems will also lazily deplete nutrients in the upper soil levels,
rather than mine nutrients from deep within your gardens soil. Whats just as bad
is that your garden wont benefit from the soil loosening and conditioning that is
created by deep growing root systems penetrating, and then later decaying
within the deeper subsoil levels.
Good Watering: Less Frequent and Deeper Irrigation
Your garden will benefit more from receiving a deep and thorough watering a
couple times a week than if you provided a shallow, surface watering each and
every day.

Yes, it will take some time to water the entire garden, especially if you do it as I
do, by hand with a watering wand. Just think of it as a form of garden meditation
and an opportunity to spend some quiet, relaxing, quality time with plant friends.

If you prefer, a sprinkler will also get the watering job done without requiring
your presence. But avoid watering the garden during midday when the sun is
beaming down and stealing moisture through rapid evaporation. Instead, water
during early morning, or in the evening, allowing time for the foliage to dry
before sunset.

Growing the Right Plants at All the Wrong Times
So, youre discouraged and frustrated because you followed all the rules of
fertilizing, planting, watering, and caring for the garden and you still wound up
with bolted lettuce plants, headless cauliflowers, plum-sized melons, and Brussels
Sprout plants with no sprouts!

Before you start blaming yourself or swear off gardening altogether, theres
another important concept of vegetable gardening that you need to take into
consideration and this one is all about timing!


26
You Planted the Correct Way, but was it the Wrong Time?
Its important that you time your seed sowing so that your plants mature under
their optimum growing conditions; otherwise you make things difficult for
yourself and your vegetable garden.

You cant just plant all your crops at one convenient time if you want to see the
best results from your garden. More consideration should be given to the specific
needs of your plants and the ideal seed starting or transplanting dates.

Broccoli Plants Approaching Harvest Time

Sometimes gardeners struggle in their attempts to grow a particular plant and
cant understand why a vegetable variety wont grow successfully in their garden.
If you find yourself in this situation, one of the first things to consider is whether
you are growing the plant at the proper time and during the proper season.


27
Some Vegetable Crops Love the Bite of Cold Weather
Take lettuce for example, this is a relatively easy plant to grow, but it prefers to
grow and mature during the cooler periods of spring or fall. Growing lettuce
during the wrong season affects not only its growth, but also the taste of these
tender salad greens.

If you try to force lettuce plants to grow during warmer weather, many varieties
will develop a bitter taste, then bolt and send up a tall slender seed stalk rather
than produce the sweet, full heads of leaves that we are after. So the timing of
when you plant your seeds is critical to a successful harvest.

Other vegetable crops that really perform better under cooler growing conditions
include; broccoli, cauliflower, kale, arugula, peas, turnips and rutabagas, spinach,
cabbage, globe artichokes, leeks, and kohlrabi. Aim to plant these crops so that
they can grow and mature during the cool periods of the spring and autumn
seasons.
And Other Plants Need to Turn Up the Heat in Order to Thrive
Melons are the exact opposite of lettuce; they like it hot and prefer warm soil
temperatures. If you plant them before the soil has thoroughly warmed they
wont grow, but will sit and sulk until the weather is more to their liking. Melons
planted later in the season will usually catch up with and eventually outperform
melons that were planted when the soil temperatures were too cool.

Eggplants are another example of a plant that will struggle if planted out before
the soil and air temperatures have warmed up. So you defeat your purpose by
rushing and planting heat loving crops before weather conditions are right, and
you also run the risk of permanently stunting those sensitive young seedlings.

Vegetables that thrive under warm growing conditions include tomatoes, squash,
muskmelons, cucumbers, eggplants, peppers, okra, watermelons, and many herb
plants. Dont rush these crops out into the garden unless you have no choice
because of an extremely short growing season.


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Matching Crops to their Proper Growing Season
Finally there are versatile crops such as collard greens which are adaptable and
can be planted to grow through extremes of either hot or cold weather and
arent as particular about when they are seeded or transplanted to the garden.

The timing of your plantings can also have a major impact on matters such as
insect infestations, fruit ripening, irrigation requirements, the flavor of your
produce, and the amount of time it takes a crop to reach maturity.

Its extremely important to consider and understand your plants desires, and to
then time your plantings so that they can enjoy the favorable conditions and
grow during the seasons that best suit them.

You also cant be tied strictly to a date on the calendar, as seasons change and
weather conditions can vary significantly from one year to the next. I like to play
it safe by getting cold loving plants out early in their seasons, but I take my time
in setting out heat loving crops out into the garden until after Im sure things
have warmed up fully.

Falling Prey to the Hidden Hazards of Tilling the Garden
Everyone knows that tilling the garden is an important ritual that is required of
every vegetable garden at least once a year Right?

Well let me begin by saying that my garden hasnt seen a tiller in over eight years
and Id bet that my soil is looser, with a better texture, and easier to work than
that of my neighbors who routinely till their gardens on a regular basis.

Are you one of the many gardeners who till their gardens each spring, and
sometimes again in the fall, unaware of the disadvantages created by frequent
garden tilling?


29
Limitations and Liabilities of Tilling the Garden
One disadvantage of tilling is that it can prevent you from planting at the proper
time in spring. Thats because you have to wait until the ground has thawed and
is dry enough to be tilled, otherwise you risk ruining the structure and texture of
your soil.

Depending on your location, the amount of precipitation, and other weather
considerations you may not be able to till your garden until much later in the
spring than you and your plants would prefer. This is an even greater problem if
your garden is located in a low-lying area and takes longer to dry out.

I dont till my gardens to prepare them for planting and can start growing much
sooner than I would if I waited until the ground was tillable. This provides a big
jump on the growing season and allows hardy plants to receive an earlier start.

Another disadvantage of tilling is that you really dont loosen the soil to a depth
of more than six inches, maybe eight if youre lucky. Just look at the length of the
tines on your tiller, theres no way that they can loosen the soil as deeply as the
plants would like you to.
Other Problems Resulting from Tilling the Garden
Tilling can even cause soil compaction by creating a hardpan, which is a layer of
compacted soil just below the level of soil loosened by tilling. Soil compaction
also occurs during the process of tilling as you walk through the garden while
wrestling with your tiller.

Other pitfalls from tilling your garden are the disruption of the soils structure,
damage to the population of earthworms, and the fact that tilling can encourage
excessive weed growth by distributing a fresh crop of weed seeds near the soils
surface where they a free to germinate.

Finally, theres the expense and hassle of using and maintaining the machine
itself. It sits around idle and rusting except for the couple of hours a year when


30
you need to use it. If you hire someone to perform the annual chore for you, well
then youre dependent on the weather and their schedule before you can start
gardening.
The Tilling Alternative: Raised Bed Gardening
There are better alternatives to prepare the garden for planting that will make
your efforts easier and more productive. Raised bed gardening techniques offer
an effective strategy that enables you to do away with that big bulky machine.

Once your raised beds are established youll never need to till again, but will have
a garden that resists compaction and is ready for planting whenever the time is
right. In the next chapter well take a quick look at raised beds and the reasons
why they are finding their way into more backyard gardens.


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3. Charting a Garden Strategy before Breaking
Ground
Summer Mix of Melons, Squash, and Companion Flowers

Location, Location, Location
Once youve decided to grow that veggie garden, a big decision is choosing just
where to place it. Maybe you already have a spot in mind, but before you go any
further, lets take a few minutes to make sure that its the ideal location for you.

There are a few simple but crucial evaluations to make before you start doing any
digging or planting. After all, you would hate to have to move the garden after
youve invested time and effort into developing it due to a bad location that
hinders plant growth and cant be remedied.
Selecting the Perfect Spot for a Backyard Garden


32
Your garden location should be based on the following considerations:

Sunshine The garden needs at least six hours of direct sunlight each day, and
eight hours is even better. You cant overdo the sunlight unless you live in the
desert. Survey the potential garden location at different times of the day in order
to ensure that the area receives plenty of sunshine throughout the day.

If youre making this decision during late fall, winter, or early spring, bear in mind
that the position of the sun will be different during the later spring and summer
growing seasons. What seems like a great location now may not be so fabulous
during your primary growing season.

Also verify that you wont have a problem with trees shading the garden when
the leaves return, or from shadows cast by your home or other nearby buildings.
Trees that dont impact your garden today may grow tall enough to create a
problem in the future, so take that into consideration as well.

Water Some people prefer to situate their vegetable plot in a remote section
of their property for aesthetic reasons. The garden that were creating wont be
an eyesore, but rather will enhance the appearance of your landscape, so dont
worry over the garden being in a visible location or even close to your home.

A bigger concern should be making sure there is an adequate water supply close
to the garden. There will be times when you will need to irrigate your crops, and
youll quickly tire of long lengths of garden hoses or hauling water out to the
garden.

So make sure your garden is situated near a good water supply that is easily
accessible. In some areas clean ponds, streams, or creeks can also be tapped to
serve as a source for irrigation.

Soil Conditions Parts of your yard may contain better soil than other sections.
Check around and avoid areas where the ground is excessively rocky, shallow, or
hard packed. If the soil throughout your yard is consistently poor, dont worry,


33
youll learn how to improve it, but you want to start out using the best that your
yard has to offer.

Also, be cautious of underground utilities and other obstructions, such as tree
roots or buried boulders that may not be visible or expected. If there are any
doubts call your local municipality to come out and check for utilities lines prior
to sighting or digging any new garden beds.

Convenience and Security Again, your garden will not become an
unattractive eyesore, but more like a backyard sanctuary, so locate it where you
can quickly and conveniently gain access to it. That way, if youre cooking dinner
and realize that you forgot an herb that you need, its not a big deal to step out
and promptly gather it from the garden.

Its great to locate your garden in a place that provides a nice view of it from the
patio, deck, or from the windows of your home. This will also help reduce the
opportunities for both four and two-legged invaders that may be enticed to raid
the vegetable plot.

Landscape Features Another important consideration has to do with how
you blend your garden around permanent features of your home and yard. You
may have outbuildings, fences, walls, posts, hills, and other features that can be
used to provide advantages to the garden.

An old playhouse or storage building can be converted into a structure to
support gardening activities, providing a loft for drying, a composting area
underneath, or a wall to vertically train climbing plants. Look around your
property with a creative eye and youll be surprised at what you can devise, and
the ingenious ways that you can merge the garden into your landscape.

Existing hedges and fences are additional features that may be of service to your
garden. If you have any critters running around, a fenced area may help keep
some of them out, and a slope, hedge, or building can turn into a protective
windbreak to shelter the garden from harsh winds.


34
Take time to think through your gardens location very carefully. Evaluate all the
pros and cons before you grab the tiller and start cultivating. Sure, you could
move your site in the future, but youre going to be making an investment in time
and resources to build your garden, so its best to pick the ideal location.

Basic Garden Organization and Record Keeping
I tend to be spontaneous when planning the vegetable garden and dont follow
any set layout or blueprints to determine what gets planted where. But there are
general principles that I abide by, and a few plant combinations that I tend to
maintain from season to season based on past experiences and preferences.

Rather than use pen and paper, I usually just visualize the general layout of the
vegetable garden and picture what I want to see at various stages of the growing
seasons. If you want to plot the garden on paper before you start planting its
easy to draw up your selection of crops and their planned location on a sheet of
graph paper or on an Excel spreadsheet.

Four Things to Keep in Mind When Planning a Vegetable Garden
When planning the layout of your vegetable gardens beds here are four major
considerations to bear in mind to guide your planting and growing strategy:

Crop Location and Rotation
Size, Height, and Growth Habit of the Plants
Growing Seasons and Length of Time to Maturity
Companion Plants and Ornamental Considerations

Crop rotation doesnt have to be an overly complicated or formal process. If you
plant a particular crop or a family of related crops in one raised bed this season, it
goes in a different area or garden bed the next time around.

For example, I usually plant tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants in the same bed
because I use cages to support them all and they usually occupy the garden
about the same time. Even without a garden log its easy to remember where this


35
group of vegetables was located in the previous season and to move them to a
different growing bed during the following season.

In situations where I mix and interplant various veggies, herbs, and flowers
together in the same area I dont worry too much about rotating the plants. Crop
rotation helps to avoid nutrient deficiencies and prevent the buildup of diseases
in the soil.

Sizing Up Your Garden Plan and Crop Layout
A very important consideration is to consider the size, height, and growth habits
of your crops and to plant according to these characteristics. The orientation of
your garden and the direction that the sun tracks across your landscape will also
play a part in deciding where to place your plants.

Avoid positioning tall plants where they will shade shorter plants that are
growing nearby. Or planting a large bushy plant like a summer squash in a spot
where it will spread and crowd neighboring crops. You will want climbers and
runners like cucumbers and pumpkins to occupy a place to themselves where
they will have plenty of room or vertical support to stay organized and growing
within their boundaries.

Give your plants the space they need to mature but dont overdo it and waste
valuable garden space by neglecting intensive gardening. Just because those
tomato plants need to be spaced four feet apart from each other doesnt mean
that fast maturing plants like lettuce, spring onions, or kohlrabi cant be planted
in between after setting out the tomato transplants.

Planning the Garden for Multiple Harvests
In order to maximize your gardens production the most important consideration
during the planning stage is to factor in how long your crops will occupy their
space in the garden. Getting this right will enable you to employ succession
planting techniques to grow two or three separate harvests in the same space
that many gardeners use to grow a single vegetable crop.


36
When I plan and plant my spring garden Im always thinking forward to the end
of summer and the fall vegetable garden. This means that Ill be sure to group
plants with similar growing seasons and times to maturity in the same bed or
growing area.

For example, by planting fast growing spring crops like spinach, lettuce, spring
turnips, and radishes in the same area of the garden, once these plants have all
matured a section of the garden will be free to be replanted with green beans,
summer squash, and other vegetables that will enjoy the warmer season.

Garlic, multiplier onions, and shallots are another example of crops that you can
plan to grow in the same area to take advantage of their similar growing season
and time to maturity. When the bulbs are harvested in mid-summer the bed can
then be used to plant fall crops such as kale, mustard greens, cabbage, broccoli,
and other cool weather vegetables.

By thinking and planning ahead the garden area used to grow tomatoes,
peppers, and eggplants can later be replanted with a crop of fall garlic. In
September after the tomatoes have slowed production, pull the vines, add a layer
of compost to the bed and use the area to plant garlic to over-winter, or sow
transplants of other fall and winter vegetables.

Planning for an Ornamental and Edible Garden
The final consideration when planning the garden is to think about the gardens
appearance and arrange the plants to provide the best ornamental display. Many
vegetable growers dont worry much about the ornamental appeal of the garden,
but with a little thought you can enjoy an edible garden that just as attractive as
your favorite flower bed.

There are many unique vegetable varieties available that are not only tasty, but
can also add an ornamental flair to the vegetable garden with their unusual
shapes, textures, and colors.

A little forethought and planning will go a long way towards creating a vegetable
garden thats overflowing with healthy, productive, and attractive fruits, herbs,


37
flowers, and vegetables, and keep them growing continuously from spring right
through the fall season.

Documenting Your Garden for Future Reference
I highly recommend garden journaling, or keeping a simple gardening log as a
great way for home gardeners to improve their gardening expertise, and to track
subtle cues and changes that take place over time in the garden.

Your garden log will prove to be a more valuable resource than any gardening
book on the market because it will offer guidance related to your specific climate
and growing conditions that are unique to your own backyard

A complete and accurate garden log cant be recreated after the fact, and time
left undocumented is lost forever. By starting a log or garden journal today, you
will soon hold an invaluable gardening resource at your fingertips that couldnt
be reproduced or purchased at any price.

Want to avoid repeating the same old mistakes over and over? A good place to
start is by recording precisely what took place in your current garden. Next spring
you may recall that you planted a crop too late, but will you remember the exact
date that the seedlings were started so that you can adjust your planting times? A
log gives you a tool to do exactly that and so much more.

Track your favorite varieties, report crop production levels, record the dates and
severity of insect infestations to help identify and control them in the future.
Schedule planting dates and crop rotations, and track your gardening successes,
as well as the failures, to help repeat what you do well and change the things that
need to be improved on from one season to the next.

Gardening Logs and Journaling
Your garden log can be as simple or as detailed as you choose to make it. At a
bare minimum you will want to track the types of crops that were grown in the
garden, along with the planting dates and their specific locations within your
growing beds.


38
From there you can add information related to crop performance, fertilization
programs, number of days from planting to maturity or harvest, amounts of
produce harvested, plant disease issues and solutions, and other relevant facts or
statistics.

The most detailed gardening journals will even include information regarding
weather conditions such as frost dates, precipitation levels, temperature readings
and humidity. Its up to you to decide the level of detail for your garden log.

You can also create more of a journal like document by including personal notes,
photos, and general observations from the garden. Another great way to
document and preserve your garden is by publishing a gardening blog on the
Internet for all to see.

Fencing Out the Nightmares that Prey Upon the Garden

The Gardens Public Enemy #1: The Woodchuck (aka Groundhog)


39
Creeping, hopping, climbing, burrowing, and flying garden invaders arent a
problem only for gardeners located in rural areas. If you plant it, we will come is
the motto of many critters that will be irresistibly attracted to your garden and
then proceed to make life difficult for the tormented vegetable grower.

A Field of Dreams Plagued by Nightmares
If youre a wildlife lover then maybe youll be pleased to discover animals visiting
that you didnt even realize lived nearby. But for the gardener this increased
popularity can become the source of extreme frustration and aggravation.

One summer I spent the entire season in a battle against an extended family of
groundhogs that were intent on using the garden as their personal buffet table.
In the end I trapped and relocated eight or nine of the greedy beasts, but not
before they decimated numerous crops of my precious fruits and veggies.

You can avoid much heartache by simply designing and installing a suitable fence
in advance of planting the first crops. By suitable Im referring to a fence that can
screen out the majority of the four-legged critters that will come calling in your
neighborhood.

Providing Adequate Safekeeping from the Very Start
Dont make the mistake of assuming that an existing chain link or picket style
fence is going to be sufficient to keep animals such as rabbits, groundhogs,
raccoons, and deer out of the garden.

Groundhogs go under, deer leap over, and rabbits jump right through ordinary
fences, and even some of the fencing designed specifically to keep them at bay.
No fence is 100% effective but often if you make it more trouble than its worth
to get in and out, the animals will go searching for easier pickings.

The ideal time to install that garden fence is prior to starting the garden. Why run
the risk of divulging how special that garden area is to the animals when you can
mark it as off limits from day one?


40
If you intend to use a tiller to initially break ground, or if you need to use any
heavy equipment for purposes such as grinding out tree stumps, definitely get
those tasks taken care of and then erect your fence before any critters become
wise to what is in store for the garden space.

Creating a Secure Perimeter around the Vegetable Garden
You may have to special order it, but a roll of five foot tall, wire fencing material
with a one-inch by two-inch mesh pattern will work great as an effective barrier
to deter many of the common garden pests. Ordinary metal fence posts are all
that is needed to support your fence and they wont rot or wear out any time in
the near future.

The bottom twelve inches of the fence can be bent outward to form a ninety-
degree angle and be allowed to rest on the ground outside of the fences
perimeter. This will discourage burrowing and prevent smaller animals from
squeezing underneath of the fence.

So what if your garden happens to be right in the middle of deer country? A
friend who shared the fence setup described above adds a simple twist to
prevent deer from becoming a nuisance.

Taking Things a Step Further to Discourage Deer
He uses longer fence posts that extend a couple of feet above the top of wire
fencing material. A single strand of wire is then strung along the tops of the fence
posts all the way around the garden. Yellow ribbons or strips of plastic are then
tied to the strand of wire at five or six foot intervals and allowed to dangle down.

The theory is that the ribbons or plastic strips will flutter and constantly move
with even the slightest breeze causing a distraction that serves to unnerve and
spook any deer that drop by. Deer dont frequent my garden, but my friend
swears that this little trick has kept neighboring deer out of his veggie patch!

You can add a fence in the future after you discover that four legged critters are
enjoying the garden more than you and your family. But why not take my word
for it and invest the time and resources into setting up a permanent fencing


41
solution from the very start and avoid the frustrations that pillaging animals are
sure to cause?

Raised Beds; the Only Way to Grow
Im convinced that theres nothing better for the home gardener than to grow
your plants in raised beds rather than the traditional row format. There are so
many advantages that theres really no comparison between the two options.

Raised beds lend themselves perfectly to the strategies and cultivation
techniques that you can learn more about and see examples of on the Veggie
Gardening Tips website. The genius of raised beds is that they provide you with
a lot of flexibility and enable you to connect and easily implement all of your
gardening techniques.

Raised Bed Advantages for the Backyard Gardener
The many advantages of using raised bed growing areas in the backyard
vegetable garden include the following benefits:

Ability to grow much more produce in less space
Reduced soil compaction; you never step on growing areas
Affords better weed suppression as plants cover entire bed
Garden soil will dry out and warm up quicker in the spring
Eliminates the need for tilling the garden each season
Allows you to start planting and gardening earlier
Conserves moisture and provides better drainage
Saves money and resources by reducing non productive areas
Results in less fertilizer and water consumption
Makes it easier to implement the advanced techniques that you will be
learning, such as inter-planting and succession planting

These are just some of the benefits that you will enjoy by growing your veggies in
raised beds. All of my gardens employ the use of raised beds, rather than the
traditional garden layout featuring rows of plants. Another perk is that raised bed
gardens are more attractive and look better than the traditional vegetable plot.


42
A Raised Bed by any Other Name
So what exactly is a raised bed garden? Some people are thrown off by the title
and picture a raised table top garden, or a garden in which the soil is so high that
it needs to be contained by boards or some type of border.

In reality the distinguishing features of a raised bed have less to do with height
and more to do with its shape, size, and the growing methods that are used in it.
The soil in my raised beds is only a few inches higher than ground level and there
are no frames at all surrounding them. The thick straw mulch applied between
the beds also disguises the fact that there is any actual elevation to the vegetable
beds.

Dont get hung up on the idea that the key factor is to raise your soil level or
that height is the source of the benefits from raised bed gardening. Maybe a
better term would be to describe the system as an intensive garden bed rather
than a raised garden bed.

An Intense Vegetable Gardening Experience
The intensive aspect is a result of several factors. First theres the slightly closer
plant spacing that was covered in Chapter Two, and allows you to grow more
produce per square foot than you would if the garden was planted with
traditional row spacing in mind.

Then there is the additional loft or slightly raised appearance which is actually a
sign that the soil is looser, with better texture, and contains more tiny pockets for
air, water, and nutrients to reside. This will also encourage stronger root
development to help compensate for the closer plant spacing.

There are no wasted, unproductive areas in an intensively grown raised bed.
Plants eventually spread to cover the entire surface of the growing bed. Narrow
pathways separating the four to five foot raised gardening beds are used for
walking and tending the garden.

Closely set plants with strong root systems result in fast growing vegetation that
leaves little room for weeds to take hold and compete against your cultivated


43
crops. Once established your vegetable plants will form a living mulch over the
raised bed that shades the soil and makes it very difficult for weeds to germinate
and grow.

Building a Raised Bed Garden from the Ground Up
Biodynamic French Intensive Raised Bed Gardening purists subscribe to a
technique called double digging to construct and prepare their beds for planting.
Double digging involves the use of a shovel, digging fork, and lots of labor to
loosen the soil to a depth of at least eighteen inches without disrupting the soil
layers.

While double digging is effective and does loosen the soil deeper than any tiller
could cultivate, it isnt mandatory and even using the assistance of a tiller to
construct your beds will provide you with the same raised bed advantages in
time.

A simpler option to start your raised bed garden is to just till the garden area and
stake out your beds afterward. Make the beds no wider than the distance that
you can comfortably reach the middle of the bed from either side because you
never want to step onto the growing areas of your new garden. Four to five feet
wide is the width that most are comfortable with, and leave at least eighteen
inches between each raised bed to serve as a walkway.

You can rake the soil from the designated pathways onto the top of the raised
beds to add additional depth to your growing areas. You can also add a load of
good quality mushroom soil, leaf mold, or compost and incorporate it into the
top layer of the finished beds. Taper the edges of the bed to a gradual slope and
apply a layer of straw to the paths to keep them clean and weed free.

I believe that switching to raised beds is the single best improvement that you
can make to any garden. It will not only make your life easier by saving time and
effort, it will also help your plants to grow better and produce more than they
ever could in a traditional garden.


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4. Popular Myths that Bamboozle New
Gardeners
Tropical Looking Okra Plant Ready to Fruit and Blossom

Vegetables are the Ugly Stepchildren of the Landscape
A common refrain that you may have heard as an objection to raising a backyard
veggie garden is that vegetable plants are ugly and that a vegetable garden will
automatically turn your landscape into an unattractive eyesore Well that just
isnt so, as many of the photos in this eBook demonstrate!

Ive never agreed with the opinion that vegetable gardens are unattractive and
have always been able to appreciate the beauty of a well tended vegetable


45
garden no matter how basic, and regardless of what was growing in it. Maybe its
a case of beauty being in the eye of the beholder, but Ive also found that visitors
to my gardens are usually impressed by the attractiveness of a raised bed
vegetable plot.

So whats the secret to creating a beautifully ornamental edible garden that you
wont be embarrassed to have in full view for all to see from the comfort of your
deck or patio?

For one thing timely maintenance is required to keep the scene in order. Its not
that you have to become a slave to the garden, but performing routine
gardening tasks at regular intervals will save effort and prevent the garden from
turning into an unmanageable jungle wilderness.

Aside from the planting and harvesting periods, if you can consistently devote
twenty or thirty minutes a few times per week to your home garden you will be
able to maintain a productive and attractive backyard veggie garden. And you
will never be faced with an overgrown and weed filled garden, or have to spend
hours toiling away in a futile attempt to get things back under control.

Another thing that you can do to really display the beauty of vegetable plants is
to seek out and grow varieties that qualify as ornamentals. There are many edible
plants offering shapes, colors, textures, and interesting growth habits that are
seldom seen in the typical home garden, but are only a seed catalog away from
making a flashy appearance in your own ornamental edible garden!

Finally, if you want your vegetable plants to really shine, theres nothing better
that you can do than to make their presentation in a raised vegetable bed.
Theres just something special about the eye-pleasing patterns, intensity, and
flow of plants grown in a raised bed that forces visitors to really take notice.

Its Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature
I dont know who came up with the saying that it isnt nice to fool Mother
Nature, but one things for sure, they dont know her very well. Ive come to


46
realize that Mother Nature has a terrific sense of humor and enjoys the adventure
and challenge when we set out to do something new or creative out there in the
garden.

Ever hear of the ancient Hanging Gardens of Babylon? The legendary, incredibly
lush and prolific gardens that were supposedly planted right in the middle of a
sandy, dry, barren, and drought plagued country. How many gardeners would
have even attempted to raise a garden in such a naturally hostile environment?

No, I dont think that Mother Nature would have been offended at all, but rather
would have been impressed by the effort being put forth. At some point she
obviously relented and began to provide support and assistance to the efforts of
the master gardeners of Babylon.

Ive seen smaller wonders appear in areas where you would imagine that it would
be impossible to grow anything, let alone a productive vegetable garden. When
we learn and work with the simple laws of nature gardening will become easier,
even under difficult conditions, and regardless of natural obstacles.

The same principles will apply in your backyard garden. The deck may seem to be
stacked against you in the form of a rocky soil, invasive weeds, large insect
populations, frequent droughts, hard packed clay subsoil, shady growing areas,
and poor soil fertility levels. But with determination, ingenuity, and some elbow
grease youll be amazed by what you can accomplish to overcome the hurdles
that Mother Nature sends your way.

How many would have simply not attempted to grow vegetables indoors,
cultivate globe artichokes in northern climates, extend the season for harvesting
vegetables into the winter months, raise plants without soil, or many of the other
incredible gardening feats that at one time must have seemed just as impossible
as growing a lush garden in the middle of a desert?

Sure, Mother Nature can be harsh, demanding, and controlling at times, but she
is also forgiving and quick to turn around and spread lush greenery where
previously there was only barrenness. She also favors and smiles upon the


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gardener who is determined to succeed in spite of challenges. So go ahead, its
perfectly okay to fool around with Mother Nature!

The Only Good Weed is a Dead Weed
Maybe Im way off base and in the minority of all the gardeners out there, but I
love weeds! Dont get the wrong idea; you wont find weeds growing at will in my
vegetable beds and I do take pride in a relatively weed free garden. But I do
make exceptions for the occasional dandelion, purslane, or lambs quarter that I
allow to grow as salad greens.

There is a lot of good that can be said for weeds and an understanding and
appreciation of them will do nothing but improve your gardening experience. To
start with, many weeds are not just edible; they are absolutely delicious and more
nutritious than many of the cultivated crops that we raise in our gardens.

Weeds can also provide clues to what is going right and wrong with your
gardening techniques. Weeds will offer information regarding soil quality and
imbalances, whether youre cultivating too deeply, moisture levels, proper plant
spacing, and other hints that will tell you when it is time to make some changes.

Then there are certain weeds that have earned a reputation among growers who
subscribe to the concept of companion gardening, that are considered to help
improve the growth of certain plants or the health of the garden in general.
Tansy, stinging nettles, and comfrey come to mind, just be sure they are in an
area where they can be contained and not spread wildly.

Weeds can be useful in attracting and encouraging beneficial insects to hang
around the garden. They can serve as a diversion or trap crop to keep destructive
insects out of the garden, they fix nitrogen for use by other plants, mine nutrients
from deep soil levels, and non-invasive weeds can even be added to the compost
pile when they arent flowering or producing seed.

I will never tell anyone that weeds are a good feature for a vegetable garden, and
there are some species that I wouldnt want nearby under any conditions. But I


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will admit that there is a lot to be learned from them and about them, and no
matter what we do to discourage their growth, the weeds will survive and still be
around so we may as well discover ways to enjoy and not just curse them.

You Can Spray Your Way to a Healthy Harvest
I received a question recently from a new gardener inquiring; What spray or
pesticide should I use in the garden; I would prefer something organic that is safe
for the environment.

The answer depends on a number of factors, but you shouldnt automatically
assume that a spray or pesticide, even an organic one is the solution to all your
insect woes. We already noted that most insects are actually beneficial for the
garden. In addition, its always a good idea to choose the most natural and least
toxic option when addressing any insect pest.

A great advantage that the home gardener has in the battle against insects and
plant diseases is the ability to closely monitor and observe what is going on in
the garden plot. The small scale of the backyard garden also makes it easier to
implement alternative controls to foil insect attacks without resorting to toxic
chemical sprays.

Large insects that appear in small numbers such as the tomato hornworm can
often be kept in check by simply patrolling the garden to hand pick and remove
them as they appear. Small pests that appear in large numbers can sometimes be
disrupted by making subtle changes to their habitat or through the introduction
of row covers to provide a physical barrier to your plants.

You can purchase and introduce beneficial insects to target specific pests that are
causing damage in the vegetable garden. Or better yet, avoid using sprays that
are toxic to your native beneficials, and grow a wide variety flowering plants
which will help attract good bugs to the garden and provide the shelter and food
they need in order to stick around.


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Then there are biological controls such as bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) that only
affect a particular species of insect, in this case caterpillars. Bt is a virus that will
only kill caterpillar-like insects that ingest even a small amount of the bacteria
that it is made up of.

Biological controls such as soap sprays, diatomaceous earth, and oil sprays are
less toxic controls but still may impact non-targeted insects including beneficials.
Finally, organic pesticides such as pyrethrum, neem, and rotenone are a last
resort that should be applied with caution or avoided altogether if possible.

You may discover that low-tech solutions such as inter-planting your crops,
improving soil fertility and plant health, crop rotation, use of specific cover crops,
varying your planting dates, and the addition of assorted flowers and herbs will
reduce insect infestations by helping to maintain the gardens natural balance!

So resist the temptation to blanket the garden in a cloud of spray at the first sign
of trouble, and if you do have to intervene to manage a serious insect infestation,
begin with the least invasive control or one that is as specifically targeted to the
pest in question as possible.

Summer is When All the Action Takes Place in the Garden
Even many long-time gardening fanatics view their relationship with the garden
as strictly an off-and-on summertime affair. In my case the passion is perpetual
and I dont allow interruptions such as changing seasons to come between the
garden and myself.

Fall and winter dont necessarily signal that it is time to abandon the garden in
favor of other hobbies and non-gardening related interests. In fact if you give it a
try you may discover that fall vegetable growing is just as productive and
enjoyable as gardening during the spring and summer months.

Cooler temperatures mean youll spend less time roasting under the hot sun or
hauling water out to parched plants. The fall season also delivers fewer
challenges in the way of excessive weed growth and insect invaders. Its a


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pleasant time that allows the gardener to enjoy a less demanding pace but still
harvest loads of fresh, homegrown produce during autumn and even early winter.

A Productive Fall Vegetable Garden

So if youre a little late arriving at the game, dont think that you have to
postpone your participation simply because it isnt early spring or summer when
the urge to get growing strikes you.

And youre not limited to the cultivation of a fall vegetable garden outdoors to
keep your hands in the dirt, as there are many gardening tasks to keep you
occupied and fed on a year round basis if that is what you desire.

Heres a sampling of gardening activities for the frustrated gardener that cant
take advantage of sunny, warm, growing weather 365 days of the year:

Plant a Fall/Winter Vegetable Garden
Discover Vermiculture or Indoor Worm Farming


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Learn to Propagate and Force Vegetable Plants
Grow Sprouts and Micro-Greens Indoors
Try Your Hand at Indoor Herb Gardening
Create Hypertufa Containers and Garden Crafts
Enjoy the Sport of Winter Seed Catalog Browsing
Cultivate Gourmet Mushrooms with Kits or Logs
Gather Leaves and Organic Matter for Composting
Sow Cover Crops to Build Soil Texture and Fertility
Explore Container Gardening with Vegetables
Sow Seeds Indoors to Raise Spring Transplants

Hybrid Seeds are the Best Option for the Home Gardener
Im not going to bash hybrid seeds, even grow a couple stable ones myself, but
too many gardeners buy into the hype and believe that hybrid seeds are the
greatest creations to come along in the gardening world and that they will
automatically make everything better out in the garden.

Faster, bigger, stronger, and more beautiful are just a few of the claims that are
touted to convince growers that hybrid seeds are the only choices to plant in
their backyard gardens. Ill admit that hybrids do offer a share of benefits; some
have been bred with improved disease resistance, while others are more
productive or possess ornamental qualities that set them apart from standard
varieties.

But nothing comes without a price, and what you wont find mentioned by the
hybrid seed companies is what qualities were sacrificed or lost during the
development of these new and improved hybrid varieties. Its all fine and dandy
to enhance the size and color of a particular plant or its fruit; but is it worth it if
the trade off is less flavor, or a plant that has lost the toughness to survive during
a drought or under less than ideal growing conditions?

It may be easy to identify the improvements provided through hybridizing a
plant; you can see and feel a difference in size or shape, but if the downside was
a significant decrease in the plants nutritional values, how would you know? You


52
may note that a hybrid is more vigorous and faster growing, but how will that
tree or perennial plant hold up ten years from now?

I personally prefer to grow the standard open pollinated and heirloom varieties in
my garden. Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans, Four Seasons Lettuce, Bloomsdale
Savoy Spinach, Brandywine Tomatoes, and Summer Crookneck Squash. Theres
nothing modern or high-tech about these cultivars, but they have all been tried
and proven by many generations of gardeners.

The terms heirloom or open pollinated shouldnt be associated with boring or
underachieving when considering the plants appearance or performance out in
the garden. Looking for disease resistance or high yields? You can find varieties
that will meet these needs on the pages of an heirloom seed catalog. Are you
more interested in something decorative? Again, open pollinated varieties will
offer exactly what youre seeking in the way of ornamental edible selections!

Tomatoes Reign in the Backyard Vegetable Garden
Please dont take this the wrong way because I love a homegrown tomato just as
much as anyone else, and never get enough of the vine-ripened summer harvest
of delicious tomatoes! But my gripe is with the perception that many hold of the
tomato as the ultimate vegetable for the home garden.

If you really think about it there are other vegetables that are easier to grow (try
sweet corn), more productive (as in bushels of beans), faster growing (just think
of zucchini), and better looking (like say a palm tree kale plant) than the gardens
pampered pet the tomato.

Okay, so what if I raise a dozen different heirloom tomatoes in my garden each
season, but its still a struggle deciding whether to grow as many tomatoes, or to
devote more garden area to the other interesting fruits, vegetables, and herbs
that I enjoy growing.

In all honesty, tomatoes were my first and only vegetable that was planted in that
beginning garden back when I was just ten years old, so they do get some of the


53
credit for getting me hooked into gardening. They are a great crop for beginners
because they arent too demanding, dont attract many insect pests, bear lots of
fruit, and who doesnt like to eat a juicy, home grown, tomato?

Also, even with little or no space to set aside for a full-sized garden, everyone can
find room to grow a tomato plant or two, even if you resort to using containers
on the patio. So tomatoes are a very worthy crop to plant in any vegetable
garden but there are other candidates that are just as deserving.

Dont look at tomatoes as the one and only fruit for the home garden. If you have
the inclination and ability to grow tomato plants then you can also grow a variety
of other vegetables with no more effort or space than what was required to
cultivate and harvest that All-American tomato plant.


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5. Productive Edible Crops for the Home
Gardener
Mixture of Delicious Wild Garden Kales

Choosing Vegetable Plants and Seeds Wisely
Some gardeners are doomed from the start by something as simple as the seeds
and plants that they attempt to grow in their gardens. Obtaining seeds and
plants doesnt have to be a costly venture, but no one wants to waste time and
effort or become discouraged over bad seeds or worthless transplants that have
no chance of yielding a single fruit out in the garden.

Sure, you can find seeds at your local garden center, or even get a bargain from
that bin at the discount store, and I often do, but I prefer to shop for seeds and


55
plants through mail order and over the Internet. Where you may find a few
different varieties of a particular vegetable at a greenhouse if youre lucky, youll
easily find several dozen varieties by researching and locating vegetable seeds
and plants for sale with the help of your computer.

Youve probably heard of Burpees and Parks Seeds, but how about Baker Creek
Heirloom Seeds, Pinetree Garden Seeds, Grow Italian, Bountiful Garden Seeds,
and a multitude of other seed suppliers that specialize in everything from
heirlooms, to ornamental edibles, ethnic vegetables, and unusual or rare plants
for the home garden. Likewise there are incredible fruit tree, berry brambles, and
herb plant suppliers that offer a wide selection of planting stock for the backyard
gardener.

Money really is no excuse for not exploring the world of heirloom and open
pollinated vegetable seed varieties since there are groups, gardening clubs, and
organizations established to freely share all manner of seeds and plants among
their members. Find a group in your area or join the world wide roster of
gardeners that participate in the Seed Savers Exchange Organization.

A little homework may help decide that an heirloom will perform just as well or
better in your garden than that hybrid variety that is popular out on the farm.
And just because a plant is sold at a garden center or greenhouse doesnt
guarantee that it is the best variety for your particular garden.

Then theres the matter of how and when those transplants were raised that are
on display and ready for sale at your local home and garden center. Were they
stressed from being allowed to severely wilt between watering? Are their roots
bound, matted, and tangled like a ball of yarn? Are they stunted from weeks of
containment in a small container and nothing more than a bonsai veggie?

Theres nothing wrong with buying seedlings to transplant into the garden, just
be alert to avoid purchasing plants from business that dont properly care for
their seedlings or assure that their plants are made available at the proper season
and planting time for your growing region.


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Low Maintenance Crops for the Beginner Veggie Gardener
Heres a list of edible plants that offer the new gardener a very good chance at a
successful harvest regardless of their experience or gardening background:

Summer Squash Maybe they arent the most popular vegetable around,
but part of that zucchinis bad reputation is due to the fact that it is so
reliable and productive in the garden that there is always too much of this
good thing to go around. Look out for squash bugs, plant an early and
late crop, and try growing winter squash varieties for a change of pace.

Leafy Greens Probably the most undervalued plant in the garden. Easy
to grow, nutritious, productive, can be grown in containers and at almost
any time of the year whats not to like about leafy green vegetables? If
you think the answer is flavor then its time to try some home grown kale
thats harvested when young, tender, and after its been sweetened by a
couple fall frosts!

Homegrown Tomatoes Okay, weve covered this one already, but if you
think that you know tomatoes just wait until youve been properly
introduced to a few heirloom varieties Big Rainbow, Pineapple, Black
Cherry, German Johnson Pink, Cherokee Chocolate, Mortgage Lifter,
Yellow Pear, Black Krim, and many, many, other unusual and tasty varieties.

Root Crops Carrots, beets, turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, and salsify are all
pretty easy to grow but do require a little more attention when it come to
preparing the soil to accommodate these deep rooting crops. You will also
need to take special care when sowing the seeds to make sure that the
seedlings dont germinate too thickly and crowd each other out.

Assorted Beans A snap to grow, a chore to harvest, and a pleasure to
eat! And theyre not just green, you can grow pods that are purple, yellow,
pale green, red, and even striped. There are lima beans, runner beans, soya
beans, long beans, fava beans, winged beans, and others that will cover a
raised bed, trellis, or teepee and not make a fuss about it.


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Gourmet Garlic Another underappreciated plant for the home garden. If
you like garlic now, youll love it once you discover how easy it is to grow
and how much better tasting it is than the store bought variety. The secret
is to start with good quality gourmet garlic seed and plant it in the fall if
you garden in a cold weather climate.

Herb Plants Whether youre raising annual herbs like basil, dill, cilantro,
and borage, or perennials such as chives, oregano, rosemary, sweet bay,
and tarragon, youre not going to be happy when you compare how much
was spent in the past on those tiny jars of dried herbs when it is so easy to
harvest your own fresh herbs right from your own yard or patio.

Finicky and Challenging Vegetables for Beginners to Grow
Eventually every gardener wants to branch out and experiment with growing
some of the unusual, uncommon, and more challenging crops for the home
garden. Maybe your confidence has been inspired by the successes of growing
the crops listed above, or maybe you just have a few personal favorites that youd
like to see growing in your back yard.

Dont be deterred from planting and trying new or demanding crops; just be
prepared to encounter a few trials and errors along the way. Here is a list of
slightly more challenging veggies for the home gardener along with a few
suggestions to get them off and growing in the backyard garden.

Broccoli Requires a relatively rich soil and proper timing at seeding and
transplanting to ensure that they mature during the cool periods of your
growing season. Broccoli can be grown as a spring or fall crop but I
typically see the best results from plants that are planned as a fall crop.

Cauliflower Similar growth requirements to broccoli, but cauliflowers
are more temperamental and it can be difficult to coax a quality head out
of them. Some varieties also require the additional effort of tying the
leaves to blanch the heads. Vivid colors such as purple and orange


58
cauliflowers are now finding their way back into gardens and markets.
Grow as a fall vegetable.

Sweet Corn Its not that sweet corn is all that difficult to grow, but it
does require a wide block of territory that may be at a premium in the
backyard garden setting. Unless you have plenty of growing space you
may want to purchase sweet corn at the market and put your garden to
other uses.

Globe Artichokes They said you couldnt grow globe artichokes in
northern climates; well I proved to myself that they were wrong about that
one. I admit it wasnt easy and that artichokes can be frustrating to grow
and difficult to over-winter through northern winters. But they are such an
unusual and attractive plant; that helps make it worth the effort.

Brussels Sprouts A long season crop that is at its best when allowed to
mature during cool autumn days. Timing is critical for the successful
cultivation of this vegetable. Get it wrong and youll raise a fine, tall plant
without a single sprout to show for your efforts.

Melons Both cantaloupes and watermelons can be a challenge to grow
in the home garden, especially in the North. Melons love long hot days
and soil that is on the sandy side. Theyre also space hogs, but home
grown melons are just so superb that eventually you are going to want to
try your hand at growing your own!

Lettuce If you plant lettuce and wind up with tall, bitter stalks instead of
heads of sweet tender leaves dont take it personally. A poor germinator,
this plant is capable of giving even experienced gardeners a headache.
They are spoiled brats and a dry spell or brief heat wave will send lettuce
running to seed long before it has a chance to mature. Keep it watered
and grow during cool seasons, or stick to planting the loose-leaf varieties.


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The Spice of Variety is the Best Seasoning for the Kitchen
Garden

An Unusual Red Tinged Gourmet Spinach Variety

I love to mix things up in the garden. You wont find boring, monotonous, row
after row of the same plants growing here. Instead youll find a group of broccoli
plants growing next to a few fall cabbages, with some fast maturing lettuce,
mustard, or arugula nestled in between until the cabbage and broccoli fill out.

A little further down is a huge cardoon plant in the center of a bed with beet and
carrot seedlings surrounding it. An adjacent raised bed contains heirloom
tomatoes, sweet peppers, and eggplants all sharing one bed since they have
similar growth habits and seasons.


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A square perennial vegetable growing bed plays host to ferny asparagus plants,
gigantic leaves of red rhubarb, blackberries, horseradish, seakale, angelica, and
other permanent residents of the garden.

Youll discover similar patterns throughout the garden with compatible plants
growing elbow to elbow with each other. As long as they are close to the same
height and have comparable care requirements and growth patterns, assorted
plants can mingle and be safely grown in the same vicinity.

To finish off this ornamental and edible smorgasbord there are interesting
textures and splashes of color courtesy of herbs such as dark opal basil,
lemongrass, and Tricolor Sage, along with edible flowers like nasturtiums, borage
and calendulas sprinkled throughout each and every raised bed.

In addition to enhancing the overall appearance of the garden there are other
benefits to mixing things up in the garden. Some plants are classified as good
companions and reputed to improve the growth, health, or flavor of neighboring
plants. Intermixed plantings are also thought to offer some benefit in reducing
insect damage by making it more difficult for bugs to locate their intended
targets.

Another place where the pursuit of variety and diversity will pay off is at the
dinner table where the wide assortment of fruits and vegetables available to the
home gardener will spice up and enliven your familys meals. Theres also new
information coming to light showing recently discovered nutritional elements
associated with uncommon plants and with the unusually colored varieties of
common garden vegetables.

A Selection of Incredible Edibles for the Home Garden
Here is a listing of some of my favorite edible garden varieties. You probably
wont find them growing in the average vegetable plot, but these spectacular,
colorful, and delicious heirlooms and gourmet cultivars are anxious to make an
appearance in your next garden:


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o Royalty Purple Pod Beans
o Heirloom Fish Peppers
o Giant Red Celery
o Genovese Basil
o Rainbow Swiss Chard
o Even Star Ice Bred Arugula
o Christmas Pole Lima Beans
o Georgian Crystal Garlic
o Imperial Star Globe Artichoke
o Magentaspreen Goosefoot
o Lacinato Kale
o Alaska Mix Nasturtium
o Purple de Milpa Tomatillo
o Hollow Crown Parsnips
o Taiwan Black Long Bean
o Romanesco Italia Broccoli
o Black Krim Tomato
o Purple of Sicily Cauliflower
o Kuroda Japanese Carrots
o Yellow Scallop Squash
o Lutz Green Leaf Beets
o Red Giant Mustard
o Purple Hull Pinkeye Cowpeas
o Japanese Climbing Cucumber
o Pink Petiole Mustard
o Thai Long Green Eggplant
o Golden Pineapple Tomato
o Amber Globe Turnips
o Purple Dragon Carrot
o Vit Sweet Mache
o Rembrandt Red Spinach
o Wild Kale Mix
o Reine de Glaces Lettuce
o Mizuna Japanese Mustard
o Spring Mesclun Mix
o French Red Shallots
o Bronze Arrow Lettuce
o Tatsoi Asian Greens
o Rubine Brussels Sprouts
o January King Cabbage
o Scarlet Runner Beans
o Zucchino Rampicante Squash
o Red Marconi Peppers
o Yellow Potato Onion
o Cajun Jewel Okra
o Purple Vienna Kohlrabi
o Georgia Green Collards
o Northern White Garlic
o Rosa Bianca Eggplant
o Pirat Lettuce
o Epazote Herb
o Jersey Wakefield Cabbage

This is just a small sampling of the interesting, colorful, unique, and scrumptious
vegetable varieties that are available from heirloom and gourmet seed suppliers.
Each one may not suit your taste or growing conditions, but the point is that
there are hundreds of different vegetable varieties that you will never find at the
market or the garden center that you can easily grow right in your own backyard!


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6. Following a New Path to Gardening Expertise

Colorful Swiss Chard Growing in the Garden Bed

Soiled Fingers and Green Thumbs; One Always Leads to the
Other
As the title implies, this Veggie Garden Primer eBook is intended to serve as an
introduction offering the information, ideas, and inspiration to get you well on
your way to growing an incredible garden. It does not attempt to cover every
aspect or each specific detail that you will need to cultivate and maintain that
home garden.

There are plenty of great resources that you can turn to for additional advice at
the library, bookstore, and the Web. But you will also need dirt time spent putting


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the ideas and techniques into practice. The best lessons will be learned through
trial and error, and by assessing your experiences and those of other gardeners.

Even master gardeners and professional growers have their share of mistakes and
failures. Some are the gardeners fault, while others are due too conditions that
are unavoidable. Regardless of the cause of the problem there are lessons to be
learned and improvements to be made as a result. Accept the schooling that
nature provides, address the problems, and embrace the next growing season
without doubting your ability to get things right the next time around.

Were never alone in the garden or in the pursuit to improve our gardening skills!
Ive never met a backyard gardener who wasnt eager to lend a helping hand,
offer a tour of their garden, share a cutting from a prized plant, or provide advice
and tips in their special areas of expertise.

There are bound to be individuals, groups, and organizations nearby that will
share their experience and provide additional guidance when you are in need of
assistance or encounter a problem. Neighbors, gardening clubs, master gardener
programs, and local Cooperative Extension Services are a few of the hands on
resources that are just around the corner.

Add to that your own personal experiences which will multiply with each passing
growing season. Over time the gardening will become easier and the successes
and productivity of your garden will continue to increase. Your skills will improve
and your garden will grow better as you build the soil over time and increase its
fertility and health.

More Ideas for Creating and Enjoying a Bountiful Veggie
Garden
Local counties certify master gardeners but no one ever truly masters the art of
gardening, as there are always new lessons to be learned and additional aspects
of gardening to be explored.


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I started out with a couple of common tomato plants and they quickly grew into
a passion for cultivating a variety of vegetables, and later an interest in culinary
herbs and edible flowers.

A Simple but Attractive Leafy Green Kale Plant

After college I discovered and adopted organic gardening techniques and spent a
few years on an organic farm where I delved into raising orchard and cane fruits,
beekeeping, the identification of edible wild plants, and living self-sufficiently.

My recent discoveries and interests have included; cultivating gourmet
mushrooms, composting with earthworms, investigating the medicinal properties
of foods, home-grown nut crops, and foraging for seaweeds and sea vegetables.

There are many new gardening exploits and curiosities on my to-do list, some of
which you may also find yourself pursuing in exotic locations and in ways that
you would never have imagined.


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Youre invited to explore the journal of my gardening experiences and those of
others from various parts of the U.S. and areas around the globe that are
published at http://VeggieGardeningTips.com.

There you will find continuously updated tips and ideas for creating a beautiful
vegetable garden and much more. Stop by to read an article, leave a comment,
ask a question, or share your own tips, photos, and experiences with us.

My latest project consists of an organic gardening mentoring site that will offer
special content and features including more eBooks such as this one, a detailed
lesson plan to develop your gardening skills step-by-step, forums where you can
correspond and share ideas with other gardeners, and other exclusive resources
to help your garden grow.

If you enjoyed reading the Veggie Garden Primer ebook and companion email
series and would like to follow a similar path to delve deeper into the vegetable
gardening, I would encourage you to explore the benefits that having your own
mentor can offer to the future success of your garden. To learn more about this
new membership program click on the following link: http://COREgardening.com.

Digging Deeper to Discover Hidden Garden Treasures
There are so many fascinating discoveries ready to be unearthed out in the
vegetable garden. Dig deep and look closely to discover the Joy, Wonders,
Beauty, and the Hidden Treasures that are waiting for you to explore.

All Good Gardening to You!

Kenny Point

Veggie Garden Primer

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Stressing Needlessly over Insects Visiting the Garden

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