Growing your favorite vegetables can help ensure a ready-made supply for your meals at home. Not only will you save some money off your grocery bill, but you'll likely find yourself eating more nutrient-filled vegetables because they'll be so easy to harvest. You can also make sure you're getting vegetables that haven't been exposed to pesticides or other chemicals. Knowing a little about how and where to plant your garden will help ensure a fun and fruitful harvest.
Know Your Conditions
The nature of your soil, climate and length of growing season are all factors that influence the types of vegetables you can grow and exactly when you should plant them. For example, most vegetable gardens should be in places that get at least six hours of direct sunlight, according to the Iowa State University Extension Office. If your garden plot has some shade, plant cool-season crops, like lettuce and spinach, which can tolerate fewer hours of direct sunlight. Tomatoes are among the plants that need lots of sun. Vegetable garden soil needs to stay moist, so if you don't have much summer rain, either install a drip-line irrigation system or use a garden hose.
Consider the Space
Certain vegetables do well in a limited space. The Iowa State Extension Office recommends a garden that's about 100 square feet, because you don't want the gardening to become a huge burden or have a garden that produces more vegetables than you can consume, preserve, sell or share. If you're working with a small space, either by choice or necessity, choose some vine plants that can grow up and not out, such as tomatoes. You can also plant vining cucumbers and squash.
Pest Control
Part of the appeal of growing your own vegetables is making sure you're not consuming vegetables that have been bombarded with pesticides. But insects are an inevitable part of the process, regardless of where you live. To help control pests in a vegetable-friendly way, weed your garden and plant in an area that drains well. Many insects don't thrive until later in the summer, so if you can get an early start with your planting, go ahead and do so, recommends the Oklahoma State University Extension Service. The extension service also suggests carefully monitoring your garden to look for insects and damage, such as chewing marks on leaves. Many organic pesticides are available, some of which use soaps and oils to keep insects at bay. A nursery should be able to recommend what's best for your area.
Read the Fine Print
Seed packages generally have solid advice for would-be vegetable gardeners, so carefully follow the recommendations about spacing out seedlings, watering and sun exposure. Once you've decided on which vegetables to plant, find the best arrangement, particularly as it relates to shade and root systems. Planting carrots and radishes near each other, for example, is a good idea because radishes will be harvested before the carrots, which need more room to grow, the Iowa State University Extension Office suggests.
Rotate Crops
In larger gardens, rotating crops from season to season helps lower the odds of having disease problems with some of your plants, the Iowa State University Extension Service suggests. Iowa State University also suggests that because some insects lay eggs in the winter near their optimal food source, by changing the location of your plants, you may see a reduction in insect problems.
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