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Growing your first vegetable garden

Posted by Marc on 6th Sep 2019

It's getting more and more popular to be self-sustainable and grow your own vegetables. While it might seem like a daunting task at first its actually easier then you would think!

Here are some beginners tips on how to grow your own vegetable garden.

1. Light

Almost all vegetables need a lot of light to grow, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and peppers thrive when they have access to around 8 hours of sunlight a day! Try and find a place in your garden that gets the most sunlight, this might mean you need to move your sun lounger, unfortunately.

2. Size

When deciding where to place your vegetable patch try and keep it small. Vegetables are fairly low maintenance so it’s easy to get carried away.

Try to pick a spot that is 6x8 feet, this will give you enough space to grow a handful of different vegetables.

3. Soil

Healthy soil is the key to healthy vegetables. A soil test can let you know what your soil fertility and PH levels are in your soil. If this test says your soil isn't rich enough, don't panic! There are many fertilisers on the market that can help.

Remember to ask the Oaktree staff what soil you should buy before making a choice, we are here to help!

4. Vegetable Choice

It can be tempting to try and plant everything, we would suggest just picking 4 or 5 vegetables and focus on growing them well.

Trying to compact as many vegetables as possible into one space doesn't work, your vegetables will be smaller with a weaker harvest.

If you want to plant more do it in succession when your spring lettuce is ready to harvest replace it with summer beans.

Planting this way allows you to spread your harvest season for longer and makes maintenance easier.

5. Bugs

You wouldn't think it but most bugs are good for your vegetables! Bees, butterflies, tachinid flies, ladybugs and more boost your crop pollination. To attract these bugs plant-insect friendly plants like sweet alyssum, zinnias, cosmos and sunflower.

6. Feed

It might sound obvious to water, weed and feed your plants but knowing when it is important.

Newly seeded beds will need frequent watering while established crops can get by on one to two inches of water per week. To conserve water and reduce the need to irrigate we suggest mulching your soil with several inches of straw or shredded leaves.

Vegetables like tomatoes, winter squash and eggplant will need a boost over the growing season, use water-soluble organic food to support plant growth and encourage the biggest harvest.

We pride ourselves on our knowledgable staff and gardening experts so make sure to ask us any questions you have while visiting Oaktree Garden Centre.

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