Vegetable Gardening For Beginners
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| 303 North Saddle Creek Road Omaha, NE 68131 (402) 558-5900 |
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Vegetable Gardening – Let’s Get Started
1) Select a spot that receives sun all day long.
2) Spread 2” of organic matter over entire area. (compost, peat moss, or manure)
3) Use a rototiller or garden spade to loosen and mix soil 6” deep.
4) Rake smooth
5) You are ready to plant.
The Very Basics
Here are some very basic concepts on topics you'll want to explore further as you become a vegetable gardener extraordinaire:
Deciding How Big
A good-sized beginner vegetable garden is 10 x 16 feet, and features crops that are easy to grow. A plot this size, planted as suggested
below, can feed a family of four for one summer, with a little extra for canning and freezing (or giving away). Adjust proportionately to your
family size, don't be afraid to do less than prescribed here, and feel free to adjust quantities to what your family is likely to enjoy eating! If you
think you can manage more than what's listed here, consider a couple of large containers with some extras that will be easy to maintain.
Cherry tomatoes are a great choice for a container and are very easy. Vegetables that may yield more than one crop per season are beans,
beets, carrots, cabbage, kohlrabi, lettuce, radishes, spinach and turnips. To plan for a second crop, check the days to maturity on seed
packets. For the plan below, your rows should run north and south to take full advantage of the sun. Make your garden eleven rows of 10-feet
each of the following:
Leave two feet between tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, zucchini, bush beans, and one foot between all the rest.
1) Select a spot that receives sun all day long.
2) Spread 2” of organic matter over entire area. (compost, peat moss, or manure)
3) Use a rototiller or garden spade to loosen and mix soil 6” deep.
4) Rake smooth
5) You are ready to plant.
The Very Basics
Here are some very basic concepts on topics you'll want to explore further as you become a vegetable gardener extraordinaire:
- Vegetables love the sun. They require six hours (continuous, if possible) of sunlight each day, at least.
- Vegetables must have good, loamy, well-drained soil. Most backyard soil is not perfect and needs a helping hand. Add compost or
peat to enrich soil. - Placement is everything. Like humans, vegetables need proper nutrition. A vegetable garden too near a tree will lose its nutrients to
the tree's greedy root system. On the other hand, a garden close to the house will help discourage rabbits, raccoons, deer, mice, and
opossums from nibbling away your potential harvest. - Vegetables need lots of water. At least one inch of water a week. Locate your garden with ready access to water.
Deciding How Big
A good-sized beginner vegetable garden is 10 x 16 feet, and features crops that are easy to grow. A plot this size, planted as suggested
below, can feed a family of four for one summer, with a little extra for canning and freezing (or giving away). Adjust proportionately to your
family size, don't be afraid to do less than prescribed here, and feel free to adjust quantities to what your family is likely to enjoy eating! If you
think you can manage more than what's listed here, consider a couple of large containers with some extras that will be easy to maintain.
Cherry tomatoes are a great choice for a container and are very easy. Vegetables that may yield more than one crop per season are beans,
beets, carrots, cabbage, kohlrabi, lettuce, radishes, spinach and turnips. To plan for a second crop, check the days to maturity on seed
packets. For the plan below, your rows should run north and south to take full advantage of the sun. Make your garden eleven rows of 10-feet
each of the following:
- Tomatoes -- 5 plants staked
- Zucchini squash -- 2 hills
- Cucumbers – 2 hills
- Peppers -- 6 plants
- Cabbage
- Bush Beans
- Lettuce, leaf and/or Bibb
- Beets
- Carrots
- Chard
- Radish
- Marigolds to discourage rabbits!
Leave two feet between tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, zucchini, bush beans, and one foot between all the rest.
