by Jennifer Lim

Created on: February 03, 2009   Last Updated: February 23, 2009

Would you like to grow your own vegetables? There are lots of advantages in growing your own vegetables. Firstly, you can choose to grow your favourite vegetables like tomato, green beans or salad leaves. Secondly, you can be sure that your vegetable is fresh without any chemicals and pesticides. Thirdly, your grocery expenses will be reduced as you do not have to buy vegetables from the shop.

Perhaps you may think that growing vegetables could be an expensive affair. Well, the harvest outweighs the money spent on seeds and young plants.

It is not difficult to embark into vegetable gardening and let me share with you my experience on vegetable gardening. Gardening has never played any part in most of my adult life. Since I have started my first vegetable plot, I have never looked back.

1. Find an area in your garden which you would like to grow your favourite vegetables. The plot size will also depend on the types of vegetables you want to grow. For example, you would need a bigger area to grow cabbage and broccoli.

However, if space is a constraint, you can grow vegetables in containers, wooden box or even strong bags.

2. What kind of vegetable should you start growing? I love herbs, so my first vegetable was coriander. I bought a coriander starter kit, which contain coriander seeds and a seed tray of soil. So grow your favourite vegetable first.

3. Seeds need to be propagated in a warm environment. Hence, propagate seeds indoor away from cold wind if you live in temperate climate. Propagating seeds indoor also prevent birds from eating the seeds.

4. You can also buy young vegetable plants and plant them directly into your vegetable plot. It will be a good idea to protect the young plant from slugs and snails. You can do so by creating a barrier around the young plant. A barrier that is commonly used is a plastic ring cut from a used one litre soft drink bottle.

5. Vegetables need fertilised soil. Sometimes, it is a good idea to grow your vegetables like tomato, cucumber or courgette in a grow bag. A grow bag contains compost soil that provides nutrients to the plant.

6. It is important to read the instructions on the label of the young plants or on the seed packet. The instructions mainly advise you on what should be done at different growing stage.

7. Start with vegetables that grow easily and are easy to maintain. Such vegetables are thyme, rosemary, oregano, tomato, potato, spinach, courgette (zucchini), beans and salad leaves.

8. One of the reason vegetable farms use chemical and pesticide is to prevent pest and insect from destroying their crops. You could stop this pest by growing certain plants nearby. The scent of plants like marigolds, garlic and celery can prevent pests from destroying your plant.

Gardening is very therapeutic. Observing the growth of the plant from a young shoot to full bloom is exhilarating. Growing your own vegetable promote good health. Not only would you get fresh, nutritious vegetables every day, it is also a good form of exercise. Start it now and you will never regret it.

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