by Mary Griffiths

Created on: April 29, 2009

Save money, eat healthy and most of all have fun! How do you accomplish this? Grow your own vegetable garden. There's nothing like the feeling of pride and satisfaction you feel when you get to eat from your homegrown garden. Spring is the time to start getting your area ready. You'll need to till up the patch of land you are planning to grow on. If you have a large space you may want to use a riding tiller. If it's a small space a walk behind model will do the job. Till up the dirt for the first time. Next mix in some cow manure and if your dirt is particularly hard add some peat moss or even some sand. Till the space up another time. Let the land sit a day or two and till it again until it's nice and fine.

Now it's time to think about planting. Some good plants to start out with might be the following. Tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, green beans and for fun maybe some pumpkins and gourds. You can plant whatever you think your family will enjoy. The package will have directions as to spacing and depth of seed planting.

I like to trench rows the length of the garden and add in some 5-10-5 fertilizer into each row. Mix it in a bit before putting down the seeds. Lay in your seed along the rows and cover lightly. Sometimes the package will say to plant in "hills". This just means to put 5-6 seeds in circle and cover. Space these hills according to the package directions. I find it's best to plant when you know there is rain coming so you won't need to water. The seed should start to sprout in about 10-14 days.

After a couple weeks you'll need to start the weeding process. I use a hand held tiller that is the width of my foot. I space the rows just a bit wider so the machine will fit in between the rows nicely. You will still need to weed up close into the rows, but using this tiller is a great help. Depending on how much rain you get and the air temperature you'll also need to think about watering your garden. It's best to water in the evening so the plants really get the chance to soak in the moisture. If you water at mid-afternoon the water tends to evaporate quickly. I have a well so watering can be problematic. I am lucky though in that I have a pond very near my garden so I can just pump the water out of it. Every 2-3 weeks if at all possible it's good to add some Miracle Grow in while watering. It's not absolutely necessary but it does help.

In about two months you will be able to start harvesting your crop. Try not to pick early in the morning when the plants are still dewy. It seems to damage the leaves. If you have an overabundance tried canning or freezing them. The library or Internet can be helpful with this. Come winter you'll be so grateful for your bounty and you'll realize that all your hard work has really paid off!

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