by Mike Walters

Created on: March 15, 2010

If you are preparing to plant your first vegetable garden, then kudos to you. A home vegetable garden is one of the most practical ways to fight many of the problems our society faces today. When you plant your own vegetable garden, you are fighting back against issues such as widespread obesity, increasing food costs in grocery stores, and an impending global food shortage. In short, planting and harvesting a vegetable garden is a great step for the safety and health of you and your family.

Before you drop your begin to dig up your garden spot, there a vital preliminary step you should take in order to insure that your garden grows well and supplies you with a bountiful harvest. First, make sure to choose vegetable seeds that are heirloom seeds, and come from a safe and reputable source. I would not recommend purchasing seeds at your local gardening store, as the vast majority of these seeds have been produced by Monsanto. Monsanto is a US based agricultural biotech company, and they sell 90% of the world’s genetically engineered seeds. These are the seeds you don’t want! A good reputable source for heirloom seeds, the only seeds that you can plant and know exactly what you are going to get, is the Survival Seed Bank. To read more about the difference between heirloom and hybrid seeds, click here to read The differences between hybrid and heirloom tomatoes.

Now, once you have your hands on your good quality, open-pollinated heirloom seeds, you can begin to cultivate your garden spot. Here are the five essential steps to cultivating the ground in order to plant a vegetable garden:

(1) Map out your garden. Well before you start digging in your yard, draw out a detailed plan of where your garden will be located, as well as the size and shape that your garden will take on. It is very important that you plan to grow your vegetables in a spot that will receive at least 6 hours of sunlight per day. Try to pick a spot that drains well after rain, as you want your soil to be moist but not swampy. While drawing your plan, make sure to leave room for areas such as pathways for you to walk in. This way, you can avoid trampling over earth that you have carefully tilled and fluffed up to make it perfect for planting. Also make sure to afford the appropriate amount of total space according to the number of vegetable plants you want to have. The Survival Seed Bank provides enough seeds for a garden that is a full acre.

(2) Determine your soil’s pH. Once

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