From Associated Content, by Vonda Sines:
Organic vegetables have a wonderful, healthy taste. If you would love to grow your own, here are some helpful tips to do just that.
When tempted to compare your first organic vegetable garden to your neighbor's past extravaganzas, don't. It's better to do a good job on a small space with a few types of organic vegetables than risk becoming overwhelmed.
How to Get Started
The Farmers Almanac 2010 advises starting by picking the size of your vegetable garden. The ideal for a beginner is 10-by-16 feet. For a smaller space, use fewer plants or shorter rows. Plots running north and south for sun are ideal.
Next, choose easy-to-grow organic vegetables. OrganicGardenTips suggests that your taste buds will love natural vegetables such as tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, peas and peppers. Container gardens are great for small areas. Generally, you'll want to put plants with a similar pH together.
Companion planting is one theory of organic vegetable gardening. It allows you to work with nature instead of against it. The idea is that some dissimilar plants have developed symbiotic relationships and help each other survive. Such a relationship exists between carrots and tomatoes.
Vegetables need ammonia, a combination of nitrogen combined with hydrogen, to grow. If you plant legumes such as beans and peas near nitrogen lovers such as broccoli and kale, you'll have an ideal arrangement.
Tools and Clothing
Beginning vegetable gardeners need only basic tools: shovel, trowel, steel rake, cages if you're planting tomatoes, plant containers if you're using them, and a watering hose or can. You'll need a shovel to till or move the soil and to cut the biggest weeds in your plot. A trowel is perfect to transplant seedlings, manipulate small amounts of soil and tackle small weeds. Use a rake to grade and compact the soil.
For gardening clothes, remember that you're going to get dirty, even muddy. You'll also want to cover up for protection against the sun and any insects. Gloves will protect your hands and fingernails. You need a pair of old shoes used just for gardening. Keeping clothes and shoes in a bag in the garage or a storage area is a real time-saver.
Prepping the Plot
According to the BackyardGardener, the most important elements for any vegetable garden are sunshine and water. The best plot gets six to eight hours of daily summer sunlight. Use high-quality organic soil with lots of compost, particularly if you have a container garden or raised beds. Consider starting a future compost bin in your yard, or a compost pail in your kitchen. This year, buy your compost and mix it with organic soil.
Start preparing your plot in early spring when you can easily dig without getting muddy. Make sure no tree roots are encroaching, then remove all grass and mark a border. If you have pets, a small fence around the perimeter is useful.
Dig the soil to loosen any clumps and allow air to enter. You'll need to go at least a foot deep using a rototiller or shovel, then a rake to smooth the soil.
Once you've drawn a diagram of where you want to grow your vegetables and have purchased your seeds and supplies, you'll be ready to plant.
Planting and Maintenance
Dig a depression for each plant, then add water so that the soil is moist at least 1 inch deep. Water again whenever the soil appears dry on top. You can add pine needles or old newspapers around your plants to help retain water. During the hottest temperatures, you might need to water daily.
Organic fertilizers come in several types, such as microbial growth promoters. They're made from things such as bat guano and fish meal. All packages show how much nitrogen, phosphorous and potash the product has. Beginners should consult a garden center that carries organic items for help in choosing the right fertilizer and when to use it.
Weeds are a fact of life when it comes to vegetable gardens. Many experts suggest pulling, but never spraying, them. Hunt for these trespassers every few days.
Pests are far less of a problem in an organic vegetable garden than in a standard plot. Plants thrive in organic soil and compost and are often able to fight off pests on their own. If yours need help, however, you'll want to purchase organic bug killers such as Orange Guard or Milky Spore for Japanese beetles.
Now it's time to get to work and enjoy your new organic vegetable garden.
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