Part of the reason for this blog is to inspire people to grow their own fruit and vegetables in their home. It’s a great possibility because it allows you to grow truly natural products that you can eat yourself, sell on or use in meals for your family. It’s also a great way to save money and experience the joys of living off the land. However, to do this, you’ll need to make sure that you are setting up the right way. There are a few important decisions to make here and questions that you’re going to have to answer. Don’t be surprised to get your knees a little dirty as well with some gold old-fashioned DIY. Are you ready to get started?
Redesigning Your Yard
Now, it’s possible that you might actually have a yard that isn’t designed for growing anything at all. A lot of people will find that the patio they thought was a great idea is actually a little bit of a nuisance now. Perhaps that dream seating area is just taking up too much space, or maybe the children’s play area is a little pointless now the kids have moved out. Either way, you may need to change up the garden, redesigning it so that it can be used as a space for growing. You will need to decide what to keep and what to clear out. Clearing out a garden isn’t quite the same as getting rid of items from your home. It’s more difficult with materials that will often be heavy and messy. However, with focus and a commitment, you can complete this job. You can also make things easier with a skip bin hire. Dump all the rubbish you no longer need including garden materials in here, and it can easily be removed for you.
Finding The Right Place To Grow
Once you have cleared out your garden a little, you need to find the right space for growing products like your favorite fruit and veg. There are various choices to consider here, but basically, it’s important to think about what these plants are going to need. If you’re growing veg, you need a sunny, sheltered area of your yard. This could be a space where you used to spend time sunbathing through the summer months.
Ultimately, you will probably be looking for rapid growth with annual veg. For this to occur, you’re going to need a lot of sunlight. As such, you should avoid planting underneath anything that is going to provide too much shade.
What about protecting your new veg from the wind? A lot of seeds like tomatoes and cucumbers simply will not grow if they are hit by too much wind. Bales of straw are an easy, effective solution to this issue and will allow you to protect the veg with something that can quickly be removed when the winds die down later through the year.
Get Weeding
You can not grow fruit and veg if there are lots of weeds around. Ultimately, you want to make sure that the weeds are dealt with effectively. Perennial weeds, in particular, can throw a spanner in the works completely, so you need to grab the roots and make sure that you are completely clearing the area that you plan to grow in. There are many different types of weed and a lot of your time gardening will be spent dealing with this issue. Particularly, if you want what you grow to be completely organic.
One way to help with weeding is to make sure that you cover your area for growing through the spring. You can then keep the soil warm and then grow a few weeks later. You can cover using a plastic sheet which also encourages weeds to germinate. That means they are easy to pull out and clear without any issues at all.
Preparing The Soil
Now let’s think about how to make sure that your soil is ready for growth. Be aware that for most plants, you will need to make sure that the top layer of the soil is well fed and rich in nutrients. Some veg will grow without this being necessary. Carrots, for instance, are fairly flexible with growing environments but other plants are far needier. You’ll need a freely drained area of soil with plenty of organic material mixed in. You need to make sure you have some compost or fertilizer for this job.
When you prepare the soil, you need to make sure that you know what type of soil you have. This will determine the preparation options. For instance, you might be able to see lumps of chalk in which case you have chalk soil. Alternatively, if it feels almost like doe and squishes together, you have clay. There are various tests you can and should do to determine your soil type, but this will give you a basic idea.
What If You Have Terrible Weather?
If you have issues with weather in your area, this can be enough to stop you from even trying to grow. But honestly, it shouldn't because you can invest in growing systems. This is a full kit that will allow you to create an air sealed environment for plant growth. You can install various pieces of kit in it too such as heaters, ventilation, and lighting. Basically, you can create the ultimate environment for growing even if the weather outside is horrendous. Make sure you look at grow tents if you live in an area where the climate makes gardening difficult.
Forget Beauty For Now
Finally, you might be interested in growing veg and fruit in your garden for aesthetic purposes. Unfortunately, your garden probably won’t look very pretty at first. This is particularly true if you are dealing with low amounts of space because you’ll need to focus on easy to grow plants that aren’t that attractive. Don’t worry though because once you dive in you can start growing more interesting, colourful and aesthetically pleasing veg that will make your garden look incredible. It just takes a little time to reach this stage.