Developing a vegetable garden for the first time is rather simple if you follow some basic steps. The information below will lead you through a few of the simple procedures of vegetable gardening so that you can have a successful experience.

It might be surprising to many, but there are several benefits of having a home vegetable garden.

BENEFITS OF GARDENING

• Physical Exercise
  
• Save On Your Food Bill
  
• Better Nutrition
  
• Tension Reliever
  
• Creativity
  
• Personal Recognition
  
• Challenge

VEGETABLE GARDEN DEVELOPMENT - STEP BY STEP

SITE LOCATION

• Your garden site should offer at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight.
  
• Avoid placing your garden in a low spot in your landscape.
  
• Locate your garden away from buildings and trees.

SOIL PREPARATION

• Your garden soil should have lots of organic matter content.
  
• Avoid areas of heavy clay content if possible.
  
• Amend your garden soil with organic matter each year.

SOIL TESTING

• Have your garden site tested every two years.
  
• Contact your local Cooperative Extension Service office for test kit
  
• Add lime as indicated with the soil test.
  
• Best time to lime is November/December if possible.
  
• Add garden fertilizer in April with the amount indicated by the soil test.

SEEDING AND TRANSPLANTS

• You can grow quality transplants indoors with proper temperature and light.
  
• Keep the temperature 70-75 degrees
  
• Use a commercial grow light or make your own from a shop light.
  
• Use new seed unless you have heirloom varieties
  
• Soil should be moist but not wet at seeding time.
  
• Create a furrow or hole to drop seed in.
  
• Cover seed and firm the soil.

WATERING

• Vegetable gardens should receive at least 1 inch of water per week.
  
• Don't water over top of the plants.
  
• Avoid watering in the evening.
  
• Use of soaker hoses or trickle irrigation is highly recommended.

MULCHING

• Mulch to control weeds, retain soil moisture and make harvesting easier.
  
• Best material to mulch with is clean straw or even newspapers.
  
• Use of plastic mulch is questionable due to environmental concerns.

FERTILIZER

• Fertilize according to soil test recommendations
  
• 15 pounds per 10000 square feet is a general recommendation.
  
• Additional side dressing is necessary for several fruits and vegetables.

WEED CONTROL

• The use of chemical weed controls is NOT recommended.
  
• Use clean mulch or hand weed to prevent weeds.
  
• Don't let weeds go to seed.

HARVESTING

• Harvest when fruits and vegetables are ripe.
  
• Avoid over ripe fruits and vegetables like beans, corn, cauliflower, cucumbers and squash.