Growing My Own Vegetable Garden

We finally managed to grow our own vegetables in our garden.

After doing researches in the internet as well as visiting our local garden store at Stodels, I am very happy with the results.
Here I will share with you the secrets of how we plan, organize and plant the vegetables.

1) Choosing a site
Remember you need to choose a place where it will receive lots of sun (preferably at least 8 hours of sun per day).

2) Preparing the soil
Heavy clay soils are fairly rich in nutrients but very poor in aeration and drainage. Add builder’s sand or sandy loam soil to help plants grow better. An ideal garden soil will contain at least 20% organic matter to improve aeration and drainage as well as to hold nutrients until plants can use them. You can add sawdust, barkdust, manure or compost (You can make your own compost if you want, we made ours). Dig "square holes" for your veges but remember to leave enough space in between the squares for you to walk and to harvest the vegetables when they are ready.


3) Planting
You then have two choices of planting. Seeds or seedlings. We chose the seedlings option. Vegetables are often grown in rows. This makes it easier to hoe weeds. However, a small area can be used much more efficiently if plants are planted in groups.
Before you decide which vege to put next to which vege, you need to read up about companion planting. Companion planting is a practice used to help deter pests and encourage healthier plants in the veggie garden.

4) Watering
Vegetables need a constant supply of water. The best time to water is in the morning so plant leaves dry off quickly. Never water late in the evening so leaves are wet overnight. The most efficient watering system is drip irrigation. It puts the water directly in the soil where it is needed and keeps the tops dry so there are less disease problems.

5) Natural Insect Repellant
There are also several natural ways you can do to repel insects. Eg. I plant marigold on my vege garden.  Annual Marigolds can be used anywhere to deter  bean beetles, squash bug, tomato hornworms, and flies.

This is the result of our vegetable garden. We currently lettuces, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, chives, spring onions, carrots and celery.

My Vege Garden

Marigolds that still need to be planted amongst the veges