If you thought that starting a vegetable garden was as simple as buying a few seeds from the nursery, sprinkling them onto the soil, and then hoping for the best, you are unfortunately terribly misinformed. When setting out to create a vegetable patch in your garden, you will soon discover that before you even think about taking a trip to the nursery, a good deal of preparation is required to ensure that your vegetable garden has good, firm foundations. In this blog post, we will look at the vital steps that need to be followed in the preparation stages of creating a vegetable garden.

Clear the Debris

Once you have decided on an area, mark out the area with wooden sticks, stones or rope. Make sure the area is large enough for what you would like to grow. Some vegetables need more space than others, so it’s important to give this some thought. Now that you have your area, it’s time to clear the debris. Remove any debris in the form of leaves, sticks, stones, roots and weeds. Make sure the soil is clear of anything that could affect the growth of your veggies.

Prepare the Soil

A rake. A hose. Patience. These are the three things needed to prepare your soil well. As mentioned in our first post, soil preparation is at least a three week process. Hence the patience! Rake your soil often to loosen and aerate. Water the patch every few days to keep the soil moist and fertile. Throughout this process, continue to clear any debris which may surfaced.

Create the Compost

There are a few options one could look into with regards to acquiring compost for your soil. The easiest, but most expensive, option is of course to purchase a bag or two from the nursery. However, it is very easy and more affordable to make your own.

There are two forms of composting. The first, and older way is to create a compost pile/heap in your garden onto which you throw all your food scraps. The pile needs to be turned every so often and sprinkled with water. The bacteria thrives in the moisture, creating high heat, which breaks down the raw organic materials into a dark, rich, soil-like product which acts as a super nutritional source of compost for your veggies and herbs.

The second, and more modern way of composting is called worm farming. This involves either purchasing a worm farm from a supplier such as Worms Galore or building your own contraption in which the worms do the work! As with the compost pile, you toss all your food scraps including egg shells, stale bread and even your junk mail! Yes, you heard right, junk mail. The worms then decompose the scraps, leaving behind the vermicompost for you to harvest. Additionally, the farm produces worm tea which can be diluted with water and used for vegetables, herbs, pots and flowerbeds.

If you are thinking about creating a vegetable patch and have any queries, please post them below. Alternatively, if you are a green fingers expert and would like to add your tips, please feel free to do so. Don’t forget to check out our vegetable garden when you’re next at Life Café!