Growing vegetables can be one of the most rewarding tasks any gardener takes on. Unfortunately, it can also be one of the most difficult tasks. But knowing the following three tips will produce a successful ninety-nine percent of the time. To make sure your vegetable patch has the best chance of delivering big produce, here are three tips on how to look after them.
Start Off With the Best Seeds
The most important thing when it comes to growing vegetables in your vegetable patch is to start off with the best quality seeds. You might think that all seeds are the same as they look almost identical. In fact, the way the seeds are produced can have a major effect on their ability to grow into a big vegetable.
If you choose poorly, you could find nothing grows even if you follow every step to the letter, meaning you will have wasted months of hard work. To find the best seeds, find a seller that specializes in selling high-quality seeds. For example, Happy Valley Seeds offer over 800 varieties of seeds, all of which are open-pollinated and non-GMO, which means they are much more likely to grow into strong, healthy plants.
Protect Plants from Extreme Weather
Once you have put your seeds in the ground, it is time to protect them from anything that can prevent their growth. Whilst your vegetables need to be outside to grow, mother nature could also be the thing that stops them from growing altogether.
It is important to protect your patch from the extreme cold. If your plants are damaged during the colder months, then it could severely hamper their future growth and even stop them from growing altogether. Luckily there are many ways to try and prevent this.
Make sure your plants are watered throughout the winter months. Although you might think watering them might make them colder, wet soil is able to hold heat a lot more efficiently than dry soil. Also, consider covering them with something like a bedsheet to protect them.
Provide Constant Care and Attention
Even when the weather isn’t freezing cold, you’ll still need to give your vegetables constant care and attention throughout the year. From the surface, it might not seem that very much changes on your vegetable patch from day to day. In fact, below the soil roots are constantly growing and seeking out water from the ground. That is why it is so important that you regularly check your vegetable patch has enough water.
Unfortunately, it is often not as simple as going over your patch with a watering can or hose pipe every day. Overwatering your plants can have just as bad an effect on your vegetables as underwatering them. For example, overwatering can reduce the size of the roots of a vegetable as they do not have to travel as far to reach water. This is then likely to have an effect on the size of your finished produce.
Judge whether your vegetables need water by how moist the soil is. If there is still some moisture in the soil, avoid watering them unless the directions on the seed packet tell you otherwise.
Final Thoughts on Your Vegetable Patch
To have a healthy vegetable patch, make sure you start with quality seeds, protect your vegetables from the cold and most of all make sure they receive enough water as they need it. By following these tips you should have a successful vegetable patch.
For more information on growing vegetables, check out my shop page for some great gardening e-book such as the Organic Gardening Book for Beginners!
