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NATIONAL HOME GARDENING
from:National Home Gardening offers many excellent tips for the gardening enthusiast. Do you prefer your own home grown vegetables to the ones you buy at the supermarket? Here are some National Home Gardening tips on how to have a better vegetable garden. First, decide where you are going to have your vegetable garden. For a healthy, fertile garden, you need a spot that will receive at least six hours of sunlight a day. The best soil is a rich, sandy loam. To increase soil nutrients, add compost or manure. Be sure to put compost under and around your plants. National Home Gardening suggests planting your vegetables in a north to south direction so they receive maximum sunlight.
Your vegetable garden should be on level ground. Leave wide spacing between the rows so you will have room to do the weeding and to harvest your vegetables. It is best to use fresh, new seeds. Old seeds might not germinate properly. You can also start your plants indoors early, and then transplant them to your garden.
If you are a first time vegetable gardener, when you go to the garden centre to buy your seeds, talk to the staff there. They will be glad to give you some expert advice. They might suggest planting different crops that complement each other in order to maximize your crop. That will also give you a greater variety of vegetables.
Plant your vegetable garden close to your house. This will make it easier for you to tend your garden. It will also make it easier for you to step out and pick a few fresh vegetables while you are preparing a meal.
National Home Gardening offers tips on how to save water while you are maintaining your lawn and garden. This is especially important in the hot summer months, when there are often water restrictions. Before you do your watering, keep in mind how much rain has fallen in the preceding week. To do this, keep a measuring container in the yard. Be sure to empty it once a week.
Do your watering early in the morning. This will reduce evaporation and scorching by the sun. Also, it is better to water on a calm day rather than a windy day. This, too, will reduce evaporation.
Position your sprinkler to avoid watering the patio and the driveway. That is wasted water. Water slowly. This avoids run-off, and allows the soil to absorb the water. Check your hose and other watering equipment regularly for leaks and blockages. Collect rainwater from your roof in a rain barrel or other large container. Screen the top to keep insects out.
National Home Gardening makes one more suggestion. Remember, it is the ground that needs the water, not the plants’ leaves.
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