It’s simple and rewarding to grow then eat fresh vegetables from your garden even if you’re a beginner. The backyard of your new home offers an opportunity to plant and harvest your vegetables and enjoy the tasty satisfaction of eating something you have nurtured yourself. Homegrown vegetables not only taste better, but they will also save you money, and there’s double satisfaction if you plant what you like to eat.
As an alternative to setting aside space for a traditional vegetable garden or raised garden beds, you can even grow vegetables in pots on your deck or in raised stand-alone planters – whatever suits your outdoor area and lifestyle.
What to plant
Some easy crops to begin with which require little maintenance are lettuce, herbs, courgettes, peas, beans, tomatoes and potatoes.
You can plant in the spring and summer and enjoy these vegetables into autumn.
The salad leaves and herbs can be grown on a cut and come again basis – yielding fresh goodness for months.
Herbs also flourish on the windowsill or in small pots you could place in a sunny spot with easy access to the kitchen so you can pop out and cut some for dinner.
Where to begin
To start you need to prepare the soil, whether it’s in your garden, a raised bed or a pot. As the soil feeds your plants, you need to supplement it with nutrients such as compost and fertiliser products you can buy at any garden centre. To start off, you can get special vegetable soil/planting mix that has essential nutrients.
Beginners may opt for buying seedlings rather than growing their first crops from seeds, but it’s surprising how fast seeds spring up if you have more time and patience to start from scratch. It’s important to follow the instructions for how to plant your seedlings so they are spaced the correct distance apart and in the right place – that will give your vegetables the best chance to thrive.
Sun is an essential element in plant growth, so the location you choose for your vegetables is crucial. Salad leaves and herbs can flourish in a position with more shade. As you will be watering and harvesting your vegetables, remember to plant them where they are easily accessible so you can tend them without stepping on them.
Talk to your Generation Homes New Home Sales Consultant about how to incorporate a vegetable garden at your place.
Then enjoy meals from your healthy harvest.