VEGGIE GARDENS
Having your own veggie garden is extremely rewarding. Not only do you have fresh veggies on hand, but you will also find the entire process relaxing and rewarding.
The first step to take when toying with the idea of starting your own veggie garden is to plan your garden. Where will you lay it out? How big do you want it to be? Which veggies do you want to grow? You need to do your research!
You should draw up a design for your veggie garden layout; preferably to scale. When deciding on where to situate your veggie garden you should consider an area that receives 5 to 8 hours of direct sunlight and which is protected from frost and wind. The soil should be fertile and have proper draining. Furthermore, your veggie garden should be close to your home, for easy access, and it should be close to a water source, such as a tap or even an irrigation system.
Your veggie garden beds should be accessible from all sides, so it is advisable to plant in beds measuring 2 meters in length and 1 meter in width.
Finally, you should carefully select the types of veggies you would like to plant. For a beginner, these veggies should be hardy and resistant to pests and diseases. Therefore, it would be wise initially not to plant veggies such as peppers (capsicums), eggfruit, potatoes and tomatoes. A safer choice would be radishes, spinach, beans, peas and beetroot.
Make sure you research each species properly, so that you will know when to sow or plant, when to harvest, and the like.
When planting your vegetable plants, you should water them thoroughly while they are still in their nursery trays to ensure that the roots are entirely wet. You should also gently loosen the roots to ensure optimum growth potential. Another helpful tip is to our a little bone meal into the holes, before planting your veggies.
Veggie gardens are not just functional, but can be decorative too and form part of your over-all garden design and lay-out. You can demarcate the various areas of your little veggie garden with stepping stones, cobble edging and strips of pebbles, gravel of quartzite rocks. You can border the entire veggie garden with neatly trimmed hedges – such as a viburnum or buxus hedge – and you can construct a pergola over the area, which will still allow enough sunlight and rain water through.
Once you have planted your veggie seedlings or sown your seeds, you should water them properly during the first week or so. After that time, you should only water them when the top layer of about 3cm’s of soil is dried out.
Applying a layer of mulch over your veggie beds, will retain moisture in the soil and protect your veggies against weeds, pests and the harsher elements.
If you want your veggie garden to produce optimally, you should mix organic fertilizer into the soil, once a month during summer. During winter 2 or 3 times will suffice.
Pruning away dead leaves and flowers regularly will also ensure the most favourable growth for your veggies.
The landscaping experts at Kingfisher Landscaping design and implement exceptional and beautiful gardens in a professional manner and can provide the home owner with any exterior decorative feature. We pride ourselves in providing our clients with excellent, efficient and comprehensive service. We offer all the products and services associated with creating a peaceful, and aesthetically pleasing outdoor living space which will complement the style of your home and in which you can relax.
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