A food garden, or vegetable garden, is an area devoted solely to growing food. This could be a patch of land or pots in a yard if space is more limited. You can grow a wide variety of things in a food garden, from tomatoes to potatoes and beans to cucumbers.
Clear the Land
If you are using a patch of soil as a food garden, your first step will be to clear this. Weeds can be harmful to the plants you want, choking them or just taking valuable resources from the soil. Make sure the earth is bare before you start. Next, dig it over. Plants grow better in aerated soil and you will have an easier time planting them.
Choose Your Plants
When you are deciding what plants to grow, research what will go best with the food garden available to you. Think about what will suit the soil type and how much light your patch will get. This ensures you have the best chance of success. If you only have a shady plot, things like kale, beetroot and chard will grow best here.
Practical Ideas
If you can situate your food garden next to a water supply, do. This will save you a lot of time and effort carrying water. Also, a food garden is the perfect reason to have a compost bin. This helps you to get rid of plant waste, such as weeds, and get some compost to make your soil more fertile.
Use Crop Rotation
Crop rotation keeps the soil healthy and helps your plants avoid disease. A typical cycle has four stages, starting with potatoes and tomatoes the first year, root vegetables the next, then peas and broad beans, and, finally, brassicas.
