How To Plan for an Organic Vegetable Garden

Before you run out and start purchasing your seeds for your organic vegetable garden there   are a few things you need to make a decision on. Planning before starting is always a great idea when gardening if you want to get the best results. Below you will find a few steps on how to start planning your garden so that by the time planting season starts, you’ll be an expert ready to go.

What Should You Plant?

The first order of business is considering what you’re going to plant. There are plenty of vegetables to choose from but you want to select types that you will actually get use out of. Some ideas to help out would be to ask yourself what types of veggies your family eats most, which vegetables are most expensive to purchase in the grocery store, or which vegetables are easiest maintenance to grow.

What Season Will You Plant?

There are different seasons for different vegetables. Now that you have a list of vegetables you’d like to grow you need to sort them in order of the season they grow in.
What type of Garden Will You Have?

Next on the list of planning for your organic vegetable garden is determining the type or style of garden you want to have. Are you going to use beds? If so, are any of them raised? Keep in mind that there are some organic plants that grow better off the ground. You can add in a few herbs here and there for variety and use. If you’re growing things such as pumpkins or watermelons they are going to need a lot of room so be sure that you’ve planned for that as well.

Companion Planting

Not many beginner gardeners are aware that there are certain plants that grow well together and others that do not. It is important that when designing your organic vegetable garden that you are aware of the ones that should be kept apart. Herbs and flowers such as marigolds and nasturtiums make great companions.

Start Planting

Once you’ve completed that, all that is left to do is begin planting. Once you’ve placed your seeds down you want to fertilize and mulch your beds. For those who purchased organic soil, there is no need for fertilizer as the soil is rich enough. If you’re not sure about the soil type, do a soil test by keeping an eye on your plants. If plants become yellow this may mean that the soil has too much or not enough of a particular nutrient.

A final word of caution is to pay attention to the surrounding wildlife. While some animals can do wonders for a vegetable garden, many of them can damage it beyond words. Chickens are great as they eat the bugs eliminating the need for pesticides. However, animals such as rabbits or deer can cause havoc on a garden in a matter of minutes. You can easily research natural remedies to keeping the animals out of your garden. Many of them are inexpensive but work very well.