When it comes to growing your own food, it pays to plan ahead of time about how you want to set up your own garden. Poor planning can result in poor plant growth, and you may end up with no vegetables at all, or at the very most, stunted, tasteless food. Before you plant the first seed, there are several steps that you need to complete, and only by planning ahead can you make all parts of your garden work together to improve its overall vitality. Vegetable gardening design can make all the difference between a complete failure and a rousing success at harvest time.

From Blueprints to Growth

Vegetable gardening design encompasses everything from the size of the garden to how long it will take to pick the vegetables as they ripen. First, you need to decide about what size garden you are prepared to take care of, as this will decide how healthy the plants are when it finally comes time to pick them. A good rule of thumb is to grow a garden within the means of what you are willing to take care of as a smaller but well cared for garden is much more rewarding than a larger, neglected garden. As such, deciding the size of the garden is the first step of vegetable gardening design.

At the same time, you also need to decide what style of garden you wish to cultivate in vegetable gardening design. One of the more popular gardening styles is French vegetable gardening, and you will be able to grow more vegetables in the same size plot. However, there are many different types of styles to choose from, and you also need to decide what types of plants you want to grow. All of these decisions need to be taken into consideration before you plant the first seed, and once you've made the decisions, you can finally start designing vegetable gardens.

Even with all of the steps of vegetable gardening design finished, you will still need to prepare the soil for vegetation. Aeration of the soil will allow more oxygen to reach plants, and fertilizers like compost or manure can provide greatly needed nutrients for the plants to grow strong and robust. Consider starting your own compost piles or bins if you haven't already, and you can fill them up with materials like grass clippings or excess food that you would just end up throwing away anyway. With vegetable gardening design and preparation complete, you can finally plant the seeds, and in a few months, you will have a fantastic, plentiful harvest.