Setting Up a Vegetable Garden
It Takes Time But It Is Worth It!
Just like any worthy endeavor, setting up a vegetable garden requires some thought and planning. This is especially true if you are in an area where you have not gardened before. There are six pages of information to help you more thoroughly. Both ground gardening and container gardening are addressed. If you are a beginning gardener, start small.

Soil Preparation
If you are doing the lasagna gardening method, you can skip the weeding and tilling, removing rocks, etc. For setting up traditional vegetable gardening, you need to prepare the soil.

Fertilization – Ground Gardening
  • Clear the vegetable garden area of grass, rocks, weeds, etc.
  • Absent a soil test report, apply three to four pounds of fertilizer for every thousand square feet of vegetable garden area.
  • If you have a soil report, follow it carefully. (Note: The best time to enrich your vegetable garden area is in the fall, so that you can have the nutrients absorbed into the soil all winter.)
  • Apply fertilizer and compost after clearing. Water well to dissolve the fertilizer.
  • Wet the soil thoroughly a day before planting your vegetable garden.  (Note: Do not work the soil when it is too wet. Test it. If it does not crumble easily when you touch it using just a slight pressure with your finger, it is too wet.)
  • When treating individual small vegetables like spinach, you need about one tablespoon of fertilizer. Bigger vegetables like cauliflower and broccoli will need about two tablespoons. Work the fertilizer in with a small fork no more than three  inches from the top of the soil. Water.
  • Do not over-apply fertilizer to avoid fertilizer burn. (Note: Do not use fresh or hot manure for your vegetable garden. You need to compost it first.)
Fertilization – Container Gardening
For vegetables in containers, use a timed-release fertilizer. Just sprinkle the beads on the soil. Whenever you water, there will be tiny amounts of nutrients released. Your timed-release fertilizer is good for two to three months. This is also a recommended procedure for soil-less media that are sold without fertilizers. As with regular vegetable gardening, avoid over-fertilizing. If you are using terra cotta containers, you may have some salt build up from fertilizing. Wash the pots with water mixed with a few drops of bleach to remove the buildup.

Mulch
To conserve moisture and thus water, mulch between the vegetable rows. You can use wood chips, garden debris, grass clippings, etc. The mulch will also help control weeds. When using wood chips, remember not to use anything from treated lumber. The toxicity will transfer to your plants and thus to the consumers. Likewise, do not use diseased plants or any garden debris suspected of any infection or toxicity. Hay is not a recommended mulch material as it may be loaded with weed seeds. Black porous fabric is an excellent mulch material. It does not have the disadvantages of black plastic.

Check the other five pages for this topic. They will help you in setting up a vegetable garden that is well worth your effort!

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