Establishing a Home Vegetable Garden

What is a garden?A place set aside for recreation,relaxation and cultivation of plants for beauty and utility.It includes any piece of ground whether a small strip or a larger area .If real effort has been made to take it back from nature by eliminate plants, weeds and cultivate it becomes a beautiful garden. How much does it cost?The more effort you put into it ,the more you are likely to get from it.Justification for the need of a gardern at Home: •it provides us with vegetables that gives us nutritious food. •families save money through growing their own vegetables. •fresh vegetables can made available easily •surplus vegetables can be grown and sold to be a good source of income for the family. •a hobby to enjoy . •people get a real sense of achievement in producing their own vegetables. Challenges in starting a garden: ♠fences are usually essential and are very expensive. ♠vegetables need fertilisers inorganic or organic,pesticides which also need money or livestock to provide with manure. ♠lack of water supply and manpower to maintain moisture. ♠great deal of manual work is needed,time and special attention. Steps in Setting up a Vegetable garden: •choosing the site, •fence it ,acquire garden tools ,clear the site,and •preparing the ground. What to consider when sitting a Vegetable Garden? •permanent water source, •the site should have good soil which is suitable for vegetable growth.Free from rocks and broken bottle pieces,soils without rocks and bottles are easy to work.Deep soils allow roots to freely spread out to promote vegetable growth, •should not be under the trees,houses and easy access to save money, •should be near the kitchen, •wind protection is useful to conserve moisture and plant growth.Plant hedge or line trees to act as wind break, •sunshine should be plenty to promote plant growth ,and •road should be well maintained to easily reach or ferry the produce to the market. Garden location:The ideal place is a level ground with good drainage ,but slopping site can also be used, as terraces can be constructed.Avoid creating low-lying spots at all cost .There are likely to be water logged after heavy rains. Good drainage is essential in vegetable garden ,since no crops will tolerate wet for a very long period except rice and sugarcane.Too much moisture has detrimental effects to the plant growth,because roots need air to function properly.If large area is affected by poor drainage or if the soil is heavy like clay ,it may be necessary to lay on more pipes to lead the water away to the lowest point. Garden layout: There are many methods of laying out a vegerable garden and each has its advantages and disadvantages: ♦Open method is where you dig the whole area ,plant different crops side by side in rows with no demarcated points.This method is very effective where there is a lot of rainfall throughout the year and there is little or no watering is required once the plants are established.Also the method is particularly suitable for level ground or ground with slight slope.Because of conservation cropping it encourages a lot of run off causing a lot of soil erosion and loss of soil nutrients by leaching, ♦Use of plant beds or ridges are often used in areas with well defined season ,each plant bed is for a particular crop.There is a lot of soil disturbance and threat to maintenance of soil nutrients and moisture, ♦Use of permanent plant bed situated within the framework of bricks ,concrete ,asbestos off cuts or treated poles.It is suitable for smaller gardens and garden situated on high slopes .The plants may allow high plant population and reduce soil erosion.To maintain good soil structure no tillage even with a hole is necessary only to pull weeds and use of 40%mulching is suitable to hold ,soil,moisture and fertility.It can discourages other plant seeds because of abandant crop growth, ♦Furrow Irrigation is used in areas where there is a lot of water ,since water is usually directed to flow into the furrows usually from a canal,and ♦Ridges can also be used in abandance of rainfall or water source .The ridges are raised to avoid a lot of water logged to save plants roots for respiration and to grow well. Size of the garden:The garden size can be determined by the family size,amount of land available ,water source ,market and resources that are affordable. Value of the Garden:Provide family with fresh vegetables.Decorative and generates income for the family.Saves money and can be an area of exercising after tedious office work and in the morning and late afternoon after and before a comfortable sleep.Or utilising the open space at our homes to plant valuable crops best for our family's nutritional and decorative needs.