Medicinal herbs: growing in the country. Planning a vegetable garden. Organization of space, beds and work
To grow vegetables even in a small area, you do not have to be an experienced gardener. You can easily make a garden and vegetable garden with your own hands, combining them into one whole. To get started, you will need a sunny area, seeds, patience and the desire to grow your own vegetables. You will learn in detail how to properly plan a vegetable garden, select plants and transform the garden with the help of vegetable crops from this article.
Choosing a place for a vegetable garden
Even a 5 × 2 m plot can well be the beginning for your mini-vegetable garden in the garden. The main thing is not the size of the garden, but its location. The place for vegetable plants should be sunny, protected from the wind, away from the road, large trees and shrubs.
Also, do not plan to plant vegetables above the hedge, the shade from the bushes can interfere with the normal development of vegetable crops. You can plant greens here (parsley, dill, cilantro, celery, etc.), but note that greens need at least 3-4 sun rays hours a day. Flowers next to a plot for a vegetable garden won’t hurt at all, and in some cases they will even help with care, but more on that later.
Soil preparation
When you have chosen a place for vegetable crops, check the condition of the soil. For best results, soil pH should be in the range of 6-6.8. Very acidic soil is not favorable for growing plants; in this case, the soil is “treated” every 2-3 years using fertilizers with calcium and magnesium or simply adding ground chalk. If necessary, the area is fertilized with compost.
The selected area is cleared of excess plants and stones. To allow air access, the soil is thoroughly loosened; it is advisable to do this even while the plants are growing.
Vegetable garden design
Depending on your preferences, you can create a modern or classic vegetable garden with your own hands, where the boundaries between plant types are clearly visible. The modern vegetable garden is created more for decorative purposes, but it is also quite capable of producing a harvest, just not in such quantities as a classic vegetable garden with many rows. A beautifully designed decorative vegetable garden, ideal for small plots. If you are interested, we offer several options.
The owner of this garden is apparently tired of destroying weeds from all sides. And he solved this problem in such a miraculous way. We see that the paths around the beds are filled with cement and covered with brick of several shades, but most often gardeners replace the brick with gravel. Before laying the bricks, the vegetable beds were pre-fenced with low boards. Thus, two problems were solved at once - fast-growing weeds would not kill the cultivated plants, and the interesting design improved the vegetable garden and beautified the entire garden.
This shows how easy it is to create a modern garden design. The boxwood bushes around the greenery are cut to 15-20 cm, the wicker fence for enclosing vegetables is quite high, but the ground level there is higher. Around the islands with vegetable crops there is a lawn and garden flowers, and the paths are tiled.
For the most modest area and lawn decoration, a solution like the one in this photo is suitable. A pyramidal garden is constructed using ordinary painted boards; the final “container” is filled with earth and planted with vegetables or herbs.
Please note that tall plants, such as tomatoes or onions, are best planted on the first level. At the highest level of the pyramid, low crops are planted - cabbage or parsley. Also, the pyramid can be sowed with cucumbers, zucchini or strawberries. The width and height of the vegetable pyramid may vary depending on the area of the plot and the expected number of vegetable crops.
The ideas for your vegetable garden are simply endless! Don't have enough space to grow cucumbers? And that's no problem! The vertical vegetable garden picture below can be an excellent alternative to a hedge in your garden or fencing a vegetable garden.
With any design, always remember an important rule - plants should not cause mutual shading, try to minimize this phenomenon.
Seeds or seedlings
Depending on the type of vegetable crop, the optimal solution is selected. Greens are planted by seeds directly into open ground. The same is done with most vegetable seeds (onions, garlic, radishes, carrots, beets, peas, etc.). Seedlings will be the best option for all varieties of peppers, tomatoes and cabbage. Before planting, any seeds are soaked in warm water for an average of 24-48 hours, so the swollen seeds will germinate faster.
Small green seeds (parsley, dill, cilantro, etc.) are sown densely in the garden bed. Larger seeds of carrots, beets, and cucumbers are sown at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other, after germination it will be clear which sprouts are extra. Vegetable seedlings, onions and garlic do not need thinning and are planted at such a distance that in the future the vegetable crops do not interfere with each other.
How to avoid mistakes when planting seeds and seedlings
Planting vegetables correctly
Neighboring vegetables interact both positively and negatively. To get the most benefit from vegetable crops, it is important to properly plan not only the design of the garden, but also the planting of plants. This is due to the chemical communication of plants through the soil, the rate of growth of the root system and plant demand for nutrients.
Some vegetables and herbs will grow better if planted nearby:
- Carrots - onions - salad
- Tomatoes - parsley
- Tomatoes - celery
- Salad - radish - celery
- Cabbage - beans
- Pumpkin - beans
- Cucumbers - dill
- Beetroot - onions, beans
It is better to avoid proximity to other vegetable crops:
- Salad - parsley
- Dill - tomatoes
- Onions and garlic - beans, peas
- Tomatoes - peas
- Cucumbers - tomatoes, potatoes
- Potatoes - tomatoes
- Pumpkin - potatoes, beans.
Bioprotection of vegetable crops
As mentioned above, flowers next to vegetable crops will bring significant benefits. To begin with, garden flowers attract pollinating insects such as bees, butterflies, bumblebees, wasps, moths and even flies. Some vegetables do not need pollination to ripen and bear fruit, such as lettuce, all types of greens and root vegetables. But there are a large number of plants in the garden that require the help of pollinators (tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, peppers, zucchini, etc.).
Of course, you can do without garden plants, but it is known that the more insects visit the garden plot, the more harvest the plants will produce.
The most attractive garden plants for beneficial insects:
- Marigold
- Zinnias
- Asters
- Lavender
- Yarrow
- Sage
- Daisies
Night moths perceive white flowers better, bees - blue and purple, but bees do not see red. Butterflies are attracted to bright flowers in shades of yellow, red and orange.
The second benefit of beautiful flowers is that they repel harmful insects, which will allow you to avoid using chemical pest control products. Below is an example of how some flowering plants exert biological control.
- Calendula - protects plants from nematodes and repels aphids
- Mint - repels ants
- Garlic will prevent the spread of fungal diseases in the soil
- Blooming onions - will not miss vole and aphids
- Catnip - repels aphids
- Nasturtium - attracts aphids, thereby “preventing” pests from attacking other plants
- Pink chamomile will prevent ticks from settling in your area, and white chamomile (pyrethrum) will repel annoying mosquitoes
An ornamental vegetable garden is interesting simply because it is beautiful. But its advantages are not at all limited to external attractiveness. You can name at least 10 more reasons to create just such a vegetable garden on your site!
It can be located next to the porch or at the main entrance to the house, and at the same time it will not spoil the atmosphere of even the most solemn guest days.
Decorative raised beds are much easier to weed, pick vegetables and do other work.
Growing vegetables close to the kitchen greatly reduces the housewife's daily trips deep into the plot for several vegetables for salad or herbs.
Some types of vegetable beds make it easier to dispose of food waste.
Vegetable gardens on dog houses make them warmer in winter and cooler in summer, improving living conditions for dogs.
Mobile beds will allow you to quickly rebuild them, freeing up space for receiving guests, for example.
It is easier to organize drip or regular irrigation near the house.
You can grow decorative flowers and vegetables at the same time, masking the true purpose of the flowerbed.
By combining different types of vegetables or using special containers and beds, you can give decorative beds a sculptural appearance that adds expressiveness to your landscape design.
A compact flowerbed is often the only way to grow vegetables in small built-up areas and in cramped city yards.
But let's move on to the various ways to create garden beds.
Container gardens
This is the easiest way to create a beautiful vegetable garden. Any containers will do; you just need to fill them with suitable soil and plant the desired vegetables or herbs. The advantage of such cultivation of garden crops is their compactness and the ability to install containers anywhere on the site, including along paths, on slopes, on retaining walls, near fences, summer kitchens, etc.
There are several ways to maximize the appeal of container gardens:
- Instead of one long container or pots of different shapes, use several identical ones in a row. This technique gives dynamics to the landscape and uniformity of style. This technique is suitable for vegetable gardens along the facade, fence, paths or along the perimeter of areas.
- Create potted compositions for compactly located vegetable gardens. Combine pots of different sizes and heights that are similar in style, achieving maximum expressiveness.
- Alternate or plant garden plants and decorative flowers in one container at the same time. Remember that soil conditions when planting several plants at the same time must be suitable for each species. But you can simply divide a large container into several zones with partitions or place several durable plastic bags with different types of soil inside.
- If garden plantings are not very expressive, then focus on containers by choosing bright or original models. These can be painted or mosaic pots, multi-level containers, etc.
Geometric vegetable gardens
Divide your garden beds into several segments that form geometric patterns in the designated area. This can be either a combination of strict polygons, circles, or more complex figures, up to ornaments or curvilinear compositions. Plant plants inside each segment so that they, in turn, create expressive compositions. Alternate plantings with different shades of the ground part, plants of different heights.
Such vegetable gardens can exist in the form of ordinary and bulk beds. They are given additional expressiveness by beautiful borders or prestigious fencing materials for high beds (stone, metal). Wooden beds can be decorated with carved elements or paintings. Often such vegetable gardens are decorated with garden sculptures, and beautiful walking paths are arranged between the patterned beds.
Geometric plantings with trimmed hedges in the form of a fence for each segment look solemn. Such vegetable gardens will fit perfectly into a regular landscape style. As a living fence, you can use dense plantings of flowers, curly parsley, thin-leaved or rejected tagetes.
Pizza Garden
This original type of garden allows you to grow the most popular vegetables and herbs near your home in any sunny area. The decorative appearance of the plantings is given by the round shape of the garden with a diameter of 2 meters, divided into several segments for vegetables of different types.
As a rule, the vegetables necessary for making pizza (tomatoes, bell peppers, basil, parsley, eggplants) are grown in such flower beds, which is why it got its name.
Vegetable gardens on dog houses
Both flat and pitched roofs of booths can be adapted for garden plantings. An undoubted advantage is that these mini-vegetable gardens do not require additional space on the site. And pets automatically receive a more comfortable room, since the roof does not overheat in the summer, and in the winter a layer of soil prevents it from cooling too much.In the booths you can grow any plants with a shallow root system. Depending on the location of the booth in the yard, sun-loving or shade-loving types of greens, berries or vegetables are chosen accordingly. As with any ornamental garden, you can combine edible plants with flowers.
When creating a vegetable garden on the roof of a booth, do not forget about a layer of waterproofing before filling in the drainage and soil, so that the plank roof does not get wet and is not subject to subsequent rotting. Along the edge of the roof you can plant hanging strawberries or tomatoes that will hang along the walls of the booth. To do this, the sides must be deep enough for normal development of the root system.
Sculpted vegetable gardens
One of the most effective ways to make a vegetable garden beautiful is to give it a sculptural shape. This can be achieved in different ways:Create a multi-tiered potted arrangement by arranging the pots vertically from largest to smallest. It is better to use containers of the same shape.
Use a high bed with several tiers of plantings or create a composition of several beds with sides of different heights.
Build a spiral-shaped bed from stone, brick, concrete or bottles with walls gradually rising towards the center.
Plant low plants in one beautifully shaped bed with hanging ones on a garden obelisk located in the center.
Plant garden plants in the bowl of a garden fountain or in a decorative well.
Complement matching garden sculptures with standing or hanging containers of herbs or vegetables.
Keyhole Garden
A round raised bed with a compost bin in the center is the essence of the “keyhole”. A beautiful fence makes the garden bed look very presentable, and the presence of a compost bin makes it easy to dispose of kitchen waste. This is another type of decorative planting that is convenient to place near the kitchen.
The vegetable garden got its name because of the peculiar view from above, in which a round compost bin on top and a triangular path to it make the garden look like a classic well for a mechanical lock.
To give such a garden a more picturesque look, decorative flowers are planted around the perimeter. You can also make double walls of the fence or place containers with flowers on a high border, so as not to select compatible garden and flower crops.
Vertical gardens
Growing more vegetables in a smaller area is the main advantage of vertical planting. For such vegetable gardens, you can use building walls and fences, multi-tiered retaining walls, or specially constructed supports for containers of various types.
In vertical gardens, you can grow both climbing plants and ordinary garden crops in containers of any kind. Container plants, in turn, can be grown either traditionally in the ground or hydroponically in nutrient solutions. Using such plantings as garden screens, you can simultaneously shade an area for recreation or children’s games.
Mobile vegetable gardens
The advantages include the following:- Vegetable gardens on wheels make it easy to move seasonal crops closer to the outer edge or transport the bed to the kitchen during canning season.
- If plants in a small area do not have enough sun, then mobile beds will allow you to move the garden to a lighted place during the day.
- If necessary, you can move the beds closer together, freeing up space for a family celebration or repair work, and when weeding or watering, the beds can be conveniently moved apart to allow passage between them.
- The combination of garden plants and flowers allows you to create very picturesque compositions.
Arched vegetable gardens
Arches are one of the most favorite elements of garden forms. And arches with garden crops are also a useful element of the site. The most beautiful are high arches, which can be installed along paths, and wide ones - in the form of a canopy over different areas, replacing gazebos or pergolas. They are used for growing climbing plants, garden crops with long vines that are tied to supports, as well as for planting in containers that can be hung from the inside of the arch to the upper rods.
Low arches allow you to decorate high beds with hanging plants. Such arches are fixed on two adjacent beds, positioning them so that both sides of the arch are sufficiently illuminated by the sun.
A variation of arched vegetable gardens are hut-type plantings created by two straight supports converging at the top. For gardeners, this option may be even more convenient, since all large vegetables usually hang down from inside the hut, and it is convenient to collect them, tie them up or pack them in covers to protect them from birds and insects.
For dense plantings, you can use cheaper frames made of plastic, aluminum or metal pipes and profiles, as well as timber or branches. If the vegetable garden is located in a recreation area or on a path in front of the main entrance to the house, it is better to install an openwork wooden structure or a beautiful wrought iron arch.
Integrated vegetable gardens
Beautiful raised beds are good in themselves, but they are even more impressive when integrated with other structures and made in the same style. Most often, such plantings are combined with garden benches, placing a bench on the sides or behind the back, as well as connecting several benches located at an angle or the letter P.
Another common option is to integrate with a deck or porch enclosure or combine it with an outdoor deck deck. Such designs improve the appearance of both the plantings and the structures with which they are combined if the same material is used for them.
- tomatoes with peppers and basil,
- cucumbers with cabbage, onions, dill and salad,
- cabbage with tomatoes and mint, strawberries - with parsley, tomatoes and peas,
- corn with tomatoes and salad,
- beets with cucumbers and onions,
- potatoes with beans and radishes.
You can independently select combinations of vegetables and herbs for your garden beds, based on mutual compatibility. The diagram below shows successful, acceptable and not recommended combinations of various garden crops with each other.
Usually shyly placed away from recreation areas, a decorative, well-kept vegetable garden is quite worthy of occupying a prestigious place in the courtyard of a house, making it easier to care for the most popular crops near the kitchen area.
For an indigenous inhabitant of rural areas, the question of the need and benefits of a vegetable garden does not arise at all - a vegetable garden is absolutely necessary, since the family feeds from it. But even in the case when growing vegetables, herbs and fruits is not a prerequisite for the survival of a family, the benefits of a vegetable garden are simply enormous.
1. Do you want to eat natural? Get busy with your garden beds!
First of all, a vegetable garden is attractive because your family gets the opportunity to eat organic products. No certificates will give you as much confidence in the quality of vegetables as your own knowledge of what they were watered and fertilized with. It is no secret that today there is a huge amount of products on the markets that are not just questionable, but downright dangerous for food consumption. In pursuit of profit, unscrupulous vegetable producers stuff their products with a fantastic amount of fertilizers that are dangerous to human health, just to sell early produce at a higher price. Such vegetables can cause irreparable harm to the health of your family.
To be honest, you can only gain complete confidence in the quality of green products by growing your own vegetables. Your garden solves this problem.
2. Not only on the table, but also in your wallet.
Once you start seriously working on your own garden, you will very soon discover that confidence in the quality of food is far from the only advantage that “digging in the ground” gives. Soon you will begin to have surplus products that can be sold profitably, providing the family with another source of income. Moreover, you don’t have to go to the market to do this - there are modern, much more convenient methods for selling products.
Russian vegetables can be sold by you online. For example, the portal “From the Garden” allows you to sell everything that is grown in Russian gardens. Detailed instructions will help you correctly place your offers on the portal and sell goods. Using the resource is completely free.
3. In unity with nature.
Finally, speaking about the benefits of our own garden, we must not forget that this activity gives us irreplaceable communication with nature. Time doesn’t always allow you to get out into the forest or to the river, and sometimes you simply don’t have the strength or desire. But if you have your own garden, you will in any case carry out certain work there. In order to touch nature, you don’t have to go far - you just need to leave the house, and here it is - your garden.
This pastime is no less important for children. By observing the growth of plants and the life of small inhabitants of the garden - insects, beetles, worms - the child will comprehend the ABC of proper communication with nature and learn the value of the grown crop. No books can replace such a natural school.
Home gardening is a good option for those who want to grow their own vegetables and fruits. Yes, initially you will need to put in a lot of work to grow everything well. But then you will receive a worthy reward for your work. You will no longer have to take out loans to feed your family, because you will get decent food from your own garden.
Benefit from your own estate
Prices in stores amaze many, especially their unprecedented growth. It is becoming increasingly difficult for an ordinary person to feed his family. Everything will change if you start working in your own garden. Then you won’t need a loan on the card at all. And it’s even better if you have a garden next to your house.
Then in spring and summer you will have your own cherries, apples, and apricots. You will only need an online loan to start creating your own business selling fruits and vegetables that city residents will be happy to buy from you. It’s no secret that you can make very decent money by selling fresh products from your farm, which will be enough for you to buy an apartment and a car in the future.
Health is most important to us
Fresh fruits and vegetables are a guarantee that you will never get sick, and your diet will always be full of healthy food. You won’t need an online loan, because what you grow in your garden will cost much less than purchased products.
In addition, think about it, purchased products are often grown in an unknown place. It's good if you know the country of origin. Fruits and vegetables are often brought to us from Israel, but where is the guarantee that they do not contain harmful additives? And Chinese fruits and vegetables are generally grown in fields densely sown with mineral fertilizers. With all these products, you risk ruining your health, and you will have to take out online loans on your card in order to somehow pay off doctors and pay for medications.
To start growing vegetables and fruits yourself, you won't need much. Perhaps you have a dacha or vegetable garden that you inherited from your grandparents. Then you won’t even have to take out loans online on a card to buy a plot of land. You can set up a small garden in your apartment, then your growing costs will be minimal.
An apple or raspberry grown on your own plot is the secret to your longevity and health. So that you don’t have to often take out loans on a card online, grow everything yourself. You may have to put in more work at the beginning, but the result will please you. And if you grow a lot of fruits and vegetables, you can sell them, and then online money will come to your card quickly. Do not miss your chance.
See also:When garlic, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and lemon live on your window, their variety of colors makes you happy and relieves stress. In addition, they not only make us happy, but are also good for the stomach, which means, in addition to moral well-being, they also give us health. It doesn’t even occur to many that, for example, if garlic grows in large quantities in your apartment all year round, your family will forget what the flu is.
In winter, I really want to work with plants, grow something for myself and friends. This can be done in a classroom on a windowsill.
Growing vegetables in the classroom or at home, perhaps not for 4-5 months, as in the country, but all year round. After all, an apartment or a classroom is not open ground or a greenhouse, but a 100 percent greenhouse. Building a vegetable garden on a windowsill is quite simple.
Bulb onions. It can be grown on a window in jars filled with water. But it is better to grow it in boxes with soil, which should be loosened from time to time and regularly watered abundantly.
Garlic. The head is divided into cloves and planted in a box in the soil. Larger cloves produce faster shoots. The difference is approximately 8-10 days. Water as the soil dries out. The leaves, which are very rich in vitamins, are eaten.
1. Growing container. You can get by with a free 5-6 liter mineral water bottle, flower pots or purchased containers. The main thing is that the container has holes in the bottom and a capacity of 5 to 10 liters. We pour soil from the garden or a purchased soil mixture inside, plant 15 cloves of garlic or a dozen peeled onions there, slightly inserting them into the ground.
2. Soil. Soil composition for growing seedlings and plants in pots: 10% humus, 80% garden soil, 10% sand. It is useful to disinfect the soil for planting: freeze it outside in winter, or pour boiling water over it, or steam it. (We spilled boiling water)
3. Features. There are several significant features of growing vegetables on or near a windowsill. So, if the air temperature in your apartment is 23°C, then on the window sill near the glass there will be only 17°C. And this temperature is the minimum for the growth of vegetables. And if the room temperature is 18°C, then on the windowsill it is 12°C, in such conditions there will be no growth and the roots will rot. Therefore, cover the container from the window with a layer of newspapers, magazines or film attached with thumbtacks to a wooden frame. If the window sill is cold, then place wooden slats 15 cm thick under the containers.
4. Care. Further care consists of watering and lighting for several hours every day.
Plants in containers require more frequent watering. Make sure to always keep the top layer of soil slightly moist.
5. Harvest. There is no need to wait for the greens in containers to reach the usual size as those grown in a real garden; we have read that this will not happen in such conditions. Therefore, when the greens grow to 5-7 cm, you can begin to harvest by cutting off the greens at ground level.
