A good-size beginner vegetable garden is 10×16 feet; this is a easy to mange size garden that will still produce plenty of vegetables. You can plant in the normal vegetable garden style, in the ground or you can opt for raised beds or square foot garden techniques.

photo credit: thebittenword.com

A plot this size, planted with the vegetables below, can feed a family of four for one summer. There will also be a little extra for canning and freezing or giving away.

There are vegetables that may yield more than one crop per season. These are beans, beets, carrots, cabbage, kohlrabi, lettuce, radishes, rutabagas, spinach and turnips. For the plan below, your rows or raised beds should run north and south to take full advantage of the sun.

Garden plan

Make your garden 11 rows of 10 feet each or use 2 to 3 raised beds. Plant the following vegetables:

Tomatoes — 5 plants staked

Zucchini squash — 4 plants or two of zucchini and tow other squash varieties

Peppers — 6 plants

Cabbage

Bush beans

Beets

Carrots

Chard

Lettuce, leaf, Bibb or a mix variety

Radish

Grow marigolds to discourage rabbits and some insect varieties! Geraniums also discourage some insects and any flower adds beauty to a garden.

Leave 2 feet between bush beans, 1/2 foot between bush beans and lettuce, and 1 foot between all of the rest.

This is a simple easy garden plan. As you garden you can add new vegetables, get rid of others and experiment with different styles of gardening.

I started out using rows, went to square foot gardening to make better use of my space,

Note: If this garden is too large for your needs, you do not have to plant all 11 rows. You can also make the rows shorter. You can choose the veggies that you’d like to grow or add more flowers!

Tip: Radishes planted by the base of a squash plant will deter squash bugs. Radishes also mature quickly so only plants a few seeds at a time.

If you’re interested in planting potatoes, tomatoes and potatoes are not ideal companions and need “distance.” I myself plant them in barrels or bushel baskets so that I can just dump the crop at the end of the season for easy harvesting.

And for the beginning gardener. Read the instructions on the back of the seed packet. It will let you know how long the crop takes to mature, proper spacing and it will help you determine if you can grow two crops in a season.

Technorati Tags: beginning gardener garden plan, easy garden plan, garden plan, small garden, vegetables

They say the tomato is America’s favorite vegetable (some call it a fruit). And I have to admit the tomato is a favorite of mine, particularly the heirloom varieties.

photo credit: thedabble

But in my zone 5 climate I need to start my tomatoes indoors and early so that the plant will be ready to produce as early as possible. I have learned tricks to accomplish this over many years.

I start my tomatoes indoor early then transplant them into homemade hot houses. By using a hot house I can start my tomato plants outdoors at least a month early. Here is a cheap and easy hothouse you can set up.

Hint: I use old aluminum storm windows that I pick up for free at garage sales or for a buck at auctions. This is one very economical hot house to set up.

Homemade Aluminum Window Hothouse

Dig a trench about 18 to 24 inches deep. If you have a tiller you can break the ground up and make the job a lot easier. Mound the excavated soil along the sides of the trench.

I then plant my tomatoes in the trench (your tomatoes will be about 18 inches below the actual soil line.) Then take the storm windows and place them over the tomatoes. This will create a very successful hot house where the tomatoes will thrive.

photo credit: iLoveButter

Tip: when placing the storm windows leave about 6 inches open at the end of the row for ventilation. At night cover this space with a board. And on very cold nights I will cover the hot house with a blanket for extra protection.

In about two to four weeks the tomatoes will be touching the glass window. If your nights are still cold you can place bricks or cement blocks on the top of the excavated soil to raise the sides. Make sure the bricks or blocks are secure and place the storm windows back on top.

When your nights are warm enough, remove the storm windows. But keep them close just in case you get a surprise frost.

There is one more very important advantage to using this hothouse method. As the plants grow I fill the trenches in with compost and soil. This means my tomato plants have roots that are 18 to 24 inches deep. This will make the plants sturdy and they will produce twice as well as ordinary tomato plants.

Tomato plants are one of the few plants that will produce roots up the stem and re-root. These additional roots are beneficial to plant production.

Technorati Tags: early tomatoes, homemade aluminum window hothouse, hothouse, tomato growing tips, tomatoes

Allium sativum, (more commonly known as Garlic) is a member of the onion family and can be grown very easily at home in your open garden, in a cold green house, in a pot or even a window box.

photo credit: ginnerobot

Garlic will grow all year round in mild climates although in colder climates, like in the UK, planting Garlic is best around autumn so the plants will grow slowly throughout the winter frost and start to flower around spring. Garlic is a Perennial with long green flat leaves and white flowers.

Garlic is available in two varieties, hardneck (also known as ‘top-setting’) and softneck.

Hardneck Garlic is well suited to growing in cold climates and the bulb produces one layer of cloves which is much larger than those of softneck. The cloves of hardneck garlic also have a stronger flavour and are easier to peel than softneck. However, they do not keep as long in storage.

Softneck cloves last much longer in storage and are more readily available.

Planting your Garlic

Garlic seeds can be rare so it is more common to grow garlic from the bulb segments (cloves) which you can obtain from a specialist garden center or even from your local supermarket.

Before planting your garlic cloves you should prepare the soil by working in compost and make sure the area of your garden has good drainage as cold wet cloves will rot. To improve drainage you should consider constructing a raised bed to grow the garlic in. Since garlic has shallow roots you will only need a 5 inch high bed.

You should split the bulbs just before you intend to plant and discard any damaged or small cloves, and try to use the biggest clove as this will produce a bigger bulb.

When planting the cloves it is better to use a planting drill because pushing the cloves into the ground may inhibit root development. In cold climates the cloves should be planted to a depth of 4 inches whilst milder climates will be fine with a depth of 2 inches.

Spacing is important to properly grow garlic; you should plant your cloves in a row setting them 6-8 inches apart for softneck and 4-6 inches apart for hardneck. If you plan on setting additional rows leave 12 inches between rows. After planting, water your crop thoroughly and mulch with leaves if available.

Care for your Garlic

Depending on the weather, after planting your crop in autumn you may not need to water again until Spring. From spring onwards you should water your crop regularly but don’t over water or allow your crop to become soggy or else your bulbs will rot.

If you applied mulch when planting your crop there should be few weeds. Be sure to check your mulch is not retaining moisture, if so reduce the mulch and cultivate the soil as needed to keep your crop free of weeds.

Harvesting your Garlic

You can expect to harvest your crop in late spring/early summer. A sign that your crop is ready for harvesting is when the leaves begin to turn yellow and bend over. When you see that a quarter of the leaves have dried up you should pick a couple of bulbs to check them.

Ripe bulbs should have a firm skin and the inner cloves should be fully separated. Don’t delay if your crop is ready – you should harvest right away. Use a garden fork to gently loosen the bulbs out of the soil.

After picking all your bulbs you need to cure your crop – this can be done in a greenhouse, shed or even a garage, and curing normally takes one to four weeks. Fully cured garlic plants will have a completely dry outer skin.

Once your garlic is fully cured you should clip and gentle brush off any excess soil. When clipping leaves and you find any moisture then your bulbs have not fully cured.

You can store fully dried bulbs in baskets, string bags or sacks in a frost-free dark shed or garage.

For more great tips and advice on how to grow Garlic, visit http://www.rassad.co.uk/grow-garlic-at-home.

Technorati Tags: gardening, garlic, grow garlic, how to grow garlic, vegetables