So you want to become a gardener?
Does it dawn in your mind to have a vegetable garden close to your kitchen? Or to have your own hand wrought veggies on the dining table. The idea is never too late. Just seeing a plant blooming and bearing is a mind blowing spectacle. Going a step further, how relishing it would be to eat the fruit of your labour as raw or after cooking.
Vegetable gardening is a magical experience, says those who have ever ventured into it. What a great idea Sabji. Whether in containers or in raised beds in your backyard or in specially designed substrate, growing edibles can be a rewarding experience if done properly.
Isn’t it a paradox that so many are the aspirants who jump into and jump back from it at the same speed? If the thrill of farming makes people jump into growing veggies the setbacks borne out of inexperience make them jump back from it. This note has nothing to do with those whims-driven simpletons.
First of all make sure that you are really serious and genuinely passionate about growing something for your family to eat. Those who have the passion burning throughout better know that setbacks are equally natural as success in gardening. One simple thing to bear in mind at the outset itself is that over enthusiasm at the first success as well as frustration at the first failure will never take you anywhere. There are several ways to overcome the pitfalls in gardening and to help ensure you have a successful vegetable gardening experience.
Planning is a key component to having a successful vegetable garden, but is frequently forgotten or overlooked. Planning includes selecting an appropriate location for your garden, choosing the correct varieties of crops and developing a garden plan for what you would like to grow.
What all does a plant need to grow well? Any amount of your enthusiasm will not make a plant grow and yield unless four components come favourable to its support. The less these or the more these are equally helpful in making you fall back. Four components- growing medium, sunlight, moisture and minerals-determine your success or failure in a gardening enterprise. Detailing on all the four take this note beyond its scope at the moment. Better, this note focuses on planning a garden keeping these four aspects in mind.
When selecting a location it is important that the site receives at least eight hours of full sun and there is good water source at hand. Is there a good water and a bad water? Good water means one that is free of chemicals and detergents, that’s all. The plant has to stand some where, hence the planting medium. It can be soil, coir pith or water as in hydroponics and aquaponics. Minerals stand for the chemistry of farming. Every plant needs three major nutrients or chemical elements-Nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium for better growth and fruition. Ofcourse there are a number of minor and trace elements such as calcium, magnesium, iron, boron, zinc and a few more.
Once you have an appropriate location picked out, creating a garden plan will help contribute to your growing success. Too often the overall size of the garden area and the size of mature plants are not considered in the beginning itself by many aspirants of gardening. Keep in mind a young plant can become established and quickly overtake a small garden plot, challenging or dominating other plants for resources.
Your garden plan should contain a clear idea about the varieties and their quantity to be planted, dates of planting and estimated harvest, planting location for each crop, specific spacing between rows, and trellising or support required.
Invest a little time and develop a detailed plan to help guide you on where, which type and how many plants you will need for your space. Your vegetable garden plan will keep you focused while shopping at your local nursery and prevent impulse buys of tempting transplants.
So much for the current note on vegetable farming. Wait for more topics later in this space.
