The object of a successful vegetable garden is to eat the fruits of your labor. Anybody can garden like the pros and enjoy a huge harvest of tasty, fresh, nutritious vegetables throughout the year if they know the essentials of successful gardening. One of the most important factors is having a good location. A good location is one that receives direct sunlight all, or most of the day.
Sunlight provides the energy plants need to grow. Ideally, sunlight must be obstructed at any time of day. However, this is not always practical. Your property may be small, or for any reason, the garden should be close to home or a large tree, do not abbreviate.
If this is the case, select a location south of tall objects, if you live in the northern hemisphere. Or select a location north of tall objects, if you live in the southern hemisphere,
In this way, large objects do not block the direct sunlight to any part the garden at any time of day.
If the site that your garden is to the east or west, near tall objects, you can still successfully grow vegetables. Determine which areas receive more sunlight and which areas receive less sunlight
during the day. The shade of tall objects moving continuously throughout the day due to the Earth's rotation.
Once you begin to move beyond basic background information, you begin to realize that there's more>gardening than you might have first thought.
Plant the fruit-bearing vegetables such as peppers, tomatoes and eggplants in the areas that get at least 8 hours of direct sunlight daily. Plant leafy vegetables such as lettuce and spinach in the areas that get at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day. Plant root crops such as potatoes, beets, and carrots in areas that get at least 7 hours of direct sunlight per day.
Place your garden at a respectable distance from large Trees. In addition to obstruct direct sunlight, avoid large trees near water and nutrients from vegetables. This is because the roots of the trees have a much longer range than the roots of vegetable plants and consequently the ability to hold more nutrients in the soil and water.
If you can not find your garden a reasonable distance from large trees, give the area the water is on top of tree roots and extra fertilizers and increased soil on the roots of a treeadding topsoil. This extra soil will provide the vegetable plant roots with a growing depth free of tree roots. If the trees are of the kind that develop shallow roots, like maples and cottonwood, you will have to add more topsoil every couple of years.
Most people position their garden in the backyard. In houses that have a small backyard, the garden may be positioned in the front. The surface of the ground should be flat or have a gentle slope. A gentle slope facing south (if you live in the Northern Hemisphere) increases the intensity of sunlight. This is more desirable for tender vegetables because they thrive in hot weather.
A gentle slope facing north (if you live in the Northern Hemisphere) reduces the intensity of sunlight. This is more desirable for hardy vegetables, because they thrive in cool weather.
If the surface is too steep, water from rain and irrigation will run off too quickly instead of seeping through the soil. Moreover, heavy rain will wash away the topsoil and the valuable nutrients
it contains. To absorb more rain and reduce soil wash, plant the rows across the slope. If your area is windy, you may have to plant some high shrubs around the garden. The shrubs should be about 15 feet from the boundary of the garden in order to prevent their roots from absorbing the nutrients the vegetable plants need.
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