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The first step in starting your home vegetable garden is finding a good site for it. Vegetables have to have six or more hours of direct sunlight daily to grow and produce properly.
A southern exposure is best unless you live in an extremely hot climate; if that’s the case your vegetables will probably appreciate some light shading in the hot afternoons as long as they’re getting all the sun they need in the morning and early afternoon.
But, keep your vegetable garden at least 20 feet away from trees and shrubs so their roots don’t take the moisture and nutrients from the vegetables.
Make sure there is a water source near where you want your garden; especially in areas that have dry seasons. You don’t want to have to carry water to the garden!
Vegetable gardens need about 2” of water weekly. Soaker hoses that lay on the ground are best for watering because the plants stay dry which deters diseases. If you use an overhead sprinkler run it in the morning so the plants can dry off before nightfall.
With an overhead sprinkler you can measure how much water your garden is getting by putting a can with straight sides in the garden while watering. Measure the amount of water in the can and you’ll know how long you need to run the sprinkler.
The next step is to plan out your garden on paper. How big will the garden be? If you’re planning on multiple beds make a separate plan for each one. Which vegetables will you be growing?
If you’re growing a home vegetable garden for food security it’s better to plant foods that your family likes and will eat. You don’t want to grow and take care of vegetables that you end up giving away or putting on the compost pile because nobody likes them!
If you're just getting started with home vegetable gardening you may want to start out small. Small gardens are easier to take care of and to keep on eye on for pests and diseases. As you become more confident growing a garden you may want to move up to a bigger vegetable garden.
A small 400 square feet vegetable garden with intensive planting can provide a years worth of food for a family. You can look at this vegetable garden planting chart for a good-sized garden for 5 people to get some ideas. It grows enough food to have plenty for preserving.