It is time for us to start planning our method of approach to growing our own vegetables and I am going, to be honest, I have not got the foggiest where to start!
I am not very green-fingered at all, in fact, I have killed multiple houseplants over the years, even those that supposedly do not require any help at all. So I have no idea why I thought growing our own vegetables would be a good idea. Now though, there is no backing out, we have the frame built, so the planning can commence.
With this in mind, I have been spending a little time doing some research to make sure that I have as much knowledge as I can going into this to hopefully make it work! I don’t expect my little bit of knowledge for me to suddenly become the next Alan Titchmarsh but I am hoping that just having some basic understanding will make the process a little smoother.
If you are like me and unsure where to start, here are the plans I have to get started.
Growing Our Own Vegetables – Starting From Scratch
Make sure the area is ready –
Our raised bed has been made and partly filled but I need to get the layers finished ensuring it has the best chance of growing. After reading this great post from RHS Gardening I have realised that I need to get some fertiliser in the bed before we add our topsoil. I want to make sure that we give the fruit and vegetables the best chance of growing and starting it properly is key.
Nets are a must –
If by any chance I manage to grow anything successfully, I need to make sure they are protected from little creatures that might want to give them the taste test. We have built our beds to take a net that allows them space to grow. We plan to make sure it is netted all year round so our crops have the best chance to stay intact!
I don’t want to go down the route of pesticides so will be looking for all alternatives to ensure our patch stays safe!
Start small –
I have a huge range of fruit and vegetables that I would love to grow, however, for everyone’s sake I am going to be starting small with our crops. Sticking to 3/4 different ones for the first year and then expanding out from there.
Overall I would love for us to become a little more self-sufficient however I don’t want to push my gardening skills to the limit in the first year.
Care for them regularly –
One thing I have realised since I started making my plans was the fact that this is not going to be a plant-and-pick exercise. Whatever we decide to go for first of all is going to take time and care,
This means I am going to have to check that it is regularly watered and weeded, ensuring the perfect growth opportunity for our plants.
I am not going to lie, I am a little nervous about this. I genuinely do not know the difference between plants and weeds sometimes so I am going to take baby septs when it comes to our new garden and make sure that I take my time when it comes to picking our first crop. We need to go for plants that are hardy and easy to grow, with minimal fuss and stress!
The long-term goal would be for our garden to provide a good portion of our fresh fruit and vegetables if at all possible but for now, the first goal is to grow something!
