Growing your own vegetables

Growing your own vegetables in your garden is one of the easiest ways to create an earning garden. You can produce all the vegetables you can eat without using too much space in your garden. A small area is often enough to satisfy your need for fresh vegetables. If you want to be real ambitious you can plant a large section of you garden to be able to sell a lot of vegetables to people in the local area.

Growing vegetables for your own consumption does not prevent you from having a garden that still looks beautiful and relaxing. If you want to maximize your production then you will have to accept that the garden looks less like a garden and more like a field. It is up to you to decide if it is worth to make this trade off or not. I do however recommend that you keep at least a small part of your garden as patio surrounded by bushes and beautiful flowers. This gives you a space to relax where you do not have to see your vegetables. If you have garden space both in front and behind your house then I recommend that you use one side as a garden to relax in and the other for vegetable production.

Think about your neighbors

It is important that you think about your neighbors if you want to turn a large part of your garden into a vegetable bed. Most neighbors have no problem with the fact that you have a smaller vegetable bed but they might get annoyed if you turn a large section of your garden into a vegetable bed making it look more like a farm than a garden. This is understandable and your first step if you want to create a large vegetable bed should be to make sure that you do not annoy the neighbors in doing so.

Talking to the neighbors is not a good indication of whether you will annoy them or not. They might find it hard to tell you that it would annoy them when you ask them and they might not understand exactly what your plan entail. It is therefore better to design a garden from day one that give you what you want without causing issues with the neighbors. A design that allows you to do what you want in the garden without it effecting the neighbors views. The best way to achieve this is by planting a wall of plants near the perimeter of your garden. You can use both bushes and trees to do this. Quick growing perennials can also a good option to get a wall up quickly.

My personal preference is to use evergreen plants that keeps my garden private all year round. Another good but more expensive alternative is to build a fence or a wall. If your neighbors have windows that can see onto your property then it can be good to plant decorative trees that block their views.

The neighbors might still get upset that you use your entire garden to grow food but there isn’t much they can do about it if you have taken steps to make sure that it doesn’t bother them. Some neighborhoods might have rules regarding what you can grow and how.

How big area do I need to plant

The answer to this question depends on what you want to grow and how much you want to produce. A plot that is 5 by 10 m is often more then enough if you only want to grow food for your own household. If you want to sell food then the bigger the better. The bigger area you plant the bigger harvest you get and the more you can sell.

What plants should I plant

The answer to this questions depends on where you live, what kind of soil you have and what vegetables you like. If you want to grow vegetables to eat than the most important factor to consider is what you like. Focus on planting vegetables that you think will do well and that you like. If you do not have space to grow everything you need then you should focus on growing the vegetables that are most expensive for you to buy. By doing that you maximize how much money the garden earns for you.

If you plan to sell the vegetables then you should focus on popular vegetables that you can sell easily. I recommend that you focus on rare heirloom species. These are often a lot easier to sell than regular vegetables. Most people want to try purple tomatoes when they see them for sale. This gives you an edge over everyone that sell regular red tomatoes.

I recommend that you visit your local farmers market and see what is being sold there and at what prices. This give you an idea about what to grow and how much you can earn.

Never plant plants at random. Plan your garden well to make sure you reach your goals. Do not be afraid to use a part of you garden to try new species and types that you are not familiar with.

Plants that can be stores

Some plants are best if you eat them while they are fresh. They can be stored for a few weeks but quickly go bad unless they are pickled, sauced or otherwise prepared. Other vegetables can easily be stored for month and even years before they are consumed. Examples of such vegetables includes turnips, carrots, potatoes and onions.

Take this in mind when you plan your garden if you want to grow food for your own consumption. Grow a lot of the vegetables that you can store a long time. Make sure to grow enough of these to last you until the next harvesting season. Grow less of the vegetables that needs to be eaten fresh. To not grow more of these then you can eat if you have a limited space to grow vegetables on.

Grow more of a species if you want to pickle or sauce them.

Plan the garden before the growing season

Plan your garden during the winter so that you know exactly what you plans and goals are once the growing season starts. Make detailed plans about what to grow where.