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CartHere's How to Plant a Home Garden Full of Fresh Veggies
Home-grown vegetables add lush colour to your backyard garden and bring fresh flavour to your table. Choose from juicy tomatoes, crisp lettuce, cucumbers, carrots and more. Dig into our handy gardening tips, choose your family's favourites, and get growing your own vegetable garden.
Gardening Tips for Newbies
Growing your own vegetables is a great way to enjoy fresh and flavourful foods. It's also a satisfying hobby, and with a little garden planning and the right gardening tips you’ll be harvesting a bumper crop in no time.
When Growing Vegetables, Preparation is Key
A large part of learning how to plant a vegetable garden is digging into the preparation process. Groundwork is a big contributor to backyard garden success. Your ultimate success will hinge on location, sunshine, soil preparation and water.
Get Familiar with Garden Layouts
Consider the layout of your home garden and what is best for your space, growing conditions or simply your personal preference. Here are some tried-and-true garden layouts to consider.
TIP: Most veggies are annuals, which are planted each year. For perennials crops such as asparagus, rhubarb and some herbs, it's a good idea to allot a permanent location.
Vegetable Seeds and Seedlings
When choosing vegetable seeds for planting, make sure you:
Check the seed packet for planting dates as not all vegetables thrive at the same time of season
Choose high-quality seeds: they may cost more initially but yield a better crop at harvest
Follow seed packet depth and placing directions so you don't overcrowd
Plant seedlings with proper spacing i.e. according to the type of crop
Remove crowded seedlings right away so plants have room to grow
TIP: Stagger your planting by a few weeks. This way you won't get all of a vegetable (such as lettuce) at once but can enjoy it over time.
Choose Easy Vegetables to Grow
Keep it simple! Choose a few garden veggies to start and grow your assortment over time. As a rule:
Plant vegetables that your family likes and aim for the amount you'll use
Opt for vegetables that suit your climate (cool season crops may have difficulty in extremely hot temperatures)
Start with easy-to-grow, productive veggies such as green beans, radishes, tomatoes and zucchini
Handy Vegetable Garden Tools
Stock up on tools that come in handy when planting and tending to a vegetable garden. This list of items will help keep you prepared for everyday gardening tasks.
Explore our selection of garden hand tools and garden accessories for more items that make gardening easier.
Long-Handled Spade: You use a spade to work the soil. Long-handled digging tools are great because they prevent you from stooping and bending.
TIP: Sharpen the spade with a garden file before each use. It will take much less effort to get the job done.
Garden Gloves: Wearing gloves while gardening can help prevent blisters and splinters and keep your hands clean. A good pair of garden gloves is flexible enough for easy use, repels moisture and resists wear at the fingertips.
Plant Stick: A plant stick lets you easily measure the distance between rows, space plants at proper intervals and mark straight lines for neat and tidy rows.
Backhoe: A backhoe is a great tool for weeding, planting and furrowing. It makes for quick and easy work and if long-handled, helps prevent back strain.
Garden Basket: A garden basket is great to have on hand when harvesting and transporting your crops.
You now know how to plant a vegetable garden step by step. Throughout the growing season, you'll want to keep it well-watered and tended. Water new plants deeply. As they become established, gradually reduce the frequency of watering and let the soil dry one or two inches deep between watering sessions. Soon you’ll be digging in and enjoying your home-grown, garden-fresh vegetables!
