Here'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.

Growing Your Gardening Skills? Start Small

It's a good idea to start small when planting your first vegetable garden. A common mistake new gardeners make is planting too much too soon. This can become overwhelming and turn your home garden into a source of frustration.

Beginner Tips:

• Choose a few of your favourite garden vegetables to start

• Select vegetables that are easy to grow

• Learn about which types of plants grow best in your area

Only grow as much as you need Once you've experienced success, you can expand with each season and add new veggies to the mix. This allows you to increase your planting based on your consumption and new-found growing success.

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.

Location

Choose a location that has plenty of sun. With the exception of some leafy varieties, most vegetables need at least six hours of direct sunlight per day. If possible, plant your vegetables in a south or west-facing location. Make sure you have ample space as you don’t want to overcrowd. Avoid areas that get a lot of wind or foot traffic, and areas of poorly drained soil where water pools. It's also best to find a level area which will help to prevent soil erosion.

TIP: Keep things simple and locate your veggie garden near to your hose or water source.

Garden Soil Conditions

Plant in moist, well-drained soil. Wet soil can result in rotted roots. If you're worried about drainage, it's a good idea to plant veggies in a raised bed or raised row. If you have rocky soil, make sure to till and remove any rocks so they don't impede root growth.

TIP: It's also a good idea to remove sticks and debris.

Many vegetables are heavy feeders, so soil for vegetable gardens has to be nutrient-rich from the outset with plenty of organic matter. Before planting, cover the entire vegetable garden with at least one inch of finished compost. Do this a few weeks before planting, ideally when you are tilling up the soil.

TIP: Once the plants are growing, you can spread additional compost along the sides of the rows. Just be careful not to cover the growing vegetables.

You can also add a garden fertilizer before planting. Compost feeds the soil, while fertilizer feeds the plants. Make sure you choose fertilizer suited to your type of soil and plants. It's a good idea to test your garden soil for adequate levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

TIP: Many garden centres will test your soil and recommend a product.​

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.

Row Planting

• This traditional garden plan consists of straight, long rows

• Make sure to position the rows to receive maximum sun exposure in your area

• Plant the tallest vegetables in a location where they won't block the sun from reaching shorter plants

• Rows should be approximately 4-feet wide, with a 2-foot path in between to allow for air circulation, weeding and harvesting

Raised Garden Beds

• Raised beds or containers are filled with rich compost and placed higher than the surrounding ground

• This helps overcome issues of poor soil or bad drainage

• Containers also offer flexibility: you can move them around and they're easier to use in smaller spaces

• You can make the beds, which are essentially large boxes, out of bricks, wooden crates, or boards

• You can also purchase ready-made raised garden beds

Vertical Gardens

• Vertical vegetable gardens are ideal for wannabe gardeners without much space. With these systems you can grow plants upward on trellises, horizontally along shelves, or downwards from hanging baskets

• Great for urban gardeners, a vertical garden ideal for use on a balcony or patio

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.

ong-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. 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.

Explore our selection of garden hand tools and garden accessories for more items that make gardening easier.

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!