How to create a vege garden

PLANT TYPE & TIMING

• There’s a massive selection of vegetables to choose from. The best place to start is to find out what grows best at the time of year you’re planting.
   
• Most vegetables don’t grow well out of season. This Growing Guide will help you decide what to plant, and when.
   
• You’ll see that you can plant different kinds of veges all year round, and how long each of them will grow for.

LOCATION

• If you don’t have an existing vege garden, then pick out a nice sunny, sheltered area to turn into your new vege patch. A raised garden bed is a great place to start.

SOIL

• The easiest thing to do is use a vegetable mix. It’s a high quality natural-based planting mix with the right blend of nutrients that’ll give your veges the best possible start, and sustained growth throughout the season. You can also boost your soil with a liquid fertilizer like seaweed tonic.
   
• If you’re digging yourself a new vege garden – you’ll want to have a good look at your soil before you start, as there’s no point going any further if it’s not in good condition. For example, if your soil has got a lot of clay in it, or if it’s alkaline, your veges won’t grow well. But you can prep the soil for next year by treating it – so come in store and we’ll tell you how.
   
• As far as plant type goes, modern hybrid varieties are higher yielding, better tasting, and more disease resistant.
   
• If you’re starting from seed, start germinating in a mini-glasshouse in a seed tray, and then transplant into the garden. But the easiest way to start out is to buy seedlings. It’ll save you time, and often only a small number of plants are needed. Look for good quality seedlings with 6-8 fully-formed leaves, and 5-8cm in height.

PLANNING

• Draw up a plan. When planning your vegetable garden, you want to create sections, or growing zones. Check the spacing for each of your plants as per the tag.
   
• Remember to plant for succession. Beginners often make the mistake of planting the whole garden in October – which means everything’s ready to be harvested all at the same time, just as you go away on holiday. So, stagger your planting and sow a little, but often.
   
• Make use of the season changes and rotate your crops.

PLANTING

• When planting into an existing bed, it’s a good idea to add a fresh layer of vegetable mix to give it the right nutrients for good growing.
   
• Lay out your plants according to your growing zones. Leave space for succession planting and companion planting.
   
• Dig a hole to fit each pot size. Remove each seedling from their pots, place into the hole and backfill with soil. Press each plant firmly, but gently, into place.
   
• Stake or frame any vegetables, such as beans, that require a structure to grow around.
   
• Add a layer of pea straw mulch to protect your plants against the elements. This’ll also help keep the roots moist, and keep the weeds at bay.
   
• Water your plants.
   
• Add slug and snail pellets to protect against these pests.

WATERING

• During dry weather, it’s important to keep vegetables actively growing with regular watering. If they suffer moisture stress, they’ll just bolt to seed.

FEEDING

• Feed them regularly with vegetable food – it’s a rich formulation of fertilisers including dolomite, blood & bone, and sheep manure dust. It’ll encourage healthy growth, and attract the worms. It’s specially formulated with the right NPK ratio.
  
  

PESTS & DISEASE

• Weather, weeds, pests and diseases can all affect the success of your garden. Keep a good look out for pests and diseases – and when spraying, think about using an organic spray, like a pyrethrum spray, so you’re not using any unwanted chemicals. And when using chemical sprays, it’s really important to know about the withholding period of your spray. This is the period of time that must pass between spraying and harvesting – and it’ll be on the label.
   
• If you spot any of these pests or diseases come in store and we’ll sort you out with the right product. If you’re not sure what you’re looking at, just take a photo and bring it in.