When you start out with vegetable container gardening you may be surpirsed to find out that it’s very similar to the usual way of gardening. First, you will need to decide how much area you can provide. By applying the succession and companion methods of planting, you will be surprised how far your plants will grow. Just a small area, within the size of a 3 feet decorative pot, could grow a lot of plants.

You can use a variety of containers including old cookie jars, a simple plastic tray or store bought pots. Anything will do, whatever the size as long as it is not metal. Once you have your container you are ready to choose the growing media. One way of increasing the success you have in raising your own plants is to choose the right soil. Be very particular about the consistency. The soil must be light in weight but also be able to hold up the plants you choose to grow. It also depends on the situation. You may choose a soil-less growing medium or a more traditional option like potting compost in a hanging pot.

Consider where the ideal location will be. It might be on a deck or patio or hanging from your porch. Depending on where it is the hardiness of your selected container is a consideration. A plastic container is not as hardy as treated wood. Consider, as well, the type of plants that you want to raise. Do they require a heavy container or will a light weight one suffice? The thickness, the height or how large you want your plant is likely to grow will all have a bearing on your choice.

A soil-less growing media might be ideal because it is very light in weight and has good drainage but the disadvantage is it doesn’t contain many nutrients. This need not be a problem, however, since you can add plant food as needed. Just choose something suitable for the type of vegetables you are growing.

Having a vegetable container garden for your own home allows you to produce your own source of nutritious food. You will know the food produced is healthy and there is no need to spend a lot of money or own a big space. So, what are you waiting for? Gather all your family members and start to plan and make your own mini veggie farm at home. And while you’re at it consider turning one of your pots into a culinary herb garden to complete your home-grown theme.

Keep it small – Most first time gardeners fail to take yield into consideration when they’re planning their first garden. When planting vegetables you’re going to get a lot more than one tomato or one cucumber or one bean per plant. You may get a dozen or more tomatoes for each tomato plant in your garden. Who’s going to eat all those tomatoes?

Plan your plot – When planting vegetables it’s important to remember that some plants grow up and tall, like corn, and other plants spread out on a vine, like cucumbers. You need to allow plenty of room for your vine plants to spread out and you don’t want your taller plants casting a shadow over your whole garden. Plot your garden before planting your vegetables to make sure there’s enough room for everything to grow properly.

Try something new – Your first inclination when planting vegetables will probably be to plant things that you know you like to eat. Try planting something new and interesting, too. If you know you like cherry tomatoes try planting some heirloom tomatoes as well. Go ahead and plant onions but maybe plant some radishes, too. It’s always fun to try new things – especially if you grew them yourself.

Be prepared to work – There’s a lot of work involved in raising a garden. You need to prepare the soil first and then you need to tend your garden every day – pulling out weeds, thinning out seedlings, making sure it has enough water. You’ll have something to do nearly every day during growing season so make sure you’re prepared to stick with it.

Blackberry bushes can often be found near raspberry bushes in the wild. Although wild blackberry bushes produce smaller berries than the blackberry bushes you plant from a nursery, the wild berries tend to be sweeter. It is important to watch out for poison ivy which frequently grows in the same areas as blackberry bushes. Poison Ivy rash is the price that lots of berry pickers pay when trying to harvest the berries.

The situation of natural blackberry bushes were marked and remembered by the Native Americans in order that they could harvest them every year. They used the berries as food, but they also used them to dye animal skins to create a richer, darker color.

The early settlers used blackberries to cure a number of illnesses. They were especially useful for respiratory illnesses along with coughing. The fruit is also used to produce a rich colored, sweet wine by lots of people that like to produce handmade wines. The overall favorite use for these sweet, delicious berries, though, is blackberry jam. Additionally they make a delicious pie, if you don’t mind the pips.

If you’re thinking of growing blackberries in your yard it is best to plant them along the edge where there is not a lot of traffic. This is to avoid being scratched by the sharp, long thorns. The bushes should be cut back after they are done fruiting. They should be trimmed back to around 18″ above the ground. This is done to prevent them from getting the taller runners that often times have more thorns than berries on them. If you are going to plant a number of bushes make sure you allow for picking so that you don’t get as scratched when picking the berries. However near the bushes are to each other collecting blackberries is a task that requires wearing a long-sleeved shirt. Blackberry bushes also have a long life span so you’ll want to think about this when picking an area to plant them.

What you decide to grow will depend upon what your like to eat and what conditions your plants will be exposed to. Locations facing south and west tend to be sunny and hot and suit herbs that naturally grow in warmer climates such as bay, rosemary, dill and lemon verbena.

Shade loving plants such as parsley, borage and mint will flourish better in a north or east facing exposure.

If you plan to grow your herbs in a raised bed vegetable garden or straight into the ground, make sure your site is as close to your house as possible. This will prevent you from being put of using them when the weather is wet or chilly.

You can make the arrangement look more attractive by choosing herbs in a variety of colors and shades and with differing foliage such as those produced by mint, thyme and sage. The differing shades of greens, reds, grays and purples can be very attractive bur its a good idea to draw out a colored plan before you actually plant anything, to get a good idea of how the culinary garden will actually look. It’s easier to rearrange on paper than once the plants are in the ground or container!

Be aware that some plants spread very quickly and use up the water and block sunlight from the other plants. A common exmaple of this is the mint family. If you want this type of plant it is better to do so in it’s own container.

If you do grow them in the ground be sure to add barriers so your herbs can’t spread so easily. An overground example of this would be a dwarf hedge of something like lavender. Or you can use stone pavers, bricks, stones or make narrow channels from gravel. These have the added advantage of producing a landscaped design and you will be able to pick your herbs easily from the footpaths without disturbing other nearby plants.

And once you’ve got your culinary herb garden sorted it will be time to grow a vegetable garden in full.

It is important to consider your construction materials carefully since timber, for example, that has been treated can allow toxic chemicals to leach into the soil and which ends up in the vegetables themselves. It’s better to use hardwood or rocks.

You need to consider how level your yard is too. A sloping site is more difficult to work on than a flat one and if it’s really steep you may get soil erosion after heavy rains. One way to help deal with this is to set the beds across the slope.

Also, if your garden is very windy you might have to put up windbreaks. Make sure they are permeable so the wind can get through, otherwise they’ll fall down or create turbulence and you’ll have to start again. They can be man made like a fence or a living barrier such as hedging. The latter tends to be more atractive but will take time to grow and will require work to keep it healthy andlooking good.

The most common shape for a raised bed garden is a rectangle although sometimes they are circular with a slice cut out so the centre can be reached more easily. These are called keyhole gardens and are particularly good in areas where there is a water shortage. In these cricumstances a chimney type structure can be built in the centre and filled with grasses and sticks. When this is filled with water it allows it to flow more evenly into the soil, efficiently reaching the roots of the plants sown in the raised bed.

Planting is usually done in geometric patterns and is closer than you normally find when gardening in rows straight into the ground. The proximity of the plants to each other can cause a microclimates which helps to conserve moisture and keeps the weeks down. Also the soil doesn’t get compacted, as there are no human boots walking on it, so the roots can grow more freely. These differences from conventional planting often result in more vegetables being produced.

To start with, you have to locate and plan out your plot. Plants ought to be moved around to keep the soil healthy. Make use of a soil tester in order to see which sort of soil you have. This is vital as different sorts of soil require different ways of treating it. The soil may be heavy clay, light, sandy, chalky or alkaline. It also has a bearing on what variety of veggies you should grow in your veg plot, as plants respond differently to differing types of soil.

The soil will need breaking up so the seedlings can settle in and so air and water can get through. Unless the soil is particularly hard, use a spade as opposed to a fork. Take the weeds out and add fertilizer or organic manure. It’s a sensible idea to create a compost bin near the veg garden. This will become a cheap source of fertilizer for the land.

Once you’ve set up the area and fed the soil, you’re ready to begin sowing and planting. Break up the vegetable patch into root crops, brassica and crops not in the first two groups. Root crops include potatoes, carrots, turnips, parsnips and onions. Brassicas are sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and kale. That leaves garden vegetables such as sweetcorn, peas, squash, beans and salad plants like tomatoes and cucumbers.

You could start some plants growing beneath a cloche or in a conservatory, especially if your are in an region where there’s quite a lot of windy or cold weather. Ensure that you keep up with the irrigation and weeding. Some gardeners find it helpful to put up a wall chart and plan out the tasks in the vegetable patch, month by month.

It’s not enough to know what you want to plant, you need to know what will actually grow in your area. Talking to your neighbours or visiting a local garden centre is a good place to begin.

Cost is also a consideration. Seeds are the cheapest way to start but require more time and expertise than buying individual plants. Also, you’ll need some tools to work the soil. You may even need to build raised beds, terrace your land or add a fence. All things which have cost implications.

If space is a consideration concentrate on vegetables that can be grown vertically such as beans and cucumbers and then you can plant beets, lettuce, carrots etc under the canes.

You can also group plants with similar needs together, sometimes called “interplanting”, to save time and conserve space. Consider the amount of watering needed, the degree of sunlight or shade, and the type of fertilizer/soil and at what time of year they grow etc. For example, radishes are ready long before corn gets high enough to block out the sun so they grow well together.

You will need to prepare the soil and can buy or make your own compost and nutrients. Use organic matter if possible as chemical fertilizers can damage the crops and be harmful to your health.

Learning how to grow a vegetable garden need not be hard. Start in a small way with a few crops and then expand as your expertise grows. Don’t be afraid to experiment and you will soon be enjoying the fruits (or vetetables!) of your labours.