Vegetable Gardening:
A Beginner's Guide
NC STATE
EXTENSION
Vegetable gardening is becoming more popular —
both as a pastime and a food source. We experience
satisfaction in planting a seed or transplant, watching
it grow to maturity, and harvesting the fruits of our
labors. In addition, vegetable gardening offers a
good source of exercise, with the added benefits of
healthy snacks and food for the table.
Vegetable gardening consists of selecting a site,
planning the garden, preparing the soil, choosing the
seeds and plants, planting a crop, and nurturing the
plants until they are ready for harvest. The end result
is fresh produce to eat, share, or sell.
Anyone who is willing to invest some time every day
or two to nurture the plants can grow a vegetable
garden. It doesn't take a lot of money, time, or
talent, although some of each would be helpful. With
patience and practice, your skills will improve every
year. Don't be discouraged if the first attempt isn't a
huge success.
Growing vegetables takes some space, but not
necessarily acres. A vegetable garden can be in the
ground or in a planting bed, but it doesn't have to be.
Many vegetables can be grown in containers. For
example, enough lettuce for a salad can be grown in
Growing a salad in pots
©Anne Moyer. CC-BY-NC-ND
a 12-inch pot on the back deck. Add a few radishes
and carrots, also grown in 12-inch containers, for
spice and sweetness, and you have a good start on a
delicious salad.
Success, however, takes more than just a place to
grow the vegetables. They need sunlight, water, air,
soil, fertilizer, and care.
Site Selection
Choose a convenient site in full sun with easy access
to water and fertile, well-drained soil. Avoid areas
near trees and large shrubs that will compete with
the garden for sunlight, water, and nutrients.
Sunlight
Most vegetables need at least eight hours of direct
sunlight. Plants that we grow for their leaves —
including leafy greens such as lettuce, kale, chard,
and spinach — and plants that we grow for their
storage roots (such as radishes, turnips, and beets)
can be grown in as little as six hours of sunlight but
do much better with eight hours or more. Plants that
we grow for their fruit, including tomatoes, squash,
and cucumbers, need at least eight and do better
with 10 hours of sunlight.
Water
One of the most important aspects of gardening
is water, which makes up 90 percent of a plant's
weight. Water is heavy and difficult to move, so
locate the garden near a potable water supply,
making it easy to water the garden properly. Dragging
a hose hundreds of feet or carrying buckets of water
across the yard every few days makes having a
garden a lot more work. On average, vegetables
need one inch of water per week, and you need
to provide only what is not supplied by rain. Water
the soil, not the plant. Many diseases are spread by
water splashing on the leaves. Overwatering can
