How To Start A Vegetable Garden From Scratch?

Hm… sound not bad. But I’ll tell you, without a good plan, the amount to learn, maintain, and weed can rapidly knock you out. Consequently, it is just setting yourself up for disappointment.

Now, what to plan? And how to?

To start your garden from scratch, you should go over these 4 things:

Find the right location for your garden
Choose the best type of garden
Narrow down which plants to grow first
How to take care of them?

Choose The Right Location

There are four main elements you should think about when choosing a location for your new garden – wind, rain, water source, and the sun.

The sun

95% of vegetables love a place where they can be exposed to 7 or 8 hours of sun per day. Under this range, they won’t grow healthily.

If there are various spots available around your backyard to place a garden, choose the one that can get the direct morning sun. On the contrary, using a mirror or taking advantage of white walls to reflect some sunlight back onto your plants is a genius idea.

You also should consider the effect of shade in a garden as well.

Avoid direct afternoon sun, especially if your living area has burning hot summers or your crop includes short cool growing plants.

When planning your garden, getting to know about sun-mapping is also a big bonus to find the right place, even the right plants for your garden:

	Highlight features	Which plants are suitable for
South-facing gardens	Get the most hours of exposing to the sun	Heat tolerant vegetables such as eggplants, peppers, tomatoes, okra, squash, and watermelon
West-facing gardens	Expose directly to afternoon sun	Tomatoes if you’re living in cold climates Conversely, provide some shade for your garden
East-facing gardens	Get the direct morning sun	Heat intolerant veggies like spinach, kale, carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli
North-facing gardens	Generally shady	If that area gets at around 2 – 3 hours of sun, try carrots, oregano, mint, chives, and leafy green.

Wind

Many gardeners forget to consider this feature but in reality, especially if you’re living in a region prone to summer storms, wind will affect your plants for sure.

Most vegetables can hold up well with occasional storms; fall off in daily wind; and be stripped off during severe storms.

So aside from figuring out how strong gusts of wind, you also should determine whether the veggies that you intend to grow can handle them or not.

For years of living on your property, I think you have known which areas will suffer the strongest gusts of wind during summer storms.

Avoid those places!

In case you can’t, use windshields and landscaping cloth to wrap around your plants.

Although this method can’t prevent 100% the affection of wind on your veggies, it can diffuse partly the force and therefore, stakes will be more wind-resistant and sprawling plants won’t restrict to cages.

Rain & Water Source

Too much water is the biggest enemy of all plants. Regardless of rotting or getting bogged down, just the amount of soil splashing onto your plants’ leaves can cause them to diseases.

From that point, avoid those spots that can make your plants heavily splashed during downpours. For example, eave and gutter are two first areas to be in your blacklist.

A water source is another thing you should consider, by the way. It’d better locate your garden as near to a water source as possible because it will save lots of time and effort for watering.

What Is The Right Type Of Garden For You?

For a new garden, here are three common types of garden to consider:

Garden directly in the soil
Raised garden beds
Garden in containers

The following table will help you easily figure out which is the right one for you:

	Pros	Cons	Who suit for?
Garden directly in the soil	No limitation of root growth Keep nutrients and water efficiently Lower cost	Have to do several soil tests to check if there are any fungal diseases in it Get higher risks of suffering diseases and pests Weeds	Gardeners who prefer to have a large garden
Raised garden beds	Easily put on top of the current landscape Require less kneeling and bending -> save your back and knees from pain and fatigue Don’t limit the place to construct	A bit costlier to build Restrict space to add more plants Weeds are still able to invade your garden	People who have arthritis or certain physical restrictions Want to build a new garden on top of weeds and grass The soil available is too compacted or dense to grow plants
Garden in containers	Easy on the knees and back 100% no weeds Can be located anywhere	Restrict the plant varieties on each container Require nutrients and water more often Limited in the depth, not suit for plants that need space for rooting	You don’t have much outdoor space or good soil for a garden Weeds heavily invalid your area For people who just want to grow 1 or 2 kinds of plants Your sunniest place is on a patio

Bonus: How do I prepare the ground for a vegetable garden?

Here is a step-by-step brief guide to help you get a garden off to a great start:

Determine the soil health by testing its pH, mineral levels, and macronutrient content. You can buy a soil test kit in any local cooperative extension services. The best time to do this is during spring or autumn.

Examine soil type and texture to find out the best way to improve it

Improve the soil: Growing green manures, using mulch, or adding organic matter in the form of aged manure and compost are some ideal ways to enhances the soil’s nutrients

I highly recommend using organic matter rather than chemical fertilizers as these can’t maintain good, friable soil. Not to say that organic matter also provides air in the soil (at 25%) and improve the soil structure to benefit your plants.

Best soil for vegetable garden in raised bed

60% topsoil + 30% compost + 10% potting soil.

Which Plants To Grow

Now is the most fun part – choose the plants to grow.

There are three main things to keep in mind:

Select the reasonable plant varieties
Consider the frost date & length of your growing season
Which veggies can and cannot companion together?

Select The Reasonable Plant Varieties

Start with listing out all the species you like to grow and narrow them down to the ones that suit most for the available sun/shade patio and the gardening area that you have. They should be easy to plant and take care of as well.

As you’re a beginner, it would be better to have fun with a small garden rather than disappointed by a large one.

The perfect plan is beginning with a few vegetable beds each year and then expand them once you get more confidence.

Which Vegetable Is Easiest To Grow?

To increase the chances of gardening success, here are some easiest veggies:

	Highlight features	Sun/Soil/Wind/Where to plant?	When to plant
Basil	Easy to grow as long as it’s planted outdoors in the summer	Suit for garden in containers or plant directly in the ground Sunny windowsills or outdoors	Early June
Summer squash	Easy to grow Highly productive after short growing time Can keep pumping out fruits until frost	Don’t like wind Need 8 – 10 hours of sun Plant directly in the ground or containers	Late spring
Bell peppers	A perennial in tropical areas but can withstand cold weathers	Need 6-8 hours of sun/day Can be planted in containers, raised beds, or directly to the ground	2 or 3 weeks past the last spring frost when the soil is 65 degrees F or higher
Radishes	Easy to grow & fast-growing in any garden sizes Just need a short period of time to grow – 4 weeks	Need 6 hours of sun/day but can be planted in shade areas Suit to grow in containers, raised beds, or directly to the ground	Late spring
Tomatoes	Can be planted in any garden sizes Can produce fruits all seasons Provide numerous varieties Can survive a brief frost	Suit to grow in containers, hanging baskets, raised beds, or directly to the ground Need 6 to 8 hours of sun/day	6 or 8 weeks before the last frost date
Spinach	Tolerate a light frost Can be planted indoors and outdoors Produce crops all year round	Require moist, nitrogen-rich soil Need full sun Grow best in pots, containers, or raised beds	6 weeks before the last frost date
Cucumbers	Very prolific and easy to grow	Need full sun Moist, fertilized soil	2 weeks after the last frost date
Lettuce	Can be started indoors Grow well in most regions in spring and autumn	Suit to grow in containers, raised beds, or directly to the ground Grow fastest in full sun Suit to plant in pots & containers	For early winter crop: early August For an early spring crop: early February For a summer/autumn crop: late March to late July
Green beans	Easy to grow Can be started in the soil	Best to be planted directly in the ground or raised beds Need fertilizers contain 10% potassium, 5% nitrogen, and 10% phosphorus Need full sun – 8 to 10 hours of sun/day	10 to 12 weeks before the first frost
Carrots	Hardy Can be planted directly in the soil	Need loose, sandy soil Suit to grow in containers, raised beds, or directly to the ground Need full sun or partial shade, at least 6 hours of sun/day	Spring or autumn 10 to 12 weeks before the first fall frost. 2 weeks before the last frost date

What Is The Hardest Vegetable To Grow?

While most veggies are difficult to grow in highly alkaline or highly acidic soils, it might be hard if the gardeners try to plant it in an unsuitable environment.

For example, tomatoes would be hard to grow in full shade and wet conditions while okra won’t be germinated in cool to cold weather.

But can’t deny that aside from weather, sun, and wind, some plants are very fussy to grow as they need a really long time to grow while requiring much care on watering and fertilizing. For examples:

Onions: They will give you bigger bulbs if being planted from seed than from onion sets. However, this method will eat up 12 weeks before transplanting and require rich soil with regular care. Not to say that you should keep in mind the watering schedule.

Cauliflower: It’s difficult to get a big enough head of cauliflower before the heat sets in. You should meticulously pay attention to choose the right varieties, prepare the right soil and timing.

Broccoli: This veggie is challenging to grow because it requires the right soil nutrients and perfect temperatures. It would be best to grow them in warm seasons with lightweight row covers.

Celery: No doubts! This is renowned for being fussy and hard to grow because it needs A LOT of time to grow – 3 to 4 months of mostly cool weather. Meanwhile, celery requires the right fertilizer and watering schedule to grow well.

Which Vegetables Can Grow Without Sunlight?

No plants can grow WITHOUT sunlight but at least, they can in partial shade conditions, such as:
Leafy green: Rhubarb, garden cress, watercress, spinach, leaf lettuce, horseradish, kale, endive, swiss chard, and arugula. Plant them in those places that are shaded moderately during the day, or get dappled or filtered sunlight all day.
Root: Turnips, rutabagas, radishes, potatoes, parsnips, leeks, kohlrabi, carrots, and beets. They love areas where there’s less direct sunlight. In fact, these veggies still need a ½ day of full sun and some partial shade.
Cruciferous: Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, and cabbage
Allium: Garlic
Edible plant stem: asparagus, chives, and scallions
Marrow: Summer squash, bush beans, and peas

What Vegetables Need Full Sun?

Full sun means 6 to 10 hours of direct sunlight per day without blockage, like walls, trees, and tall shrubs. Here are some vegetables that need full sun:

Turnips
Rutabaga
Radish
Leek
Onions
Cabbage
Beets
Peas
Beans

You might see some varieties that are included in both lists of partial shade and full sun but don’t worry, those are the easy-to-grow plants so, in most conditions, they can grow well.

What veg can you grow all year round?

If you want to grow vegetables that are productive all year round, here are some easy-to-try options:

Kale: It is a biennial veggie and particularly productive for cold weathers. Kales have a life span of 2 years.

Radicchio: This plant will grow best in warm climate and be extremely productive during the spring and autumn

Leeks/onions: Some varieties of onions and leeks are perennial that can give your food on the table all year round, such as perennial leeks, Egyptian walking onions, and Perulite.

Horseradish: This veggie can grow well in any kinds of climates and be very hardy. Can be harvested in fall and winter.

Chayote Squash: It grows healthily and gives fruits during the spring and summer. Chayote squash will die back in the winter and return again when the soil and weather are warmer. You just need to carefully mulch the soil where it grows during cold weathers.

Okra: It’s a perennial plant that puts numerous food per year

Eggplants: Though being treated as an annual veggie, eggplants are a perennial plant and will provide food as long as they survive the frost

Others: Tomatoes, peppers, and Jerusalem Artichoke

What vegetables grow in 30 days?

By growing fast-growing vegetables, you can harvest in no time:

Kale
Arugula
Spinach
Lettuce
Sweet potato leaves
Green onions
Radishes
Baby carrots

Consider The Frost Date & Length Of Your Growing Season

Why? – you might ask.

By acknowledging of the frost dates, you will get your timing right to start a new growing season without frost damage. This is the very first essential step for a successful spring garden.

The average final spring frost in your area is called “the last frost date” and it’s varied on elevation, country, state, and whether you’re living in a rural or urban environment.

For example, the last frost dates in urban areas might be moved up by several days to a week because due to pockets that surround cities called “heat islands”, these places will be heating up more quickly in spring.

What if I plant my vegetable garden during the last spring frost?

Well, there might be some certain consequences, more or less. As most veggie varieties can’t stand the low temperatures during the frost spring nighttime, their germination will be affected. Their ideal temperature range is from 55 degrees F and above.

Some cold-season plants can grow well in temperatures 32 degrees F and above, such as carrots, beets, radishes, spinach, cabbage, and lettuce.

But below that range, they can’t grow either.

Getting to know your climate is the very first thing to do. Then, when buying a seed packet, looking for the cultural information and nursery tags about it will give you an idea of when to start gardening and which ones can be in the same crop.

Now, how to know the frost day in your area?

You can find many online resources available. They keep updating periodically the specific frost date of different states, regions, or countries for gardeners.

The USDA website is a shining example. It belongs to the American government and USDA stands for U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is very reliable.

But you should understand that these given pieces of information are due to historically averaged temperatures, implying of 10% chance available for seasonal-damaging frosts to happen after the listed date in your region.

The most optimal way to avoid damaging plant frosts is to combine with the seed guidelines according to the last frost date and weather forecast.

Companion Planting

Rather than considering whether carrots should be placed next to leeks, companion planting is worked based on factors beyond your control, like pests and weather. In summary, choosing the right plants to pair together is dependent on 3 main principles:

Consider shade & support

For example, the shade of broccoli or tomatoes saves lettuce from the summer sun. Or, sweet corn can be used to offer support for climbing beans.

Before you want to grow a specific number of plants together, you can search online and ask other gardener friends for information. Or, let your own experiments be your guide. Below are some references for you:

Trellis plants + sunflowers
Trellis plants + corn + climbing beans
Corn + climbing beans + squash
Corns + potatoes

To attract beneficial insects

Such as hoverflies, bees, lacewings, and ladybugs.

Not only aiding pollination, these insects can eat pests like scale insects, mealybugs, thrips, mites, and aphids. That’s the reason why many practical gardeners choose to add some certain flowers to their vegetable garden.

Flowers known to attract beneficial insects are usually rich in high-protein pollen.

For example, nasturtium, comfrey, carrots, parsleys, garlic, onions, poached egg plants, daisy, chamomiles, marigold, and calendula. There are also some efficiently insectary green manures, such as:

Clover
Buckwheat
Phacelia

To confuse pests

Aside from using beneficial insects to get rid of pests, you can take advantage of the added plants for that.

For instance, to eliminate egg-laying issues of onion fly and cabbage fly, many gardeners will use heavily aromatic plants like mints or lambs-quarters.

While a huge area of a single crop is prone to attract pests, a garden variety bedding geranium can confuse them.

How To Take Care Of My Garden?

Once your vegetable garden is set up and growing, some proper care will boost its productivity. Rest assured! These extra steps are very easy to do:

What Garden Tools Do I Need?

The most basic tools and materials for maintaining a garden include:

Fertilizer
Organic mulch
Water source
Hoe, watering can/hose

If you want to learn more about gardening tools and their use, take a look at our “Gardening tools list with pictures and their uses”.

There are 4 things you should consider to take care of your veggie garden properly – watering, mulching, eliminating weeds, and fertilizing.

Gardening Tools List With Pictures And Their Uses

Watering

More or less, your plants need water to grow faster, establish stronger roots, and produce more quality fruits. But take note that only consistent watering will deliver optimal results so this task might be a little bit tricky if your garden has a wide range of varieties.

Most veggies in general require watering after planting.

For young plants and seedlings, you should keep the top 6” of soil moist. Once they have established roots, regularly check the soil by pointing your fingers on the top layers. If 3” or 4” of topsoil is dried, wetting it at least 6” deep.

With a bigger garden, it’d better install a soaker hose or irrigation to control the amount of water for your plants.

The most optimal option is using a sprinkler system as it provides enough water to your plants without wetting their leaves and besides, can save up to 60% of the water.

How to know if I overwater or underwater my plants?

Two common ways are direct observation and using a moisture meter. You will know you have under watered if the plants have dead or brown leaves, stunted growth or wilting.

Some common symptoms of overwatering are: moss or mold growing on the topsoil, dead or yellowing leaves, or the soil around the plant stem is soaked.

Mulching

Should I mulch my vegetable garden?

Yes, you should.

According to the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, mulching 1 or 2 inches on the topsoil will help to limit soil erosion and evaporation. Besides, it can reduce weeds growth, diseases and regulate soil temperatures.

Grass clippings, straw, shredded leaves, and pine needles work well.

If you intend to use grass clippings, only choose from untreated lawns, not the herbicide-treated, fresh manure and sawdust, or hay.

The best time to apply mulch is in spring when the soil has warmed up gradually – at least 65 degrees F at 4” deep (according to the University of Georgia). Don’t try to mulch earlier as it will disturb the soil’s warming.

Extra bonus: If your garden has many acid-love plants, like potatoes, azaleas, and rhododendrons, use coffee grounds and pine needles will give better results.

Weeds

The biggest enemy of any gardeners is weeds. Not only they are a trouble in and of themselves, but weeds also attract diseases and pests.

So the most common question is “How do I keep weeds out of my vegetable garden?”

To control weeds, you should hoe or pull them as soon as they appear and still young. Aside from mulching as mentioned above to suppress weeds, there are some other methods to keep them at bay:

Cultivating & digging regularly
Build a raised garden bed
Cover the gaps between plants by other plants – companion planting

Fertilizing

Highly-nutrient soils promote healthy plants to tolerate disease problems and even pests. Throughout the growing season, every veggie crop will have its own nutrients needs.

By understanding the available soil texture and fertility, you can quickly figure out how much additional fertilizer needed and when to feed the soil.

With vine crops, you can start fertilizing when the vines are spreading and one more time when they bloom. Fertilize corn, cole crops, head lettuce, eggplants, peppers, and tomatoes 3 or 4 weeks after planting.

How to fertilize?

Sprinkle fertilizer 8” from scratch and stems into the soil. Use 2 pounds/25 feet of row or 2 tablespoons of 5-10-10/plant.

BONUS: Vegetable Garden Layout Ideas

Now, I’m quite sure that you’ve known how to start a vegetable garden from scratch but some guys might be a bit unsure of how to lay it out, right? So this extra section will give you some ideas for easy-to-build but beautiful vegetable garden layouts:

Take advantage of your raised garden beds: You can play colors by painting the wood boards or plants different varieties. Or some rearrangement like this is quite a creative idea:

Pallet Garden: You can put some time and effort to build a pallet garden, start with your raised bed. Just place a pallet on the backside of the bed for plants to grow up, which is quite easy.

Choose companion planting wise: Here are some plant combos to try:

Cabbage + chamomile
Chives/geraniums + roses
Garlic/chives + lettuce
Cilantro/basil + tomatoes
Carrots + radishes
Eggplants/tomatoes + lettuce
Broccoli + calendula
Pumpkin/squash + pole beans + corn
Swiss chard +sweet alyssum
Flowering herbs + squash/melons
Cucumber + nasturtium

Conclusion

As you can see, gardening is both an art and a science. And I hope my intensive guide has cleared all the questions that you have about how to start a vegetable garden from scratch. Thanks for reading!