It is hard to beat the fresh flavor and high nutritional value of fresh organically grown food.

If you have never eaten fresh peas just picked from the garden or enjoyed a summer salad just harvested from your own yard, or if you have had a small vegetable garden in the past and are interested in learning more about how to grow your own food organically, this article may be of use to you!

If you are new at vegetable gardening it is best to start with a small garden that you can successfully manage and then expand each year until your garden reaches a point where it is still manageable with your daily life, yet provides you with the amount of fresh vegetables, greens and herbs that you desire.

Planning a Vegetable Garden:

When planning a garden, it is important to ask a few basic questions:

• Who will be doing the work? Will the garden be a group project with family members or friends who will work willingly through the season to a fall harvest, or will you be handling the daily chores associated with vegetable gardening by yourself? Remember that a small weed-free garden will produce more than a large, weedy mess. 
• What do you and your family like to eat? Although the pictures in the garden catalog look delicious, there is no value in taking up gardening space with vegetables that no one eats. Make a list of your family’s favorite vegetables, ranked in order of preference. This will be a useful guide in deciding how much of each vegetable to plant. Successive plantings of certain crops such as beans, lettuce and carrots can be harvested over a longer period of time and increase your yield. As you plan, list recommended varieties and planting dates.
• How do you plan to use the produce from your garden? If you plan to can, freeze, dry or store part of the produce, this will be a factor not only in planning the size of the garden but also in selecting varieties. Some varieties have much better keeping quality than others. Care should be used in choosing the seeds, making sure the varieties you select are adapted to your area and intended use. When selecting seeds always look for organic  seeds whenever possible. You can order reasonably priced fresh organic seeds from Stargazer Perennials - and shipping is FREE!
  
• Finally, how much space is available? How much area can be converted into usable garden space, and how much garden do you need? Do not plant more garden than you need.

Vegetable Garden Site Selection and Layout:

Site selection for your vegetable garden is one of the most important parts of the planning process. Once you establish a site for your garden and put in a large amount of time and effort into preparing the beds, you will not want to relocate your garden the next year. A properly chosen site will also help you to avoid many problems in the future due to inadequate drainage or poor sunlight exposure. When choosing a site for your vegetable garden, take into account the following factors:

• Vegetables require a minimum of 6 hours of direct sunlight each day. Avoid areas where neighboring trees will shade vegetables during the summer.
• Good drainage is essential for proper vegetable growth. Avoid areas that accumulate runoff from rain or irrigation.
• Most vegetables require at least 1” of water per week. Select an area that has easy access to irrigation water.

Once you have decided on the location, which crops and how many plants you are going to grow, it's time decide where they best fit in the garden. The tall crops such as peas, beans and corn, should be planted on the north side of the vegetable garden. In this way they will not shade the rest of the vegetable crops. In the center of the vegetable garden area, plant the medium sized crops such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes, squash, pumpkins and other mediums sized crops. Then at the very southern end of the garden is where the low growing crops like radishes, carrots, beets, lettuce, onions and other low growing ones are planted. Whenever possible, the rows in the vegetable garden should run north and south, for best sun exposure and air circulation. If the rows run east and west the first row tends to shade the second row, the second row the third and so forth...

Vegetable Gardening in Raised Bed vs. Rows:

Raised beds are the preferred choice by most gardeners for home vegetable gardening. Although constructing raised beds requires an initial investment of both time and money, the rewards you will reap in increased productivity and improved soil condition are worth it.

Raised beds are more productive for several reasons:

• Foot / cart traffic is restricted to garden paths, therefore the soil in raised beds remains loose and friable.
• The construction of raised beds gives you the opportunity to correct a site which slopes or has poor drainage.
• The soil which you fill the raised beds with can easily be mixed to be the ideal PH and porosity for the vegetables you wish to grow.
• Proper crop rotation is much easier to accomplish with raised beds than standard garden rows.
• The soil in raised beds heats up faster than ground soil in the spring, allowing you to typically start planting 1-2 weeks earlier than in a standard inground garden row.

When to Plant Vegetables:

The time at which vegetables are planted outdoors depends on the cold hardiness of a particular species or cultivar. Vegetables can be divided into two categories based on temperature requirements: cool-season and warm-season crops.

Cool-season vegetables originated in temperate climates and have their favorable growth period during the cool parts of the year. Cool-season crops grow poorly in summer heat. Typical cool-weather crops include: arugula, beet, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, chicory, escarole, kale, lettuce, onion, peas, radish, spinach and turnips. Though cool-season crops continue to grow well past the earliest freeze in the fall, they should be started early enough to mature before hard freezes are expected. Cool-weather crops can be planted in the early spring and then again later in the summer.

Warm-season crops primarily came from subtropical and tropical regions and require warm weather for seed germination and plant growth. They are injured or killed by freezing temperatures and should not be planted outdoors in the spring without protection or until the danger of freezing temperatures is past. Warm-season crops planted in the summer to mature in the fall should be planted early enough so they can be harvested before the killing freeze in the fall. Typical warm-weather vegetable crops include: cantaloupe, carrot, corn, cucumber, eggplant, lima bean, okra, parsnip, pepper, potato, pumpkin, snap bean, summer squash, sweet potato, tomato, watermelon and winter squash.

Fertilizing Your Vegetable Garden:

If you have properly prepared your soil with ample organic amendments prior to planting in the spring, the nutrients in the soil should be sufficient enough for a years worth of vegetables. Some gardeners though like to apply additional fertilizer in the summer to boost production or if you are planting in succession or interplanting, an additional dose of fertilizer will benefit the growth of your vegetables. If you do add additional fertilizer stay away from synthetics such as Miracle Gro and Scotts and opt instead for an organic liquid fertilizer that is fish or kelp based such as Maxi-crop. Organic liquid fertilizer should be applied very early in the morning when the air is still cool. After application wait several hours then hose off any excess on the leaves to prevent sunburn. If you use a granular fertilizer make sure that it does not come in contact with the stem of the plant as most vegetables have tender stems.