Spring
Your spring vegetable garden has an array of possibilities that you can plant and keep busy at within your garden during these early sometimes wet months of the year. The weather is cooler than that of the summer months but is considerably warmer than the winter you have just emerged from. Peas are a perfect vegetable to start planting and getting ready, as well as leafy vegetables like lettuce, perennial vegetables such as rhubarb and asparagus and beets, mustard, onions, radishes and spinach. Asparagus for example is one of a few vegetables that you can plant once and then see return year after year without the need for you to plant over and over again. Most people when they think of spring they think of lambs, snowdrops and of course these delicious vegetables which taste completely different when hand picked from your garden rather than bought from the store.

Summer
The summer vegetable garden is where the fun really starts! This is when the possibilities are really opened up for you. Now if you live somewhere where the heat really turns up during the summer months then there is no need to despair as there are still vegetables that you can grow that can withstand the hottest weather and grow in abundance; Okra for example as well as black eyed, purple hull peas and butter beans! You may find that during the summer months you may have problems with various insects that attack your garden so make sure you take precautions to combat these pests before you end up with a mass infestation that can devastate your vegetables making them a failed crop. Try not to use pesticides as this will taint the taste, try keeping things organic for the fullest flavors. Other summer vegetables that can be grown in more reasonable summer climates include; Tomatoes, peppers, beans and courgettes as well as cucumbers. Always remember to water your plants regularly as well as weed them. The summer vegetable garden should always be harvested every two to three days to make sure you get all of the ripe fruits of your labor as they become mature enough to eat!
 

When you first decide that you are going to use your back garden for growing vegetables you may feel a sense of slight panic about how you are going to plan, what seeds you want to plant and how, if you can, succeed at vegetable gardening. Let me put your fears at rest because if you follow your heart and a few simple tips you too can have a beautiful well planned vegetable garden to be proud of.

When first planning a vegetable garden you need to know what kind of soil you have to work with as the type of soil you have determines what vegetables and plants that you are going to be able to grow successfully. If you feel that your soil is not of the best quality you can mix in large volumes of ready made compost that will increase your soils potential, fertility and moistness. If you are on a budget then why not try and make your own compost. All of the kitchen leftovers such as vegetable shavings and cuttings, fruit cores, pips and seeds, any degradable food waste should be placed into a hole that you should dig in the corner of your garden. Once full place a layer of the soil loosely over it again. Within a few days to a week you will have fresh, organic compost that has cost you nothing. Some local council provide you with free composting bins to help with recycling, this is a rich source of compost that is perfect for giving your garden nutrients.

The next thing you need to plan is what vegetables you want to plant and where you want to plant them. Now you have managed to make your soil fertile and ready for planting you need to decide what type of beds you want to create for them. You can create open soil bed that is marked out using wires or even small fences to separate them and then the seeds themselves are planted directly into the open soil. The other option is raised beds. Raised beds have a few advantages over open soil beds as they are often more effective and the outcome more guaranteed in success. It all comes down to the amount of sunlight you get on your plot, the amount of rain and watering and also how much you fertilize your soil. But open soil beds are just as effective if not more in other ways.

Growing vegetables in containers can be simple when you know how! Now, growing vegetables in containers is also known as mini gardening which is perfect for introducing children into the fun world of gardening. It is also perfect if you are not blessed with a large garden plot as containers are small enough to be placed even in the smallest of places. If you have a bad quality of soil that is preventing you from being able to grow your favorite vegetables then switch to container gardening, although the selection of what you can grow in a container needs to be the same as what you want to grow. So let’s check out what you can grow in a container garden; Tomatoes (several varieties, Squash (several varieties), peppers, green beans, egg plant, leaf lettuce, parsley, coriander, mint, tarragon, radishes, green onions and other herbs. A small herb garden, grown in containers is normally where the mini gardener first starts before moving on to growing vegetables in containers. The best soil and compost that you use within the containers has to be nutrient rich and synthetic soil is better for your vegetables than traditional soils are. The actual pot or container that you use is totally up to you. Some people like the mini garden to be a statement piece as well as a garden so they use nice ceramic pots, but there is really no need for expense as almost any container will do as long as they are deep enough to withstand the growing requirements of what vegetable you want to grow.