The Beginner's Guide to Growing Your Own Fruits and Vegetables

"A colorful bounty of farm-fresh produce—nature's finest selection for a healthy lifestyle!" | Credit: Poakie614

With more and more focus on sustainability, there’s an increasing number of homeowners that are deciding against purchasing fruit and vegetables from grocery stores in favour of growing their own. While this is an attractive thought for many homeowners and budding landscapers, it can be tricky to know where to start if you have never attempted to grow your own fruit and veg. For those in need of an introduction to the topic, this article will serve as a beginner’s guide to growing your own fruit and vegetables in five simple steps.

Choose Your Growing Space

The first decision you will need to make is deciding where in your garden you want to grow your own fruit and veg. That’s if you are choosing to grow your fruit outdoors; those living in harsher climates may find it wiser to grow their food inside their own homes although this may change the vegetables you are able to grow.

Once you’ve decided on a growing space, you will then need to consider the containers you will use. For those with limited space, small pots may be your best option. If you have a larger garden with more space, planter boxes and raised beds could be the perfect addition to your garden.

Assess Your Soil

Your soil is one of the most important things to consider when attempting to grow your own vegetables. Before you brush over this step, ask yourself if you have considered factors such as pH, drainage and moisture.

If this is the first time you have attempted to grow your own fruit and veg, you will want to carry out a quick soil assessment. Take a small sample and use a pH test to determine if it is the correct pH. It’s recommended that a pH of 6.5 is the perfect level for growing vegetables but between 6.0 and 7.0 is usually fine.

You will also want to test the texture of your soil to ensure it is healthy and optimal for your plants to grow. There is a simple jar test which involves a clear jar, a marker pen, a ruler, a sieve and of course, your soil. Follow these steps to check the texture of your soil:

• Sieve your soil into the clear jar until it fills a third of the jar

• Fill the rest of the jar with water

• Shake the jar and allow it to set for one minute

• Mark the jar with a marker pen where the sand layer starts

• Leave the jar for 2 hours

• Place another mark where there is another change in colour

• Leave the jar for 2 days and then repeat

• Use a ruler to measure each segment and use a soil texture triangle which you can find here.

Choose The Fruit & Veg You Wish To Grow

Now for the fun part, selecting which fruit and vegetables you are going to grow. The most obvious answer is to select which food items you like the most but you will also need to consider which items are in season and the time and care that different foods need.

Don’t underestimate the part that your location plays when determining the right food items to grow. If you live in tropical climates with lots of sun, tomatoes and peppers will thrive. Kale and sprouts however are able to grow in cooler climates so it’s worth doing some research before committing to a decision.

For beginners, it’d be wise to select crops that don’t require much maintenance. Chillies are an easy vegetable to grow and adds a lovely touch of colour to your garden. Strawberries are also easy to grow but make sure you check the best time of year to grow them in your country.

Once your confidence grows, you can start to grow what are considered more difficult vegetables. Cauliflowers and celery can be difficult to grow as they require very specific conditions.

Ongoing Maintenance

There’s more to maintenance than just watering your fruit and veg. Having said that, watering is a vital step and you will need to check how much water your crops need. Underwatering will slow down the growth of your vegetables and potentially cause them to wilt. On the other hand, overwatering could easily damage the roots of your plants and, in severe cases, could cause roots to rot.

You’ll also need to keep on top of your soil’s health, which can be achieved through adding mulch to ensure your soil withholds moisture. Mulch also helps to prevent weeds by acting as a safety barrier and blocking sunlight.

A large part of your ongoing maintenance will revolve around pest control. All your hard work could be undone in the blink of an eye if you fail to repel pests. There are a number of products that help control pests while there are also many natural pest control additions including strong-smelling herbs and marigolds.

Finally, to help your maintenance efforts, you’ll want to purchase some basic gardening equipment (such as pruners and rakes) to help with your garden maintenance.

Harvest and Eat!

While this is undoubtedly the best part for most, there is even an art to harvesting. For beginners, start by researching when different fruit and vegetables are ready to harvest. This includes understanding the optimal colour and size.

This is one of the reasons why chillies are a good vegetable to grow for beginners. Their distinct colour makes it easy to spot when they are ready to be picked. From there, it’s time to find yourself some recipes and put your veggies to good use!

Final Thoughts

Growing your own fruit and vegetables can be a massively rewarding experience, not to mention how it helps you lead a more sustainable lifestyle. If you are considering growing your own food from your home or garden, it’s important to understand the different factors and obstacles that stand in your way. Hopefully, this article broke the process down and gave you the confidence to give it a go. Good luck!