How to Care for a Vegetable Garden

There are many benefits to planting your own vegetable garden. Maintaining a vegetable garden does require a certain amount of time and effort. Vegetable gardens easily grow sick and may even attract unwanted pests if not properly cared for. Follow the tips below to care for a vegetable garden.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Water the vegetables on a regular basis. Rainfall alone may not cut it when it comes to your plants getting the nutrients they need. The kind of soil used may have a huge impact on the amount of water it can hold. You may need to implement an irrigation system, or just plan on using a watering can as much as needed.

2. Weed the garden as much as needed. Weeds can steal nutrients, sunlight and precious room from your vegetables. Be able to recognize weeds when they are young and small. Check the vegetable garden on a daily basis to make sure weeds are not taking over.

3. Stake the vegetables that need it. Many vegetables need extra support while the foods they bear grow large and heavy, including tomatoes, beans, cucumbers and squash. Use a simple wooden or metal stake, a cage or even a trellis system to support them.

4. Control pests that are attracted to the buffet of food in your yard. They may be as small as worms, spiders and beetles or they may be as large as rabbits and deer. For bugs, you may need to use an insecticide. For animals, you may need to get creative and outsmart them with scarecrow, noise or visual things such as tying up blank compact discs to reflect light.

5. Prepare your vegetable garden for the winter. The success of your vegetable garden on the next year depends on this preparation. Plant plants that you don't intend to remove as a cover and protectorate for the soil. Some common ones include rye, buckwheat and soybeans.

[ashfeather]

on 6/3/2009 very nice article. You should make a seperate eHow about keeping rabbits out! CD? You should elaborate. ty :)