It can be somewhat intimidating when you think of starting a vegetable garden when you’re a beginner. It doesn’t have to be. There a few basics you need to know, and there are tons of benefits. You get to grow you own food, which means you know exactly what goes into it. You also get to be outside enjoying the air, and get some exercise! It doesn’t matter if you live in a rural area or the middle of the city, everyone can start a vegetable garden.

Vegetable gardens are typically easier to maintain than flower gardens because vegetables are more resilient, especially in different types of weathers. Flowers are typically more delicate to changes in the weather, and don’t adapt as easily. Planting vegetable gardens usually demand a lot of space, although some vegetables can also survive in plant boxes. It really depends on what kind of vegetables you will plant, and what you expect out of your vegetable garden.

Planting Styles The more traditional way of planting vegetables is laying them out in straight, organized lines. Some people prefer to plant alternating rows of different types of vegetables so that when one type of vegetable is about to be harvested, the rows in between them have vegetables that are not yet in season. The soil structure quickly becomes ruined because gardeners have to walk between rows, though.

After we tried the traditional planting style and didn’t have a lot of luck with it we went looking for some other options. We soon found raised bed gardening. You create a bed that is raised above ground, ours are 12 inches tall. You keep the bed 3 or 4 feet across so you can easily reach the middle from either side. Doing this allows great drainage, I don’t have to mess with the Bermuda grass, and the weeding is minimal.

Another planting style that is popular is potager which combines vegetables with flowers and herbs and are planted in a way that is aesthetically pleasing.

Even if you don’t have room for raised beds, or traditional gardening never fear. Even those the most crunched for space can grow a vegetable garden. Most types of vegetables now have at least one dwarf version that can be grown in a pot in front of a window or on a patio. There are even upside down planters you can grow many things in as well. All they require is a good sturdy hook, sun and water.

It doesn’t really matter how much space you have available. If you’ve got the vegetable garden bug you can make it happen. If you have minimal space you may have to choose one or two veggies to grow, so make sure they’re your favorites. If you have lots of room, you can grow more, but remember as a beginner to keep the garden small. It may end up being more work than you realized when you were dreaming your garden into existence.