Starting a vegetable garden

[selena]

Hello all,

I am planning to start a vegetable garden in my backyard. My husband suggested this idea because there was a lot of space lying vacant in the backyard. Even I think it would be really good, and we can have fresh homegrown veggies. It would be a stress relieving activity too.
But I am not sure what type of vegetables would be best to grow in the backyard. Since I had minimal knowledge about this, I searched on the internet and found an article, http://inthebackyard.ca/9-healthy-foods-to-grow-in-your-backyard/. They are listing some nutrient rich foods that you can grow in your backyard. Is this all? Any other vegetables that can be grown? I am looking forward to some suggestions. Thanks.

 

[Beth_B]

Hi.

I wouldn't waste time growing trendy things like goji berries and quinoa, personally. And blueberries can be a little a tricky to grow. Unless these are things you really enjoy eating.

How much sun does your garden get? As long as you get a minimum of six hours, you can grow just about any vegetable. Tomatoes, squash, corn, greens, carrots etc. Best bet is to visit a garden center (preferably NOT a big box store) and pick things you enjoy eating.

 

[marlingardener]

Selena, welcome to the forums!
The only suggestions I can offer are 1) plant what you eat (we don't plant parsnips because you couldn't get us to eat them by poking us with a sharp stick); 2) choose varieties that do well in your area, and this is where a garden center comes in handy--they really want you to succeed and return year after year; and finally, 3) start small. A big vegetable garden takes a lot of time and work. You can always expand next season after you learn how much effort and time you have to devote to the garden.
About gardening being a "stress relieving activity", don't count on it. I wake up at 2 a.m. wondering if the rain is washing out my peas, if I remembered to fertilize the tomatoes, and how I'm going to foist off all that excess lettuce on unsuspecting neighbors!

 

[Vishu1708]

Hey Selena, you already have got some excellent advice already.
Only tip I would like to give you is, plant legumes like soya beans or red kidney beans along with whatever you grow. After 1.5 month of planting legumes, cut them off from the base and use them as mulch around your plants

 

[alp]

I would strongly recommend some curly leaves lettuces. I have one from last winter. But winter is mild here in South England. Salad leaves are easy to grow and fast to harvest. Also Spinach, sugar snap tastes delicious and you eat the whole things. Its flavour is superb.. much better than Mange tout. Parley is a good choice as well.

Land cress is full of antioxidants and you can stir fry the flowers ..

 

[Don Perry]

Considering that you live in Canada, I would suggest a hearty early growing veggie like broccoli or cabbage. Lots of good advice in the previous posts. Everyone here in Oklahoma grows tons of tomatoes, and they really are much better than store bought. Blue Lake beans are a good choice this time of year. Start small. Only a couple of tomato plants will supply a lot! Turnips and the greens will grow most year round here, don't know how they will do that far north. Good luck and have fun with it .

 

[Tess]

Hello all,

I am planning to start a vegetable garden in my backyard. My husband suggested this idea because there was a lot of space lying vacant in the backyard. Even I think it would be really good, and we can have fresh homegrown veggies. It would be a stress relieving activity too.
But I am not sure what type of vegetables would be best to grow in the backyard. Since I had minimal knowledge about this, I searched on the internet and found an article, http://inthebackyard.ca/9-healthy-foods-to-grow-in-your-backyard/. They are listing some nutrient rich foods that you can grow in your backyard. Is this all? Any other vegetables that can be grown? I am looking forward to some suggestions. Thanks.

Welcome to the forum Selena! I live in the Pacific Northwest and one of my favorite garden veggies to grow is snow peas. I plant them in early spring. I love to snack on these while in the garden and they are wonderful in lots of stir fries too!

 

[Don Perry]

Onion sets are always a good choice. We grow red onions because they are great in salads and in Mexican rice & beans. You can't do much wrong with onions, just water them and they grow. Plant them now.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

And be prepared for proper onions, remember the comic strips where onions made people cry, well mine do that where store bought ones don't