10 tips for cultivating a thriving vegetable garden

With the huge focus on healthy eating and living, many people are getting back to basics and growing their own veggies at home. Whether you’ve got a big space or only a tiny area, you can start your own veggie patch and be picking your own fresh food in no time.

Growing your own food is not only healthy and enjoyable, but it will ave you money at the checkout too. You’re sure to get an enormous satisfaction from harvesting your very own crop.

Whether you’re just thinking of getting started or you’re already a seasoned grower, these tips will have something for everyone to help make your kitchen garden a success.

1. Start your seedlings out of the garden

To give your seeds a good start, you should start them off outside the garden to give them a chance to grow. Using empty egg shells looks adorable and also provides your seedlings with plenty of nutrients, as does using a lemon or orange peel to plant your seeds in. Once they’ve grown and are stronger, you can then transplant them into the garden.

2. Soak your seeds in warm water

Before planting seeds, it’s a great idea to soak them in warm water for 24 hours beforehand. This encourages growth and will help them take root once planted.

3. Use herbs to keep pests at bay

Planting a herb garden around your veggies will not only give you fresh herbs to cook with, but can help to keep pests at bay. Fragrant herbs like citronella are useful and will help stop your veggies being eaten before you get to them.

The neighbourhood cat will be put off scratching around by the strong scents too!

4. Grow your food scraps

Some food scraps can be used to grow more veggies! Rather than buying the seeds, you can use scraps from celery, garlic, and leek to grow new plants.

6. Compost

Start your own compost heap! It doesn’t have to be big, but it will help your veggies grow and cut down on food and organic waste at the same time.

7. Baking soda

It sounds a bit strange, but mixing baking soda into the soil around your tomatoes can help make them sweeter if you find they’re a bit bitter or sour.

8. Use coffee grounds

Rather than throwing away your used coffee grounds, sprinkle them around your plants as another way to keep pests at bay.

9. Egg shells

Aside from compost and being great containers to grow seedlings in, eggs shells crushed up into small pieces and sprinkled around the garden will help keep slugs and snails from eating up your fresh produce.

10. Stockings

No, not to make your legs look great! If you’re growing melons or another large fruit or veggie, stockings can be used as slings to keep the stems from breaking and also to keep the fruit from rotting on the ground.