A Vegetable Garden in 4 easy steps
What You’ll Need
- pots (terra-cotta or ceramic are best; plastic tends to get too hot for plants)
- peat-based potting soil (like MiracleGro), which will drain easily and allow roots to spread
- raw eggs, in shells
- seeds (herbs such as sage, thyme, basil, and rosemary and vegetables such as lettuce, green beans, peas, eggplants, peppers, summer squash, and tomatoes flourish in containers — look for seed packets that say “compact” or “space saver”)
- plant markers
- gardening gloves
- trowel
- screwdriver
BEFORE YOU BEGIN:
Drill five or six ?-inch drainage holes in the bottom of any pots that don’t have them. To figure out the best placement for your garden, observe your yard at different times throughout the day: The ideal location gets at least six hours of sunlight. Nearly all vegetables will grow better in full sunlight than in shade, but some crops (lettuces, mustard greens) can tolerate more shade than others (onions, tomatoes). Cramped for space? Consider grouping several different plants together in one large (20-inch-diameter or bigger) pot, suggests Jack Algiere, four-season grower at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, NY.