Vegetable Gardening: 8 Secrets to Grow More Vegetables

Vegetable Gardening

Vegetable Gardening: 8 Secrets to Grow More Vegetables is a list that covers common garden problems and how to fix them. 

When you follow the eight tips outlined in these checklists, you'll save time, money, work, and you'll avoid unnecessary headaches in your vegetable garden! Let's get started!

full sun vegetables

1) Weather is too hot

Most plants grow best in temperatures ranging from 59°–86°F.
When temperatures climb above 90°F, plant growth slows and some plants become stressed.

  • Erect screens or trellises to provide shade
  • Grow drought-tolerant, full sun vegetables (tomatoes, squash, Swiss chard, peppers)
  •  Grow a screen of heat-lover plants to create shade for more sensitive plants.
  • Suspend cloth sheeting above plants.
  •  Install a canopy or lattice over plants.
  • Group vegetables according to their water needs.List 
root vegetables

2) Not enough sun

  • Reflect light using mirrors, white walls, or shiny metal
  • Reduce shade: Remove branches, trim trees, install fences
  •  Improve soil by adding compost
  • Don't overwater
  • Tear down or move under-used outbuildings
  • Grow shade-tolerant plants:
    Root vegetables: carrots, potatoes, beets, radishes, spring onions
    Leafy greens: Kale, arugula, lettuce, pak choi
short season vegetables

3) Short growing season

  • Start seedlings indoors weeks before traditional planting-out dates.
  • Extend growing season by covering raised beds with plastic to create protective mini-hoops.
  • Install row covers or cold frames
  • Build a small, unheated greenhouse
  • Have frost covers at the ready: Shower curtains, bedsheets, fleece, plastic milk jugs.
  • Choose short-season varieties that mature quickly (cress, mustard greens, spinach, cherry tomatoes, pickling cucumbers)
  • Grow vegetables indoors: Peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers
  • Set up an indoor hydroponic system
poor quality soil

4) Poor soil

  • Remove old, depleted soil and replace it with new soil.
  • Get plants out of the ground soil and into raised beds.
  • Grow edibles that are tolerant of poor soils.
  • Rotate crops every year, ideally on a 3 or 4-year schedule.
  • Remediate soil over time by amending it with compost and other organic materials.
  • Dig and drop food scraps directly in the garden.
  • Don't rototill your garden.Have your soil tested by a certified lab.
  • Grow plants that help to improve soil.
  • Examples: Peas, beans, comfrey.Grow cover (green manure crops) such as vetch and field peas..
watering tips

5) Inconvenient water access

  • Carry watering cans or jugs from the nearest water source or tap.
  • Install drip irrigation, rain barrels or cisterns.
  • Use gray water from the kitchen to water plants.
  • Grow drought-tolerant plants.
  • Apply compost to help your soil retain moisture.
poor soil drainage

6) Soil drains poorly

  • Grow veggies in raised beds or containers
  • Amend sandy soil with organic matter such as compost
  • Grow plants that don't mind "wet feet"
  • Avoid soil compaction (don't tread on soil)
  • Create a pond
strong winds

7) Strong winds

  • Install fences, trellises; group containers to provide stability
  • Plant hedgerows
  • Support tall plants with stakes, cages, or trellises
  • When NOT to support tall plants: Some stiff-stemmed plants, such as Himalayan blue poppies, will snap off at the top of a cage or stake. Solution: Let them wave, spin, and nod with the wind.
  • Provide climbing "walls" for vining plants (snow peas, beans, cucumbers)
  • Plant a screen of wind-tolerant plants to shelter tender edibles
  • Plant tall plants in the lee side of buildings
  • Grow in raised bedsGrow wind-resistant plants
  • Cover small, tender plants with cloches
  • When practical, bring potted plants indoors
  • Install swivels on hanging baskets to allow for turning
  • If your property is sloped, site your garden on the hillside. Avoid hilltops and valleys.
  • Amend sandy soil with organic matter such as compost

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"Vegetable Gardening: 8 Secrets" - by Marion Owen

Who is Marion Owen?

Learn the fine art of nurturing your dream garden using organic methods that have been fine-tuned over 35 years by Marion Owen, New York Times bestselling author.

Gardening techniques that have been proven to work by Marion's students longing for their own dream garden in landscapes as diverse as North America, India, Europe, UK and Australia. 

Finally, you can throw away all those harsh chemicals, as Marion only teaches methods that are in tune with Mother Nature!

Marion Owen's approach to fulfilling your dream garden will save you hundreds of dollar. At the same time bring natural vitality to you, your family and the planet.

Start to grow flowers, herbs and vegetables using a methodology in harmony with the natural environment.

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