Don't Buy by Terry Clark - HTML preview

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#20. Growing Vegetables the Green Way

The news is always recounting the story of some product being recalled. E-coli is a very dangerous bacteria, and buying produce when you are not sure where and how it was grown can be a problem. Store bought produce unless specifically mentioned as organic can have harmful toxins and chemicals in them. Another big plus in growing your own vegetables is the money you will save in the long run by not having to buy them.

Now, if you like gardening and have a place to garden in, why not start growing your own vegetables? No, it's not impossible and yes, it will require some time and effort!

Here are some tips for getting your vegetable garden started using green gardening methods. Why not take the step forward and give it a try?

For a novice gardener, lettuce and cucumbers are good vegetables to start with. Both vegetables require very little effort. Cucumbers are generally grown when the weather is warm and lettuce when the weather is cool. It is easy enough to learn about the different vegetables and their planting and harvesting times.

Finding the right location for your garden is very important because most vegetables require plenty of sunlight. There are some vegetables that do better with partial shade. Again it's a matter of learning about the vegetables you plan to plant.

Plants like lettuces and radishes do not require too much room for growing and can even be grown in containers. Some vegetables like corn need plenty of space to grow in.

Tomatoes like plenty of sun and if you use a lot of tomatoes then try using upside down planters to save space. Your tomatoes can be grown on the porch or a back deck, in a plastic bottle if you want.

Soil is important and you will need to know the kind of soil you have so that you can prepare the right pH (acidity) balance. The internet has plenty of information on the subject of how to test the soil and how to balance it correctly. Balancing is only a matter of adding fertilizer to get the right pH level in which vegetables will thrive.

Growing your own vegetables will mean planting either seeds or seedlings every year. You can collect and dry the seeds from your own vegetables for planting or get some from the local store. Water is also essential for your vegetables so make sure they never go thirsty.