Tips for an Easy Vegetable Garden

If you have a "brown thumb," turn it green with these tips for growing a bountiful and easy vegetable garden.

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Plucking fresh veggies out of a backyard garden can be one of the highlights of summer. Couple the great taste with how much money you'll save, and growing your own veggies makes perfect sense. Here's how to ensure a successful vegetable garden:

Choose a sunny site. Vegetable plants need at least six hours of sun per day. Don't plant the garden in an area that's shaded by buildings or trees. Without sufficient sunlight, the plants will grow spindly and won't produce well.

Start small, and build on your success.

Follow the directions on the back of the seed packet for optimum planting times and spacing requirements.

To achieve perfect drainage and to enable planting earlier, consider installing raised beds. The soil in raised beds drains and warms faster in the spring. The down side is that raised beds typically need more water.

Dig the soil 6 to 8 inches deep, loosening and turning it over, and remove any rocks or debris that may be in the way.

Then spread a 2- to 4-inch layer of compost or other organic material over the bed and work it into the soil.

Fertilize the garden with natural fertilizer, paying special attention to the proper proportions indicated on the package.

For pest problems, apply an organic pest control spray directly to the leaves.

When watering, remember that too much or too little can ultimately kill a plant.

Don't wait until the soil is completely dry before watering, and don't depend on the rain as a water source.

Use a sprinkler or — if a more advanced approach is desired — a drip system.

Insert a finger about 1 inch into the soil; if it feels dry, it's time to water.

Pull weeds weekly to prevent them from becoming a major problem.

If desired, use a bark or wood-chip mulch to help keep plants healthy and reduce weeds. (Be sure to leave enough free space for walking between plants.) Different mulches work better in different zones, so ask a local expert for a specific recommendation.

Harvest vegetables when they're ripe. They should pull off the vine easily.

If winter (or the first frost) is approaching, try protecting plants with a blanket or cold frame, or harvest what's available and allow it to ripen on the kitchen windowsill.