How to Plant a 12 X 12 Vegetable Garden

Sort through your choices carefully and determine what you most enjoy to eat. Other considerations for choosing vegetable plants are how many you will use over the summer and the ease of storing the extra vegetables either by canning, drying or freezing. Some people enjoy giving or trading away the excess fruit.

Prepare the soil two to three weeks in advance of planting by laying 2 to 4 inches of compost on the soil and rototilling it into the garden.

Mark off the areas for the various plants. Some will be started with seeds, such as the beans and peas, while others are most often bought as seedling plants at the local nursery. Leave room for footpaths between the types of plants so that you can pick them when ripe.

Determine how many of each plant you will need based upon the space you have allocated for it. Some plants need to be set 12 inches from one another, while others do best at 18 inches. Check available guides for your particular vegetable plant. Squeezing too many plants into to small an area will hamper their growth.

Set the seed into the soil as the instructions call for. For example, lettuce seed needs to be barely covered with soil, while cilantro is best just scattered on top. Cover beans with about 1/4 inch of soil. Setting the seeds in a straight line lets know which are your vegetables and which are weed plants when they begin to sprout.

Remove the seedlings from their container if they are in plastic. Some containers are designed to go into the ground with the plant. Try not to disturb the root ball when you lift the plant out.

Know the best way for each plant to be set into the ground. For example, tomato plants should have both the root ball and much of their stem in the ground. New roots grow from their stem and provide extra nourishment. Other plants such as peppers should have only the root ball set well into the soil.

Dig the proper size hole and leave the soil to the side. Set the seedling into the hole and carefully pack the extra soil around the root ball. Do not leave any air pockets in the space.

Once the seeds and plants are set out, water them in until the soil is damp to the 6-inch level below the surface. Keep a close daily watch for the first two weeks, and be ready to water them if the soil feels dry when you stick your forefinger in up to the second knuckle.