Choosing the Best Vegetable Garden Location

Planting your own vegetable garden at home can be a satisfying experience. Some vegetable gardeners have even turned their hobby into a successful business. By growing your own vegetables, you can plant what your family or customers like, without harmful pesticides, and have the freshest possible produce.

The first consideration in planting a vegetable garden is to choose the very best location available, no matter what kinds of vegetables you want to grow. Choose a part of your yard that meets these four requirements, if possible:

1. Level ground. If you can envision garden rows running up and down a slope in the rain, then you will logically conclude that water will wash away the soil, and perhaps your plants. The water will also pool at the bottom of your garden, causing root rot. Level ground is best for growing vegetables because it's easier to prepare, plant, and maintain. If you must plant on a slope, however, run your rows across.
2. Proper soil pH. While you have no control over what kind of dirt you have in your yard, you can control and adjust the pH levels to provide the best soil for your vegetables to grow. Purchase a soil test kit from your garden center, test for acidity, and then add compounds of lime or sulfur to adjust the levels for the types of vegetables you want to grow. With any type of soil, add compost regularly to make fertile soil.
3. Close to a water source. Unless you want to walk heavy buckets of water a great distance to your garden to irrigate it, make sure that your garden hose can easily reach your garden.
4. Adequate sunlight. Whatever vegetables you decide to cultivate, they need at least six hours of sunlight each day to grow best. This means that you need to plant away from anything that will cast shadows on your garden while the sun is shining, including buildings, fences, trees, and bushes.

You also need to consider the location of your garden in relation to barriers. Imagine that you have already planted your garden, and then ask yourself these questions:

• Have you chosen a garden plot that is large enough for what you want to yield?
• Will a farm gate swing over your garden when your corn grows tall?
• Have you planted close to a driveway or pathway, where possible traffic can trample your plants?
• Will large tree or hedge roots impede the growth of your vegetables, competing with necessary water and nutrients?
• Is your garden spot planted next to a creek, where significant rainfall may cause flooding of your garden?

The most important factors to consider when choosing a vegetable garden location are sunlight, soil, and water. If you choose a good location meeting those requirements, you will be able to harvest a good crop of vegetables.