Vegetable Gardening For Dummies

Vegetables from your own farm to your own table

We all love good food, and the fresher it is, the better! And what could be fresher than farm-to-table terms than vegetables you''ve grown at home? The new edition of Vegetable Gardening For Dummies puts you in touch with your roots in a thousands of years old farming tradition by demonstrating how easy it is to grow your own. And there''s no need to buy a farm: all you need to become a successful cultivator of the land is this book and a small plot of soil in the yard, or a container set aside for some tasty natural edibles. Add water and some care, love, and attention—et voila!

In a friendly, come-relax-in-my-garden style Charlie Nardozzi—leading horticultural writer and guest expert on shows such as Martha Stewart Living Radio—shares the nutritious results of a lifetime of vegetable-growing experience to delve into the nitty-gritty of micro-farming. It''s not rocket science—quite the opposite—but you do need a bit of patience before you can reap your first glorious harvest. This book shows you how to master that, as you get down and dirty with the enjoyable work of building soil, starting seeds, controlling pests, and maintaining your garden. And as your early efforts turn to green shoots, you can dig deeper into information on special tips and tricks, as well as hundreds of vegetable varieties—many of which are beautiful to behold as well as tasty to eat!

• Plan out your garden
• Know your veggies, from tomatoes to chard
• Keep your plants happy and healthy
• Harvest, store, and preserve your crops

Whether your thumb is a fertile green or you''ve never put plant-to-pot before, this book will bring out your inner farmer: you''ll find everything required to transform your garden into a self-renewing larder—and complement every meal with a crisp, healthy, home-grown treat.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 2

Icons Used in This Book 2

Where to Go from Here 3

Part 1: Digging Into the Basics of Vegetable Gardening 5

Chapter 1: Vegetable Gardening 101 7

Having a Garden: Yes or No 7

Planning a Veggie Garden 8

Growing a Cornucopia of Vegetables 9

Tomatoes 9

Peppers and eggplants 9

Carrots, onions, and potatoes 10

Peas and beans 10

Cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, and squash 11

Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower 11

Lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, and specialty greens 12

An array of other great veggies 12

Non-vegetable edibles 12

Getting Down to Growing 13

Choosing between seeds and transplants 13

Working the soil 13

Keeping your garden growing and enjoying the rewards 14

Trying for a bigger bounty 14

Chapter 2: Eyeing the Popularity and Benefits of Vegetable Gardening 15

Food Gardening: It’s Popping Up Everywhere 15

Identifying a Few Good Reasons to Grow Your Own Food 17

Better tasting and higher quality food 17

Improve your health 18

Save some cash 18

Help the environment 20

Increase your quality of life 21

Self-reliance 21

Chapter 3: Planning Your Veggie Garden 23

Deciding Where to Put Your Vegetable Garden 23

Considering different sites 24

Letting the sun shine 26

Checking your soil’s drainage 27

Understanding Veggie Varieties 28

Timing Your Planting Wisely 30

Some like it cool, some like it hot 30

Frost dates and the length of the growing season 31

Your local forecast trumps frost dates 33

Designing Your Garden 33

Deciding on hills, rows, or raised beds 34

Spacing your