To me, one of the most rewarding aspects of self-sufficiency is vegetable gardening and preserving our own food. I was raised in a farming family and have had my own garden for a few years now.  A crazy amount of money is spent on food at the grocery store, and if you can make a dent in that bill by growing your own vegetables, you might be surprised at how much money you can save.  Not to mention the flavor of homegrown food is so much better than food from the grocery store!

Even if you have a very small space – maybe even just an apartment patio – there are ways you can grow some of your own food. My purpose here is to provide you with easy vegetable gardening knowledge for that will prepare you to start growing a garden in the climate where you live.  Some climates of the world can produce food year-round, which is a great benefit when considering self-sufficiency.

Know Your Hardiness Zone

When selecting what to plant in your vegetable garden, be aware of which hardiness zone you live in.  The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard that gardeners go by when deciding what to plant – especially if the plant is expected to survive over a hot summer or a cold winter and come back the next year.  For example, last year we planted a raspberry bush which we plan to harvest every year. Our hardiness zone is 5a.  The majority of raspberries grow best in zones 4 – 8.  If I were in zone 9, I would want to select a variety that is more heat tolerant for that zone. Seed and plant companies normally list which zones their individual varieties thrive in.

Know Your Growing Season

Your hardiness zone is a great guideline when selecting plants, however, in order to more accurately know when to plant outdoors and the length of time you have to grow vegetables, you must determine your growing season. This is the second piece of knowledge you need for easy vegetable gardening.

In my area of the US (the upper Midwest), we have four distinct seasons – spring, summer, fall and winter. Spring marks the time to plant the garden and along with summer, it is our main growing season. Late summer and fall are when most of the food preservation takes place, and the harsh winter is a dead zone for growing plants outdoors.

Your growing season is between the date of the last frost of the spring and the date of the first frost of the fall. While there is no chart that can be completely accurate due to the unpredictability of weather, historical data can be used to determine frost dates for your zip code. The Farmer’s Almanac has a calculator that will help you determine the length of your growing season.  After putting in your zip code, you can see the likely dates of the first and last frost and the total days of your growing season.  You will want to select plants for your vegetable garden that can be grown and harvested within that time frame.

Know Your Cool and Warm Season Vegetables

The third piece of knowledge you need for easy vegetable gardening is that some plants thrive during the cooler spring and fall temperatures, and others really enjoy the warmer summer months.  Cool season vegetables can actually be started outside before the last spring frost or planted in late summer for a fall harvest, provided you watch the weather and throw cloth protection over them if it looks like a frost is in the picture. Old sheets are great for this!  Some vegetables may also have a long growing season, which would require you to start the seeds indoors, and then plant the seedlings as soon as possible in the garden.

Some Common Cool Season Vegetables

Some Common Warm Season Vegetables

Keep in mind that if you have limited space, there are several varieties of vegetables now that grow quite well in containers on a deck or patio.  You will have to water them a little more often than if they were in the ground. I grew a nice beefy container variety of tomatoes in a couple of old wash tubs on my porch this past summer so that I could have “slicers” right outside my door.  They were fabulous!

Once you have the knowledge above about your particular zone and growing season, you should then be able to choose plants that you can grow and harvest well in your area.

Know Where to Get Seeds and Plants for Vegetable Gardening

Now on to the fourth piece of information you need for easy vegetable gardening. Some plants can be grown from seeds sown directly into the soil (direct sow), and others are better planted from seedlings that were started indoors.  Seedlings are a particularly good choice if the plant has a long growing season. Greenhouses get the jump on starting plants for vegetable gardening, since they can start growing well before the last spring frost.

As a beginner, I would suggest getting seedlings from your local greenhouse to grow plants with a longer growing season.  Although some of the direct sow vegetables below can be planted right in the ground, it is best to start cool season vegetables indoors first before the last frost or purchase those from your local greenhouse. That way the seeds have warm soil to help them germinate and sprout up. They can then thrive in the cooler temps once they are set out in the garden.

Another advantage of using seedlings, is that you can grow vegetables to maturity faster since the plants have a head start indoors.  If you live in a warmer climate where frost is unlikely year-round, you have the advantage of growing virtually everything from direct sown seeds!

If you are ordering seeds, there are many, many seed catalogs that can be ordered from either by phone, mail or online. Burpee is one that I have ordered from in the past with good results, but there are so many different seed companies online now. I would suggest doing a search online. If you prefer a catalog to order from, all you need do is sign up to receive one on the websites. You can also purchase seeds in the spring from local home and garden stores in your area.

Some Common Direct Sow Vegetables

Some Common Seedling Vegetables

Heirloom, Hybrid or GMO?

The types of seeds you need to purchase are the fifth key for easy vegetable gardening. When picking out seeds and plants, be sure to consider non-GMO varieties. GMO refers to seeds from plants that have been unnaturally altered through methods like gene-splicing (“Genetically Modified Organism”). Heirloom and hybrid seeds and plants are the non-GMO alternatives.

Heirloom varieties are grown with seeds from plants that have been naturally pollinated by insects and wind and that pass on their traits from the parent plant to the child plant. These varieties will allow you to save the seeds from the plants year after year and yet have little degradation in quality. In general, heirlooms also have a more flavorful taste and a higher nutritional value than GMO or hybrid types.

Hybrids are grown from different varieties of plants that have been cross-pollinated into a new plant. For this reason, it is not guaranteed that if you saved seeds from a hybrid plant, that you would get a similar result when planted the next year.

Can I Purchase Organic Seeds?

This is a fairly common misconception. If a vegetable is organic, it generally refers to a method of growing the plants and not really the seeds themselves. However, seeds are now marketed as coming from organic plants. Organically grown plants are grown without the use of chemicals, such as pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Keep in mind, then, that just because produce is sold as “Organic” does not mean it is also non-GMO. If you are wanting to grow an organic garden (great!), you need only to learn how to grow without the use of chemicals.  There are several ways to naturally grow your food without the use of chemicals! You may want to read about natural ways to deter pests & natural ways to prevent garden disease.

Plot Size & Plants Needed for Vegetable Gardening

The space you need for easy vegetable gardening is the sixth key. If you have never had a garden before, I would suggest starting small with some of the easier vegetables to grow.  For example – leaf lettuce, cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes, onions and potatoes.  A 10×10 foot plot should give you a good beginner start. You will want to choose a spot that is mainly in the sun but might have a shady afternoon spot or two for more delicate veggies like leaf lettuce. Lettuce tends to wilt in the hot sun.

There are a couple of things to consider when determining a garden plot size for a family. Number of people and vegetable preferences will affect the size. I can give you a general starting point and from there you will need to adjust the size according to your needs. A space of 10×10 feet per person is a ballpark figure. This general starting point is assuming you want to grow fresh during the warmer months to feed your family. If you also want to preserve for the winter, my recommendation is at least doubling the amounts of plants given below for the vegetables you want to preserve.

Keep in mind, that you will probably not hit the nail square on the head your first go-round! This will be a bit of an experiment until you reach your own desired quantities and plot size for your situation. Also keep in mind, that different vegetables need different amounts of spacing in between the plants. This will also affect your garden plot size.

Preparing the Plot and Planting

The seventh key is that to prepare the garden plot, you will need to break and turn up the soil if this is a new spot. This can be done with a spade shovel or a garden tiller. Breaking up the solid soil helps young roots to grow deep and healthy. You also do not want any large clumps because you want the nutritional soil around the roots without any gaps.  Tilling and breaking up the soil is something you should do every spring.

From this point, you will need to follow the instructions for the types of vegetables you have chosen to grow. Your seed packets will have the necessary information – spacing, seed depth, amount of sun, etc.  If you purchased your plants from a greenhouse, there should be a tag marker in the container with the information.  This information is also readily available in several places online, so a search should yield the results you need.

Keeping the Soil Healthy

There are things you will want to also consider about keeping your soil healthy so that you can continue to reap the benefits of a bountiful harvest.  Crop rotation and adding compost to the soil helps to keep your vegetable garden from losing valuable nutrients that your plants need to thrive.

I’ve found that vegetable gardening is not just a way to be more self-sufficient.  It also connects you with nature, is a great stress reliever, and is a source of pride and confidence in your ability to provide for your needs. With a little knowledge and some labor you can have these benefits and more – a bountiful, nutrition-packed harvest for years to come!