In recent years, the popularity of urban agriculture has skyrocketed and there is a huge craze for home gardens. And rightly so: who wouldn’t want to have fresh, beautiful vegetables just a few steps from the kitchen? Growing vegetables, fruits and herbs in your backyard is not difficult. All you need is a nice sunny space, good soil and regular maintenance of your plants and you’re set. Lack of space? You can use different types of containers to plant your plants; there is no reason to deprive yourself of this.
Beginning gardeners often make the mistake of overplanting. They get carried away by the beautiful variety available at the garden centre and end up with too many vegetables for their family to eat, or with species that were unknown to them and that no one appreciates. To avoid mistakes and waste, here is a great example of a vegetable garden for 4 people:
Seeds:
* seed packets contain many seeds. Don’t plant everything! You can store them in a cool, dry place for the next season or reseed as needed.
- Lettuce
- Carrots
- Beans
- Radishes
- Beets
- Peas (snow or sweet)
Plants
- 3 tomatoes (take different ones: italian, cherry, yellow, etc.)
- 2 cucumbers
- 1 zucchini
- 3 peppers (you can also choose hot peppers)
- 3 cabbages (kale or head)
- 25 onions (leeks or shallots can be substituted)
- 4 herbs (parsley, basil, thyme, rosemary, etc.)
The most important thing is to choose vegetables and herbs that you love and that your family will eat with pride. To save space, choose compact or determinate varieties, climb cucumbers and zucchini on a trellis and plant your herbs in pots. Be rigorous about watering and weeding and you will be greatly rewarded!
