Grow Your Own Way secrets to an amazing vegetable garden

By Maureen Petrosky

Astunning salad enjoyed straight from your back yard garden is one of the most perfect meals you can make. With a little planning and these expert tips, you’ll be enjoying a gorgeous garden that promises to taste just as good as it looks.

Location Is Everything

For a lush garden, choose an area that gets six to eight hours of sunlight everyday, and use your light wisely. Plant taller plants, like corn, tomatoes, or pole beans on the north side of your garden so as not to shadow smaller plants during the day. Next, be sure your vegetable garden is as close to your kitchen as possible. If it’s close by, it’s easier to tend to and enjoy.

Prep Your Soil

After you’ve chosen where to plant your veggies clear any large rocks or debris from your soil. Then add compost and organic soil to create a rich nutritious soil for your plants to thrive.

Maximize Space

For small plots, plant shorter plants like onions and herbs or plants like melon and squash that grow on trailing vines, under taller ones like trellis beans or vertically grown tomatoes.

Include Edible Flowers

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Go from all green to glam by including edible flowers like marigolds, nasturtiums, and flowering herbs like chives and oregano for a variety of texture, color, and aromas.

Create a Secret Garden Experience

Add a garden gate, arbor, or decorative planters with brightly colored flowers at the entrance to your veggie garden. Climbers like clematis, morning glories and ivy all create drama and a dreamy effect when growing on garden entranceways.

Add Some Color

Pick pretty varieties of vegetables like Swiss chard and red cabbage to add color to all the leafy green vegetables.

Companion Plant

Plant some basil next to tomatoes or include marigolds in between your cucumbers and squash to help deter pests and draw pollinators to your plants.

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Protect Your Plants

Critters like rabbits, squirrels and deer can destroy your bountiful garden in the blink of an eye. A small, fenced area is ideal but inexpensive chicken wire fencing will also do the trick. If you have burrowing animals looking to snack, you’ll need to extend the chicken wire at least 12 inches underground around the perimeter of your garden. For a little functional flare, you can add a metallic or painted garden spinner to keep birds at bay. These can add a pop of color and save your sweet veggies from destruction.