Tips for a vegetable garden in the garden

Plan a vegetable garden that is not too large to be able to take care of it easily. Grow your vegetables in rows rather than in squares, which will be reserved for small gardens. Make sure to respect the crop rotation so as not to exhaust the soil and avoid the development of diseases from one year to the next. Easy weeding: To weed easily, you can place an opaque black tarpaulin over the plot to be cleaned. The action of darkness and heat will kill the weeds within 2 months. For small areas, you can opt for the installation of unprinted and uncoated pieces of cardboard overlapping each other (without adhesive or staples). Exposure of your vegetable garden: Northern exposure: do not plant too early in the season, wait until the soil has warmed up. Some minimum temperatures: 10°C for radishes, 12°C for carrots and lettuce, 15 to 18°C ​​for tomatoes and beans, 18 to 20°C for eggplants. Eastern exposure: you can place your crops on mounds against a wall or fence that will store heat. Water your crops in the morning rather than in the evening, the coolness of the night will slow growth. Southern exposure: ideal exposure for vegetable garden crops but beware of droughts in summer. Western exposure: a good exposure for your crops, water well at the feet in summer to avoid drought. In the shade: in the vegetable garden you can grow lettuce, cabbage, spinach, radishes, beets, carrots, peas, beans that will not need full sun exposure. Growing on mounds for wet land: If you have wet land we recommend growing on mounds for potatoes, carrots etc. Make raised furrows 20 to 30 cm above ground level. Sow two rows abreast each time with a width of 40 to 50 cm. Water drains more easily and the roots of your vegetables will remain healthy. To learn more about growing on mounds, discover the advice: The nature of your soil: It is important to analyze your soil before starting a vegetable garden. Indeed, growing vegetables in clay soil will be very complicated because they will be asphyxiated, on the other hand, root vegetables will flourish wonderfully in sandy soil and will give you very good harvests. In addition, we advise you to test the pH of your soil using a "pH test kit for your soil" the pH is also important to know to determine the crops to plant. A soil is acidic when its pH is less than 7, neutral if the pH is equal to 7 and calcareous when the pH exceeds 7. Your soil is light, sandy, it is a poor soil that dries out easily to enrich with compost. This type of soil is ideal for growing root vegetables: carrots, beets, celeriac, turnips, salsify, radishes. But also potatoes, garlic, shallots, fennel, crosnes, lamb's lettuce, asparagus, beans, peas, etc. For growing tomatoes, a supply of fertilizer rich in potash or compost will be necessary. Your soil is acidic or humus-rich, black in color and crumbly because it is very rich in humus. This type of soil is ideal for squash, zucchini, gherkins, melons, eggplants, peppers, chilies. Your soil is sticky and heavy, it is a clay soil to work and amend. Root vegetables should be avoided, but many others will acclimate very well to this type of soil: artichokes, eggplant, leeks, chicory, cabbage, tomatoes, rhubarb, spinach, beans, peas, etc. Your soil is chalky or basic; it can be recognized by its light color. This type of soil will be perfect for garlic, carrots, beets, radishes, parsnips, beans, peas, lentils, and broad beans. If it is moderately chalky, tomatoes, lettuce, and Jerusalem artichokes will also thrive. To learn more about the nature of the soil, discover the advice: A good compost to enrich your soil: Compost is a humus-rich fertilizing element made from fully decomposed plant matter. It will be used primarily for plant growth. The key to good compost? Put some plant waste in a corner of your garden or in a composter to rot, stirring the pile so that decomposition is even and rapid. The wooden composter with a door is the most practical; you can even build it yourself with 4 pallets and wire. The heap composting method is ideal for large gardens; be careful to keep it away from the roots of a greedy tree. The pile, composed of all types of plants, including branches, should be as compact as possible. Stir with a fork as often as possible. Add moist waste (peelings, manure) alternately with dry or hard waste (pruning scraps, dry stems). Note that a bad odor indicates a lack of mixing. The compost is ready after 6 to 8 months. 1 m3 of fresh waste ultimately produces 150 L of mature compost. To learn more about composting, check out the advice: What to sow in place in the vegetable garden? You can sow herbs directly in place: dill, chervil, coriander, watercress, arugula. Vegetables to sow directly in place: orache, carrots, root chervil, spinach, broad beans, beans, cut lettuce, lamb's lettuce, mesclun, young shoots, turnips, parsnips, peas, radishes, salsify, squash from May. Respect the sowing dates, the soil must be warmed up and the risk of frost has passed. Successful sowing indoors If you want to start your crops early in the year or you are