Exactly a year ago, in February 2024, I received 'the key' to my very first vegetable garden. For years I had dreamed of growing all kinds of vegetables in my own garden, and now the time had finally come. Looking back on the past year now, I am evaluating my experiences. I am looking at the things I know for sure I want to approach differently this year. And I am not alone. While talking to a number of my MOES neighbors, I made a list. For me, so I won't forget, and perhaps for you to learn something from. A list of lessons from the past MOES gardening year.
With thanks to Paula, Laura, Diana and Ron, Kitty, Simonette, Geraldine and Marco.
1. Take good care of the soil
We’ve all been there: your first day working in the vegetable garden. Or actually, it’s not a garden yet... right now it’s just a patch of ground. That soil is full of nutrients and has a good structure. However, you really have to work hard on it before you can plant seedlings. But yes, after a few hours of digging and two full wheelbarrows of compost, you’ve had enough and think you’re done. You want to get to the fun part as quickly as possible, and that’s the plants.
I've been there. You think you've used enough (worm) compost, but nothing could be further from the truth. Your plants don't survive. You don't realize it right away, but a few months later you're absolutely fed up. Good soil is the foundation of every vegetable garden. Before you move on to sowing and planting, just add another centimeter of (worm) compost. And if you think that's enough, add another centimeter after that. It is better to first the blog about soil quality and fertilization to read. Just do it. It's a bit boring at first, but a good foundation is really something you'll enjoy a lot later on.
2. Don't grow anything you don't like
In most articles for novice gardeners, you read that you should only grow what you like. I struggle with this advice and would like to turn it around: don't grow anything you don't like. After all, sometimes you simply don't know what you do and don't like. Swiss chard, for example. I had never eaten it before, and now I have it for lunch several times a week. Delicious. If I had only grown what I liked, I would have missed the pleasure of Swiss chard.
That being said, kale. I didn't know it either before I started growing it. The plant is beautiful and yields such a large harvest. A joy to look at. Full of anticipation, the first harvest went home. We didn't like it at all. And then I still had 4 plants standing in the garden. I gave it another few weeks, but I realized I absolutely didn't feel like putting in the effort for these plants. I gave the rest of the harvest away and uprooted the plants.
So what to do with this lesson? Don't waste time on crops you know for sure you don't like. A vegetable garden takes time, and why spend that time on things you don't enjoy? If you're not sure, by all means, give it a try. After all, how fun is it to find new little treasures?.
3. Experiment
And that brings me to the next point. Experiment! For example, with seed trays: you can sow in all sorts of things. My pre-sowing assortment is a nice mix of plastic snack tomato containers, toilet paper rolls, plant pots, and Charles Dowding seed trays. It all works. But also experiment with the sowing itself. Sow a month earlier or later than stated on the packet. Don't forget that we have a vegetable garden in a greenhouse, so our season runs just a little bit differently than an outdoor vegetable garden. It is milder in the winter, and the heat in the summer lasts longer. You can do more than in an outdoor garden.
Experiment with new varieties. Last year I grew kiwano, and wow, what a cool fruit that was. This year I am experimenting with 12 tomato varieties. I have no idea yet where I’m going to put them all, but the prospect makes me happy.
But experiment with the harvest as well. Why eat only the broccoli bulb when you can eat the beautiful leaves or the stalk too? Parsnips harvested too early? Super handy, because then you don't have to peel them and the stalk simply goes into the oven with some balsamic vinegar drizzled over it. A delicious appetizer. And realize that if you harvest the outer leaves from many plants but leave the rest standing, the plant continues to grow: all kinds of lettuce, Swiss chard, palm kale, spinach, collard greens. Just give it a try.
Experimenting makes vegetable gardening more fun and surprises you time and time again.
4. Keep sowing – all year round
I remember being startled sometime in June when I realized I had to start sow kale if I wanted to harvest it in December. And I was already running late with the sowing! I was up to my elbows in the zucchini harvest, so kale was the last thing I wanted to think about. However, how happy I was in December that I had done it after all. Cansu (@backyardgoodnessThis really does give the best advice: make sure you have a tray of seedlings ready every 5 weeks. Every time you harvest something and pull the plant out, something new is ready to go into the ground. This way, you are assured of a continuous harvest.
Sometimes you don't think about it because your garden is full of plants. But the situation can suddenly change a few weeks later. Then you have all sorts of empty spots that you can't fill, and that is a shame. So, in the summer, also think about what you would like to grow in the winter. But you can still sow a lot in the autumn as well. Think of various leafy greens, arugula, mizuna, winter purslane, red frills (a type of cabbage), broad beans, and peas (not all varieties, check the packet).
Here too, so much more is possible in the protected environment of the greenhouse than outdoors. Keep sowing and benefit from a continuous harvest.
5. Give the plant space, but plant as much as possible.
In the first few months, I forgot to take the space between the plants into account. My tomato plants were so close together that I no longer knew which branch belonged to which plant. In response, I planted my cabbages so far apart in the autumn that there was too much bare ground. Yes, it is good to give plants space. However, I think that this is especially true for plants of
The same applies. You can plant more than you think. Between two plants that grow tall (e.g., tomatoes), a few low-growing plants (basil or carrots) can easily fit. And don't forget radishes! They can go in between anything.
That brings me to the subject of companion planting. After all, if you want to plant everything densely, shouldn't you take the so-called good and bad neighbors into account? Opinions on this differ. As a fan of the Apparent Chaos Theory (by Frank Anrijs), I don't subscribe to it.
To me, everything is mixed together. My goal is to make optimal use of the soil and plant everything as densely as possible. I don't want to see the soil. Dense planting is my optimal method of mulching (see next point).
6. Mulching
The cat is out of the bag: mulch. I thought I understood what mulching was until the crops in a part of my garden didn't do well. That was, incidentally, the same part of the garden where I hadn't prepared the soil well enough (see point 1). But it also turned out that I hadn't mulched properly. You can spend days delving into mulching. Explained in simple terms, mulching is good for retaining moisture in the soil and suppressing weeds, which in turn is good for soil structure. In short, with mulch you cover the soil, and that is good for the soil and the plants.
Mulching can be done in various ways. I do it mainly with plants. I find that the most enjoyable, the most productive, and the most aesthetically pleasing. The plant roots contribute to the soil structure and retain moisture. Additionally, I mulch with compost. The basic principle is that the soil should never be visible. And that means you always have to use more compost than you might actually think. This year I am experimenting with wool as mulch. According to Gardeners' World, it should also help against slugs. We shall see.
7. Mildew
It was almost impossible to miss last summer: practically every zucchini or pumpkin plant had mildew. Mildew is a fungus. You see white, powdery spots on the leaves of your plant. These can spread to the plant's stems. If you do nothing, the leaves dry out and you can tear them like crepe paper. Mildew spreads very quickly through your garden (and your neighbors'!). Acting quickly is therefore recommended. It took me a while to figure out exactly what to do, but I think I know now.
First, I treat every 'mildew plant' (zucchini, cucumber, gherkin, kiwano, pumpkin) preventively with lava meal. Once or twice a week from the moment the plant starts to develop leaves. Lava meal helps the plant develop stronger leaves.
The moment I see the first signs of mildew, I immediately spray with a milk solution (40% milk and 60% water). I apply the milk solution liberally to all leaves, even the clean ones. I repeat this every visit until the mildew is gone. I remove the most damaged leaves. The golden tip I received regarding this is: UHT milk. Of course, you can always bring fresh milk with you in the summer, but sometimes you forget or you just don't have enough. UHT milk doesn't need to be refrigerated. So make sure you have a supply on hand so you can always spray. It makes everything so much easier. Fighting mildew is boring and tedious (and the milk solution smells a bit too), but if you do it right, your plants stay healthy and you can harvest more.
8. Patience
We are all busy, and speaking for myself, I sometimes have the tendency to project my haste onto the garden. But then again, that seedling really won't grow any faster just because you're in a hurry. Embrace that feeling and just let it wash over you. Why would you rush anyway?
See the splendor of the garden and how all the little plants are growing. Listen to the bumblebees buzzing among the flowers. Hear the dripping of the irrigation systems. Feel the earth slipping through your fingers. And smell the scents of celery and cabbage. What's the rush? What was that again? Be patient if something doesn't go as you planned. It will be fine. Maybe not in the way you had hoped, but that's fine too.
It can be overwhelming when your neighbors' tomato plants already have flowers and yours don't even have a bud yet. Or when you see that others can already harvest a cauliflower while yours is covered in caterpillars. You might think you are falling behind. Nothing could be further from the truth. Your vegetable garden has its own pace, and with patience, you will reap all the beautiful results you have worked so hard for. Be patient, and it will all work out.
I am going to practice patience this year when transplanting my seedlings. I was sometimes so impatient that I planted plants that were too small in the garden. This rarely had a good result. Just wait a few weeks until they are nice and strong. Be patient.
Finally
Finally, nothing I have written is the ultimate truth. By all means, experiment for yourself and learn what works best for you. I am very curious about your experiences, and if you want to chat about it, feel free to stop by Aardbei 23 and 24.
