Hello friends. It’s that time of year! It’s time to prep and plant our veggie garden in the backyard. Every year we make sure to take a few steps to prep our home vegetable garden for the season. We enjoy harvesting and benefiting from the fruits of our labor throughout the growing period.
Today I am sharing all the tasks we did this year to prep and plant the vegetable garden along with some overall information about the garden in general. This might help you if you’re on the fence (no pun intended) about starting your own veggie garden. It’s extremely rewarding, and we highly recommend it. This is what I shared last year {prepping and planting the vegetable garden for the season}, which contains additional information from what I am sharing today.
*Affiliate links included for your convenience.
All About the backyard Vegetable Garden
The vegetable garden was one of the first phases of the backyard plans Mr. M but in motion way back when. We moved into the Masterpiece home about seventeen years ago, and here you can see when the garden was fresh and brand new {how does your garden grow}. This post is from before I blogged with purpose so please be kind. ? I just wanted to provide perspective and show how much the vegetable garden has matured.
We have planted it every season since we established the garden, and it never ceases to satisfy us in so many ways. There are so many benefits to growing your own food, and this is a great post {6 benefits to planting your own vegetable garden}, which goes into much detail. Going into the garden to harvest something we have grown with our own hands, and then cook it in our kitchen for our family to enjoy is one of my favorite things to do and so extremely rewarding..
Steps to Prep a Home Vegetable Garden
Clean Beds
We clean out the garden beds every year to start with a fresh blank slate each planting season. This involves removing debris from winter shedding or any plants left from the previous year. Of course we get rid of unwanted weeds as well. This year since Mr. M had to really dig through the beds to repair the irrigation system, consequently the soil was turned and cleaned more than an ever.
Upkeep Irrigation System
As I mentioned above the irrigation system needed an entire overhaul this year. Our newest family member {Meet Misty} made sure to destroy all the lines. Our previous dog Bailey had started the job, and Misty just finished the job in style. It was time to fix the whole system properly. Mr. M spent several days making sure everything worked correctly and added drip lines for everything.
Annually, it only requires minor maintenance, but this year extenuating circumstances caused the entire irrigation overhaul. This should not be the case if you do not have mischievous pets who crawl through the fence and have parties in your growing beds. A simple maintenance to make sure everything is working properly with minor repairs, if necessary, should suffice.
Turn and Amend Soil
This is a key step for every growing season. After weeding the entire beds, Mr. M methodically turned all the old soil and added soil amendments, which improve the physical nature of the soil. To amend the soil improves the physical properties, which provides a better environment for the roots, including aeration, nutrients, and drainage to name a few. Remember this is key to growing the best vegetables and herbs.
Add Extra Hog Wire Fencing for Protection
This step is also not critical, but if you have critters in your area it’s a good idea to enclose your planting area and protect it from unwanted visitors. In our case, it’s a bit self-inflicted, since it’s all about our newest family member Misty, as I mentioned above. Our little pup, who is mostly full grown now, can still fit under one section of the fence so to keep her out and not cause any further destruction, she is a Lab after all, Mr. M extended the fence all the way to the ground.
Mr. & Master M built this fence a few years ago, which you can read all about here {how to build a livestock fence}, so Mr. M wanted to keep the aesthetic intact. He not only extended the fence section Misty can crawl under, but the entire fence so it looks complete. And who knows, it might keep other unwanted visitors out. Mr. M is persnickety this way, and the fence looks great.
Planting a Home Vegetable Garden
I highly recommend to plant how you eat. We have our favorites we plant every year. We also try to test a new variety, and see how it does in our garden and how we enjoy it in the kitchen. This year I selected some pansies to make pretty desserts and Mr. M selected Persian cucumbers since they are favorites of Miss M. I will weigh in and share here how they fair, and if they will make it onto our usual suspects list later in the season.
Our Usual Suspect Planting List
- Cherry red tomatoes
- Golden tomatoes
- San Marzano tomatoes
- Shishito peppers
- Padron peppers
- Jalapeno peppers
- Ghost peppers
- Butter lettuce
- Arugula
- Rosemary (from the previous season)
- Oregano
- Thyme
- Sweet basil
- Italian parsley
- Cilantro
- Chives
- Spearmint
New Plantings This Year
- Persian cucumbers
- Pansies
We usually plant everything from seedlings found at our local garden centers. This year, which has happened in the past, we could not locate arugula plants in time. Mr. M planted the arugula from seeds. Like I saiid, we have done it in the past, and they worked just fine in our Northern California climate. If you live in colder climates, you can always start seeds inside and transplant them outside once the weather breaks.
Closing Thoughts about a Home Vegetable Garden
If you are considering a vegetable garden of your own, I recommend raised beds. They are easier on the body, and I believe easier to upkeep as well. The only thing we do not include in our raised beds is the spearmint plant. Mint can be very invasive, and I don’t want it to take over, so we plant it in its own individual pot. This year Mr. M added a drip line to the pot while he was redoing the whole irrigation system. By keeping the spearmint in a separate pot it required to be watered by hand and invariably we would lose it to the California heat. This year I am looking forward to a spearmint filled season.
I am so happy the garden is all set for the season. Like I mentioned before, and I will mention it again, it’s so incredibly gratifying and rewarding. We love to cook over here so this adds another layer of satisfaction to the process. I hope this inspires you to start your own vegetable garden or if you already have a vegetable garden, I hope some detail helped in some manner.
Home Vegetable Garden Helpful Products
This is a comprehensive drip irrigation system kit.
This is a good herb planting kit.
This looks like a great greens seeds mix.
This tomato seed collection looks amazing.
If you’re just starting out with gardening or need to replace your tools this is a great kit.
If you want to start from seed inside, these peat pots are a good choice and so are these.
These raised beds would be great for a patio or smaller space.
I love the galvanized raised bed look and I would consider it if we were just building our garden.
I love the cottage vibes of these raised beds.
These bamboo garden cages are calling my name.
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Other Home Vegetable Garden Posts
The greatest fine art of the future will be the making of a comfortable living from a small piece of land.”
Abraham Lincoln
