Do you dream of growing your own vegetables? It is true that homemade tomato salad has a unique flavor ... Ready to develop your garden? To find the ideal location, one must respect the 3S rule: the site, the sun and the ground . We help you by revealing the basic rules.
I compare the different sites
Choosing the right place for your garden is not always easy. Do not panic, just a little common sense to find the perfect place.
- In the first place, we take care to choose a place close to the house : passing every day in front of the kitchen garden, we can remember that we must take care of it, and target the expectations of the plants by observing them.
- Then we pay attention to the access : the vegetable gardens ask that we maintain them in soil, in compost, in wood etc. If this place is easier to access by car or truck, we will be happy not to drag a wheelbarrow super heavy on several meters.
- We also ensure the proximity between the kitchen garden and the outdoor water point . Much more practical. Trimball a pipe over several meters, very little for us ...
- Finally, we check if the ground is flat or sloping . Slightly sloping terrain with southern exposure will warm up faster in the spring. But be careful, too steep ground can create erosions. When in doubt, flat terrain will do the trick .
We observe the movement of the sun
On average, vegetables need 6 hours of daily sunlight (ideally). These periods do not have to be consecutive, we can have 3h in the morning and 3h in the afternoon. To choose the ideal location, we are attentive to the exposure of our houses, whatever the season: a vegetable garden in the summer sun may be in the shade in winter. If you live in the north, or in a region with little sun, we choose a south / south west exposure. When in doubt, we can always opt for the portable vegetable garden by planting our vegetables in planters that can be moved as the seasons go by. Do not panic for those who do not have these 6 hours of sunshine during the day, some vegetables are very comfortable with 4 or 5 hours of sunshine a day: leafy vegetables such as lettuce or spinach need less sun.
We monitor the humidity rate
The ideal soil is rich in compost, well drained and little stony . Unfortunately, few people have this kind of soil. The most important thing is that the soil is well drained, it must not be saturated with water, nor lack of air. To know the drainage of the soil, we observe the soil after the rain: if there are puddles, then the drainage is bad! And obviously, we do not install our vegetable garden near a pipe, a skeptic pit ... and we stay away from underground water and electricity networks.
More info and tips in the book A kitchen garden for dummies, by Philippe Collignon and Charlie Nardozzi, first edition, € 22.95
