How to start a vegetable patch

Starting a vegetable garden is easy and a great activity for the kids too. My kids love helping to plant and water and of course pick (and eat) the produce.

You can plant vegetables in pots or in a garden bed and you don’t need a lot of room, you’d be suprised how much a small patch can produce.

You don’t need to spend hours out in the garden weeding or planting in perfect rows, I love a messy vegetable patch and it will grow just as well.

What you’ll need:

Empty garden bed or pots
Potting mix (if using pots)
Vegetable seeds or seedlings

Steps:

Buy some seeds or seedlings (and pots and soil if you need)
Plant them
Water them and watch them grow
Eat them

Some vegetables may need stakes to grow on while others are low lying and won’t.

Make sure you plant things in season, nursuries will have seedlings of plants that will grow in the current season but may stock seeds for you to plant and prepare for next season.

We have masses of tomatoes and lettuces at the moment, all of which are grown from seed. The kids loved watching them all sprout and grow and are waiting impatiently for the tomatoes to be ready to pick. No vegetable tastes the same from the shops as those organically grown in your garden, the taste is amazing.

Do you have a vegetable patch? What do you grow? Please SHARE in the comments below.

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28 Comments

- - meedee said
  - 30 Sep 2021
    9:07 am
Way too much work to create one here. We live on the high dunes of the beach so on sand and anything you plant the native animals get into anyway.

- - Melissa89 said
  - 27 Jul 2016
    8:08 pm
Veggie patches are so great!

- - Mum to one said
  - 03 Mar 2016
    7:07 pm
It sounds so easy!! I have always thought I didn’t have enough space for a veggie patch! I might have to start getting creative!

- - serotonin said
  - 27 Feb 2016
    2:08 pm
I’m preparing to start my very first veggie garden. Fence is up to keep out the chickens and ducks, and I’ve bought some seeds. Only thing I’m worried about is wild birds. There are plenty that visit here, helping themselves to the chook food and scraps. Maybe I need a scarecrow?

- - KrysGrace said
  - 25 Feb 2016
    11:19 am
Makes it sound so simple. Make sure you read the back of the packets to ensure it is the right time of year for planting that particular seed.

- - momof4:) said
  - 17 Feb 2016
    10:31 pm
Good easy steps and I love the tips.

- - mom67623 said
  - 13 Feb 2016
    9:01 am
I keep intending but seems to big to start your easy to do has given me heart, got parsley,thyme and mint,basil too, now I will get adventurous and do

- - curlytops said
  - 07 Feb 2016
    11:25 am
good quality soil is the best for vegetables and some fertiliser.

- - mom134803 said
  - 06 Feb 2016
    11:44 am
Yes I’ve some veggies & herbs: tomato, spinach, salad, beans, basil, oregano, olive herb, ginger, stevia, mint, strawberries and raspberries. Wish I could do more but lack time and sun in our garden…

- - mom62961 said
  - 04 Feb 2016
    11:31 pm
Thanks for the tips, I am doing this with my daughter as we were give a toddler sized raised garden bed and I would really love to teach her where her food comes from and so I intend to grow a few vegetables and some strawberries with her, I am so looking forward to the experience I will share wit her.

- - mom101628 said
  - 03 Feb 2016
    11:09 pm
It’s great fun for all including the children to have a vegie patch. It’s amazing how much vegies they will eat raw if they have grown them themselves.

- - ella12 said
  - 03 Feb 2016
    2:55 pm
My Dad started a veggie patch for us. My little one loves helping in watering the garden though quite often she hoses us! lol!

- - rovermum said
  - 03 Feb 2016
    11:28 am
I manage to kill off most things in the garden. If it wasn’t for my husband, nothing would grow. It’s just not in my mindset to add to my daily or weekly list of things to water something. We tried a little herb hanging thing off the fence. It obviously needed some sun, but ended up in a place I couldn’t easily see or get to. Hence, it has now all died. We have managed to keep our lime tree alive and I live in hope of starting a small herb or vegie pot (not garden) yet. This may just prompt me.

- - mom94125 said
  - 01 Feb 2016
    5:20 pm
those steps make it seem so simple lol. this is a great idea though and will help you save a little bit of money

- - Mummytoabeautifulprincess said
  - 31 Jan 2016
    11:28 pm
We really have to start our veggie patch this year. I’m so sick of eating frozen veges because the fresh ones look horrible. Home grown will always be the best!
- mom93821 replied
  
  01 Feb 2016 , 7:10 pm
  You will taste the difference with your home grown vegies.