You were also captivated by km 0 food products, so you decided to make a small piece of land yours and create  a garden in it  so you could watch your vegetables grow, be able to harvest them and bring your products to the table. Where to start? The first step is dedicated to  preparing the land  (and perhaps the most tiring!). You will need work gloves to prevent blisters on your hands, a shovel, rake, pickaxe, spade, and manure.

If you are a beginner  , don’t be afraid. Follow the instructions step by step and maybe ask someone more experienced than you for advice, or read some books on the subject. And remember that you only learn by doing, so don’t worry about making too many mistakes, especially at first.  If, on the other hand, you are a horticultural professional  , perhaps I am still missing a trick or a plant that you have not yet dared to grow. This could be the right time.

How to make a garden from scratch

• 1.How to grow a vegetable garden: soil preparation
• 2.How to make a garden: before planting
• 3.How to make a garden: what to grow
• 4.How to make a garden: when to start

Land preparation

Contrary to what you may think, the soil must be prepared at the beginning of winter. In fact, the soil must be removed, fertilized and must rest before planting in spring.
Now is the time to roll up your sleeves. First you have to dig the soil, turn the soil where you will make your garden and remove the roots of weeds and weeds. Also remove as many rocks as you can, to make later work easier.
Feed the soil with  manure  : Horse manure is the best, but it is also the most expensive; Otherwise, use  compost  , perfect for fertilizing because it makes the soil very friable.
Break up the larger clods, using the pick and rake, and finally mix well with the fertilizer added to the soil. Finally, the floor surface should be as uniform and level as possible.

before sowing

The hard work didn’t end there. Garden soil should   be re-worked just before  planting  . Weeds and weeds should be removed if they are still present, as well as large and medium sized stones.
Work the soil until it is crumbly and level. At this point you can organize your garden. Think about what products you will want to grow and  divide the land into areas of different sizes; The seedlings and seeds must be placed in furrows spaced apart and made transversely to the slope that will follow the course of the water. How is the distance of the furrows decided? Simply imagine what vegetables you will grow and how big the plants will be right before harvest.
Another important aspect is  how to place the seedlings in the furrows  : if they are spring or summer products, you should insert the seedlings in the furrows to avoid wasting water; For winter products, however, you have to place them on top of the mounds of earth that you will have prepared in the furrows, this to avoid possible water stagnation.

to grow

There are vegetables that are easy to grow and others that are more challenging. If you are a beginner with a shovel and rake, it is better to focus on the simpler ones.
The tomato is one of them  .  It needs good sun exposure and soil acidity between pH6 and pH7. Dig a hole for each seed and space the holes at least 30cm apart. It is a climbing plant, so get a structure that supports its growth.

Zucchini   should be sown in spring, from March to May . Place two or three seeds for each hole and space the holes at least one meter apart. Zucchini need a lot of water, so water every day and in a couple of weeks you will see the first sprouts.

I can’t think of a garden without  carrots  . At Ohga we have already explained  how to grow carrots  . You should sow them in the period from January to October. Also in this case, make well-spaced holes where you will place a couple of seeds in each hole. Make sure the soil is always moist, water as needed, especially when the plants are still in the growth stage.

Lettuce will give an ornamental touch to your garden: its leaves, in fact, are very pretty, large and bright green, or for some varieties, with a tendency to yellow to red  .  Excellent for salads, rich in folic acid and vitamin A, lettuce needs well-fertilized soil. The seeds should be sown at a depth of between 8 and 16 centimeters and watered every day.

Rich in iron and calcium,  spinach  should be grown in soil well fertilized with compost. Water them abundantly and keep distances between one seedling and another.

But there are also many other vegetables at your disposal. At Ohga, for example, we have explained  how to grow strawberries   and  how to grow an orange tree  .

When to start

Of course, if you want  to start a garden from scratch,  the best times are always the spring and summer months. In fact, increasing temperatures facilitates the germination process, that is, the appearance of seed sprouts. However, you will need to be careful with the planting times indicated for the specific plant you want to grow, as some plants prefer different seasons of the year.