While working at some of his most stressful jobs, Richard Gorra quickly discovered that gardening was a great way for him to reach a state of calm while satiating his need to do something constructive with his time. Richard Gorra notes that with the amount of time that many people have on their hands during a stay at home measures and first stages of reopening during the COVID-19 crisis, gardening has become much more popular than it has been in past seasons. He acknowledges that the increase in fledgling gardeners is great, however, he also realizes that with so many people starting the hobby so quickly, quite a few do not have a grasp on some of the basics of growing a vegetable garden. In this article, Richard Gorra gives a few tips for vegetable gardening for beginners.
Choose an Ideal Location: While one of the simplest parts of starting a garden of any kind, one would be surprised how many people do not pick the right location for planting their vegetable garden. Richard Gorra notes that it is important to pick a sunny location in your yard, as most vegetables need around 6 hours of sunlight a day to grow into healthy plants. It is also important to evaluate the soil in which you plan to plant your garden. Planting in moist, but well-drained soil is key, and planting veggies in a raised bed is a great idea if your soil drains poorly.
Choose Your Vegetables Wisely: A lot of gardeners that are just starting out want to grow a wide variety of different vegetables, but Richard Gorra warns new gardeners to stick with the vegetables that you and your family like to eat. Another important thing to consider is the availability at your local grocery store. For example, there are certain vegetables that Richard Gorra loves to cook from his past in restaurants that are not easily found in his local grocery store, and those make an excellent choice for growing. Some more exotic herbs can be difficult to find in stores, but cheaply and easily grown in a home garden. In addition to choosing vegetables that you like to use for cooking, you should also choose vegetables that primarily grow during times you can be attentive to the plants. If you enjoy taking summers away from home, it may be wise to plant cool-season crops like root veggies or kale rather than tomatoes, zucchini, and other plants that grow in the summer.
Know Where and When to Plant Vegetables: Richard Gorra encourages new gardeners to pay close attention to where they are planting their vegetables. Tall vegetables like corn typically should be planted on the north side of a garden, so they do not shade your shorter plants. Shady parts of your garden are great for cool-season vegetables that do not want too much sunlight as the weather heats up. Richard Gorra is also a proponent of staggering planting by a few weeks for a garden because it means that all of the vegetables do not need to be harvested at the same time.