GET IT GROWING

Five ways to create or expand a vegetable garden

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WHETHER YOU’LL BE breaking ground on your first garden come spring or you’re thinking of expanding an existing plot, there are many productive ways to grow vegetables.

My own first garden was a small in-ground space that, while weedy, showed me just how delicious homegrown tomatoes, beans and cucumbers tasted. Since then, I’ve grown vegetables in straw bales, higelkultur beds, containers and raised beds with great results.

No matter what method you use for growing vegetables, do it on a site that offers at least eight hours of direct sun each day. If you’re new to food gardening, start small. Spend a season or two flexing your green thumb and building your skills before you jump into a large plot.

To help you start planning your 2024 garden, let’s look at five techniques that can be used to grow food in any size space.

THE IN-GROUND GARDEN

Planting vegetables in an in-ground garden, often called a row garden, is a traditional way to grow food. Grass and weeds are removed from the site and the soil is amended with compost or aged manure to boost its fertility prior to planting.

The biggest benefit of this technique is that there is little to no upfront cost. Plus, an in-ground garden typically needs to be watered less frequently than raised beds.

However, this type of plot is generally more work to maintain. That’s because plants growing at ground level stand more accessible to insect pests as well as larger animals like deer and rabbits. Compared to other growing methods, the row garden’s soil is slower to warm up in spring and more prone to late frosts, meaning the season isn’t quite as long. And weeds can be more of a problem.