10 Tips for a Successful Vegetable Garden - Urban Programs Travis County (2024)

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10 Tips for a Successful Vegetable Garden - Urban Programs Travis County? ›

Tips for starting an urban garden

Find a place where the plant has access to at least 6-8 hours of sunlight a day. Plants can be grown on the roof (with permission of course). They can also be grown in window boxes, patios, as well as on balconies in hanging baskets. Soil depth is key.

Tips for starting an urban garden

Find a place where the plant has access to at least 6-8 hours of sunlight a day. Plants can be grown on the roof (with permission of course). They can also be grown in window boxes, patios, as well as on balconies in hanging baskets. Soil depth is key.

Chard, lettuce, cherry and bush tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, summer squash, Asian greens, and bush beans are all excellent options for a container garden, depending on the size of your container. And don't forget herbs—basil, chives, thyme and more.

Most vegetable plants do best in full sun. Find a location that gets at least six hours of it each day if possible. In order to provide the most sun exposure to all your plants, place the tallest ones, such as corn, indeterminate tomatoes or pole beans on the north or west side so they do not shade the smaller plants.

As a general rule, put tall veggies toward the back of the bed, mid-sized ones in the middle, and smaller plants in the front or as a border. Consider adding pollinator plants to attract beneficial insects that can not only help you get a better harvest, but will also prey on garden pests.

In addition, urban gardens contribute to the health and well-being of city residents through stress reduction (Marsh et al., 2021), community cohesion (Clarke et al., 2023) and fresh fruit and vegetable production (Alaimo et al., 2008) that improves physical health (Kunpeuk et al., 2020).

A pathway to climate resilience

And more vegetation also means less carbon in the atmosphere, improved air quality and stormwater runoff that is properly managed. Urban gardens also provide a healthy habitat for non-human neighbors like pollinators and birds.

Urban growth eliminates waste from commercial farms.

Sixty million tons of produce are thrown away every year in the United States. Through avoiding mishaps in packing and paying more attention to individual plants, we can save food.

Why are urban gardens good? ›

Decreasing pollution and cleaning air. Filtering stormwater and keeping waterways cleaner. Remaking space for birds to eat, rest and nest. Making space for other displaced animals and organisms, from plants to soil microbes to squirrels (because who doesn't love a squirrel?)

Home and community gardeners typically grow food for their own consumption, donation, or limited nonprofit sales. Community gardens typically engage a number of stakeholders. Urban farms operate on a larger scale than community gardens, grow produce for sale, and often require a business license to operate.

The ideal garden area gets full or nearly full sunlight and has deep, well-drained, fertile soil. The garden should be near a water outlet but not close to competing shrubs or trees. However, if you modify certain cultural practices and select the right crops, almost any site can become a highly productive garden.

As in real estate, the three most important factors to success in vegetable gardening are location, location, and location. You want a location with abundant sunshine, good drainage, away from shrubs and trees and their competing roots, and close to an irrigation source.