Best gardening steps

Groceries form a large part of every household's monthly budget. One of the most expensive items in the grocery budget is fruit and vegetables. However, it is impossible to exclude these entirely, so people try to find ways of obtaining them more cheaply. One way is to grow them yourself in your garden or yard. This is not always as difficult as it sounds, especially if you use a cheap food plot planter strategy.

The factors that are important are the security of your garden, the size of the planting area and the nature of the soil. Rocky or polluted soil should be prepared before planting. You remove the stones and solid rubbish with your hands or by panning, using the same equipment that gold panners use. This might be an improvised wire mesh bowl that is loaded with soil and then shaken empty, leaving only the stones and pebbles, or other waste.

In terms of space, you need to match the species of plant to the size of the garden. Creeping plants like melons or pumpkins need a lot of space because they grow along the ground. Then there are buried crops like potatoes and yams. These need space underground to produce their crops, which are formed in the soil and are harvested by digging them out.

Soil has to be prepared for planting before you start. If the soil is not rich in nutrients or it is dry and dusty, it is not yet suitable. You either need to buy fertilizer or use compost. There are several fertilizers on the market, and if you don't know which one to use you should find out rather than experiment.

Poor soil, or soil which is dry, sandy and has no significant nutrient value, needs prior preparation. You should use compost of fertilizer. Fertilizers come in a variety in stores, so ask if you are not sure about which one to use.

First, dig a pit or trench in the yard, and then use it as a dump for this material. Once the space is full, cover it with the soil and dig it over, so that the material is mixed with the soil. Compost takes time to accumulate but it is very effective.

If the soil is not prepared, you cannot expect very impressive crops. Poor soil will either not support mature plants, and they will die while they are young, or they will grow up into stunted specimens that produce a low harvest of small or misshapen produce.

Shop-bought fruit and vegetables are usually big and healthy. However, they are grown using commercial strategies that domestic planters do not have access to, such as massive irrigation equipment, genetic manipulation and agricultural chemicals to combat pests and fungi. This is no embarrassment, since you are growing your own produce. You may even be pleasantly surprised at how effective your own home garden is and how attractive the crops are, or their size.