Growing vegetables

Whether you are new to growing your own fruits and vegetables, or a gardener with a lifetime of experience, we hope you find the following resources helpful in starting or continuing your journey to eating your own healthy, home-grown food.

Locating your garden: Balcony to backyard and beyond

Your gardening space can be a community garden, your own yard, a patio or a balcony. Getting started involves situating your plot where sunlight, soil conditions and water access facilitate your success. Wander around your space to see what might work for you. And don’t forget about the front yard! See how one Master Gardener made a bold choice to find ideal growing conditions for her crops.

Growing vegetables in a front yard garden
Front yard vegetable garden. Image: Susie Everding

Perhaps you don’t have a growing space to call your own. Consider the Kingston Community Garden network  which enables you to rent an allotment at a modest cost. Or perhaps volunteer at a collective garden growing food for others.

Community garden in Kingston Ontario
Image:Kingston Community gardens

Healthy plants need healthy soil

A helpful overview of soil fertility from Toronto Master Gardeners will get you started on understanding the basics.

Image credit: Toronto Public Health

Not sure about the suitability of your soil? From the Ground Up Guide for Soil Testing in Urban Gardens, from Toronto Public Health clearly explains the considerations for soil testing and the process to follow, if needed.  The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs maintain a list of accredited soil testing labs.

Visit the 1000 Master Gardeners Nurseries, Seeds and Soils webpage for a more information and a listing of local suppliers of soil and compost.

Garden plans

Many online sources and books provide sample garden plans, or you can experiment with your own ideas using graph paper and pencil (and eraser!). The book From Seed to Table by local grower and author Janette Haase has some thoughts to get you started.

What to grow?

Grow what you like to eat!  Seed catalogues are a great source of inspiration and information. Tomatoes, beans, peas and greens are all popular and simple-to-grow choices. For the adventurous, devote a bit of space to a few new varieties each year. Or, perhaps you’d like to take a look at these favourites from one local master gardener.

Potato harvest from a backyard garden

Most vegetables are annuals, completing their life cycle within a single year.  However, you could also consider perennial crops (those that return year after year) such as asparagus, rhubarb, or strawberries. 

If you have children in the house, why not set aside a corner of the garden just for them? Let them suggest and tend their favourites – eating peas straight from the pod, or discovering a hidden trove of potatoes under the soil are wonderful ways to learn where food comes from.

Child planting peas in a backyard garden
Planting peas. Image credit: Anna Sadura Healey

Seeds and seedlings

1000 Islands Master Gardeners maintain a webpage listing local seed houses and plant nurseries. If you are interested in learning more about organic seeds, check out this article from a local Master Gardener.

And if you really want to have fun, learn to save your own seeds.  The Kingston Area Seed System Initiative has information (and seeds) to get you started.

Seed packets are printed with useful information to help you succeed . Most will include instructions for required growing conditions, seed planting depth and spacing, germination and more. Check out this article on Reading a Seed Packet from the University of Saskatchewan.

When to plant

Planting time is guided by the average first and last frost dates in your area or by soil temperature. For frost dates, check with Environment Canada or simply enter your location into an online calculator. The date is an average, based on historical data, so be aware that there is still a risk of frost after this date.

Johnny’s Seed Starting Calculator (interactive) , the Farmer’s Almanac or West Coast Seeds regional planting charts can help to determine when to start seeds indoors, transplant seedlings or direct seed into the garden.

Everything else

Image credit: Compost Council of Canada

Once your crop is in the ground, there’s more to do before finally harvesting and eating those delicious veggies.  The Grow Your Veggie Garden Guide from the Compost Council of Canada is a comprehensive look at the details you’ll need to consider including planning, soils, what to grow, planting, watering, weeding, composting, pests and more! 

A word about watering

Did you know that effective watering starts with healthy soil? Soil enriched with organic matter (for example, compost) helps retain water, and improves drainage. Plan to water your garden early in the day, and direct water to the plant roots rather than the leaves. Conserve water by using a layer of mulch over the soil. Kingston Utilities water conservation guide has some great tips, including the installation of a rain barrel, or head to our post on water conservation in the vegetable garden.

Crop guides

Maybe you want to dig a little deeper with these crop-by-crop vegetable guides:

More resources

There are a multitude of books, websites, podcasts and videos, some of which are discussed in our recent blog. We encourage using resources that promote evidence-based gardening practices! 

And finally here is a small selection of interesting articles on current issues and trends, for those snowy or rainy days when you are NOT in your garden!