The Gardening Supplies You Need to Start Your Own Veg Patch

Growing your own vegetables is incredibly rewarding.

Having a veg patch at home is more than a pastime and is an activity every family member can get involved with.

The key is to ensure you have all the right gardening supplies to hand, so you’re fully equipped to nurture and grow healthy, vibrant produce. These are all the essentials we’d recommend you stock your shed with before starting work on your home veg patch.

Getting Started with Your Veg Patch

It’s best to have all your kit ready and check your soils pH level before you start sowing seeds.

The optimal pH level for vegetable growth is about 6.5, slightly more acidic than normal – but a standard reading of 7 pH is perfectly fine.

The Garden Supplies Checklist

You may have the basics already, but any of the garden supplies below that you don’t have are a great investment and will be put to excellent use:

A spade and fork
Secateurs for pruning
A trowel for planting
A hand fork to dig out root veggies
Watering cans or a hose
Boots or wellies
Gardening gloves
A shovel
A rake to level your soil
A hoe to break up clumpy ground

It’s not necessary to buy the most expensive range, but a good quality set of gardening tools will stand you in good stead for years to come.

Creating Your Garden Vegetable Patch

Firstly, we advise picking the sunniest spot in your garden – maximum sunlight will ensure faster growth.

In terms of structure, you can plant directly at ground level or dig down into a vegetable plot. Most home vegetable gardeners use a flower bed since lawn-level beds are exposed to weeds, lawn invasion and unintentional feet.

Raised beds can be made from sleepers, at a nice height for children to reach if you intend to teach them about growing and picking their produce.

A raised container filled with compost is a good idea since it’ll cut down on weed growth and mean the soil thaws out earlier in the spring, so you have more harvest months per year.

Building Step-by-Step

Here’s how to go about either starting a veg patch from scratch or reappointing a flower bed to use for vegetable or fruit plants:

Use your spade and fork to break up the ground – it can be tough-going, so sometimes better to do in stages rather than trying to get it all done in one day.
Once the soil has been broken down with the spade, use your fork to split it into clumps of about fist size.
Next, take your hoe and refine the soil and make it looser.
The final stage is to prepare the ground by adding compost, manure and nutrients.

Soil runs dry of natural nutrients over time, so the best practice is to leave your veg patch fallow every few years to give it a chance to become enriched again and ensure new seedlings will have all the support they need.

Which Vegetables Should I Add to My Shopping List?

If you’re new to growing vegetables, you may want to start with the less challenging options as there are some that are a lot easier to grow than others.

Peas and runner beans are a great starting point, and you begin by planting seeds in small pots, and keeping them sheltered until they’ve grown a little. Do check that kids wash their hands after planting pea seeds, as they are toxic.

When peas or runner beans have become established, you can tie canes into a trellis or wigwam, and place it in your veg patch to grow upwards.

Other easy-grow fruits and vegetables include:

Cabbages and lettuces: grow large very quickly and are among the healthiest vegetables to eat with abundant vitamin B found in green leafy vegetables.
Root vegetables: take a bit more patience, and potatoes, turnips, carrots and parsnips are harvested between autumn and winter.
Strawberries: can be grown in pots or a veg patch and ripen from green buds into sweet, delicious fruits.

Invest in Gardening Supplies to Establish Your Veg Patch

Starting a new vegetable patch will mean you will need to purchase gardening supplies and put some time and effort into creating a growing space. The rewards however, do make it worthwhile!

Cost Savings

Over time, you can reduce your grocery costs. A pack of seeds costs about the same as one vegetable, so if you can turn that into a season’s worth of food, you’ll make a saving.

Improved Nutrition

When you grow produce at home, you know exactly what’s gone into the food you eat (and what hasn’t).

If you’re concerned about soaring prices for organic vegetables, you can grow your own at a fraction of the cost and have absolute control over what reaches your dinner table.

Families that grow vegetables and fruits consume 40% more natural plants than average and are 3.5 times more likely to eat their five a day, so it’s a learning curve with comprehensive benefits.

Amazing Taste

We’ve all heard of farm to fork, and the same health-conscious, eco-friendly attitude applies to veggies grown in our gardens.

Freshly picked fruits and vegetables are packed with vitamins, minerals and natural goodness that you simply don’t get from bulk harvested or freeze-dried produce.

Pick some great quality gardening supplies, try your hand at growing the rainbow, and we’re confident you’ll never turn back!

If you’d like more advice about creating a veg patch, picking plants to grow, or choosing the right garden supplies, please contact the AK Kin Garden Supplies team for first-hand tips from the gardening professionals.