In brief: For successful vegetable gardening, choose a sunny, sheltered spot. Improve the soil with compost or use high-quality potting soil for containers. Start with easy crops such as radishes, lettuce or zucchini. Water regularly at the roots and fertilize as needed. Soon, you'll be harvesting fresh vegetables.
Contents
- How do I find the perfect spot for my vegetables?
- Planning properly: What should go in the vegetable garden?
- From seed to plant: Mastering sowing and growing seedlings
- How do I care for my vegetables to get a plentiful harvest?
- Harvest time: When and how should I harvest my vegetables?
- Growing vegetables in small spaces: Tips for the balcony
The taste of a sun-ripened tomato picked fresh from your own garden is incomparable. Bringing fresh vegetables straight from your own garden or balcony to your plate is easier than you might think. It's a rewarding task that gives you not only healthy food but also a deeper connection with nature. Whether you have a large garden or just a small city balcony, growing your own vegetables is within reach. This guide shows you how to successfully grow your own vegetables with the right planning and care. Discover the variety in Garden + Outdoor and get started.
How do I find the perfect spot for my vegetables?
Choosing the right location is the foundation for healthy plants and a plentiful harvest. Vegetables need plenty of light and warmth. Observe how the sun moves across your garden or balcony before you start creating your beds.
Sun, sun and more sun
Most vegetables, especially fruiting crops such as tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and cucumbers, are true sun lovers. They need at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight per day. A south- or southwest-facing spot is ideal. Less sun-hungry crops such as lettuce or spinach can manage with a little less light, but they also thrive in sunny locations.
Protection from wind and weather
Strong winds can dry out young plants, break them or make pollination by insects more difficult. A sheltered location, for example beside a house wall, hedge or fence, is beneficial. Avoid low-lying areas where cold air collects, as the risk of late spring frosts is higher there.
Light is the engine that drives plant growth. Six to eight hours of direct sunlight is the minimum most fruiting crops, such as tomatoes and peppers, need for a successful harvest.
Planning properly: What should go in the vegetable garden?
Good planning saves you a lot of work and disappointment later. Think about which vegetables you enjoy eating and how much space you have available. A plan helps you keep track of everything and make the best use of your space.
Vegetables for beginners
If you're new to growing vegetables, start with easy-care varieties. This gives you quick early successes and helps you stay motivated. Good choices include:
- Radishes: They grow extremely quickly and can be harvested after just a few weeks.
- Leaf lettuce: It keeps providing fresh leaves over a long period.
- Zucchini: Highly productive; one plant is often enough to supply an entire family.
- Bush beans: They don't need a trellis and are easy to harvest.
- Swiss chard: Hardy and decorative, it can be used like spinach or as a stem vegetable.
Consider companion plants and crop rotation
Plants affect one another. Good neighbors, known as companion planting, encourage growth and help keep pests away. A classic combination is carrots and onions. The smell of the onions repels carrot flies and vice versa. Never plant the same vegetables or plants from the same family (e.g. tomatoes and potatoes) in the same spot one after another. Rotating crops each year helps prevent soil exhaustion and disease.
Additional advice
Create a simple planting calendar. Note when you can sow, plant and expect to harvest each variety. This helps you quickly fill gaps in the bed and extend the harvest across the entire season. That way, you'll always have something fresh to harvest from spring through fall.
From seed to plant: Mastering sowing and growing seedlings
Whether you buy young plants or grow your vegetables from seed is a personal choice. Starting from seed is less expensive, offers a wider variety of crops and lets you experience the plant's entire life cycle.
Starting seeds on the windowsill
Warm-season vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplants have a long growing season in our climate. They therefore need to be started indoors in late winter or early spring. Use special seed-starting mix and suitable containers. A seedling and seed starter tray with a lid creates an ideal microclimate and encourages germination. Place the seed pots in a bright, warm spot, such as a windowsill. Keep the soil evenly moist but not wet. Before the young plants can go outside after the last frosts (mid-May), gradually acclimate them to outdoor conditions.
Direct sowing in the garden bed
Hardy, fast-germinating varieties can be sown directly into a prepared bed as soon as the soil has warmed sufficiently. These include radishes, carrots, beans, peas and many types of lettuce. Follow the sowing depth and planting distance stated on the seed packet. You'll find a huge selection of seeds in our Vegetables category. Marking rows with small signs helps you keep track of everything.
Pro tip
Test older seeds for germination before sowing. Place ten seeds on a damp sheet of kitchen paper, fold it over and put it in a clear freezer bag. Kept in a warm place, the seeds should germinate after a few days. If seven out of ten seeds germinate, the germination rate is good.
How do I care for my vegetables for a bountiful harvest?
Once your vegetables are planted, it's time to start caring for them. Regular attention helps your plants stay healthy and produce plenty of fruit. The most important tasks are watering, feeding and keeping weeds under control.
Watering and feeding correctly
It's best to water in the morning and apply the water directly to the root area rather than over the leaves. This helps prevent fungal diseases. The soil should be thoroughly moistened, but waterlogging must be avoided at all costs. Feeding requirements depend on the type of plant. We distinguish between heavy feeders (e.g. tomatoes, pumpkins and cabbages), medium feeders (e.g. carrots and onions) and light feeders (e.g. beans and herbs). A good basic supply of well-rotted compost in spring is ideal for all plants. Heavy feeders need additional nutrients during the growing season, for example in the form of an organic liquid fertiliser.
Weeding and mulching
Keep your beds free of weeds, as they compete with your vegetables for water, nutrients and light. Regular hoeing also loosens the soil and improves water absorption. A layer of mulch made from grass clippings, straw or leaves retains moisture in the soil, suppresses weeds and promotes soil life. For these jobs, you need the right garden tools.
Important note
Check your plants regularly for pests such as aphids or slugs. If you find an infestation, you don't need to resort to chemical pesticides straight away. Beneficial insects such as ladybirds or simple home remedies such as a strong jet of water can often help against aphids. It's best to collect slugs in the evening or early morning.
Harvest time: when and how should I harvest my vegetables?
Harvesting is the most rewarding moment for any gardener. Harvesting at the right time is crucial for the flavour and shelf life of your vegetables. It's best to harvest in the morning, while the plants are still fresh and crisp.
Recognising the right time
Each type of vegetable has its own signs of ripeness. Tomatoes should be fully coloured and give slightly when gently pressed. Courgettes are best harvested when young, at around 15-20 cm long. They are particularly tender at this stage, and harvesting encourages the plant to produce new fruit. With lettuce, you can either harvest the whole head or regularly pick the outer leaves. This allows the heart to keep growing and provide a fresh supply.
Harvesting what you have sown yourself gives you a whole new appreciation for food and the rhythms of nature.
Harvesting and processing with care
Use a sharp tool for harvesting so that you don't damage the plants. The "Wunderschere" - the all-purpose cutter for home & garden is perfect for cutting courgettes, herbs or beans cleanly. Process your harvest as soon as possible while it's fresh. Anything you don't use straight away can often be stored, frozen or preserved.
Growing vegetables in small spaces: balcony gardening tips
No garden? No problem! You can grow an impressive variety of vegetables on a balcony or terrace too. With the right containers and varieties, your balcony can become a green oasis.
Choosing the right containers
Choose pots, tubs or window boxes that are large enough. The larger the container, the more soil and water it can hold, making plant care easier. Drainage holes in the bottom are essential so that excess water can drain away and waterlogging doesn't occur. For an ergonomic working height and ideal growing conditions, use a Garden wooden greenhouse / vegetable garden table on legs. These raised beds for balconies are ideal for lettuce, herbs and radishes.
Think vertically
Make use of the space above you. Trellises attached to the wall allow you to grow climbing beans or snack cucumbers. Tumbling tomatoes and strawberries thrive in hanging baskets. Vertical planting pockets or shelves provide space for plenty of herbs and lettuce in a small area. Discover the right garden and plant accessories for your ideas.
Special considerations for balcony gardening
Plants in containers dry out faster than those in beds and therefore need to be watered more often. The nutrients in the limited amount of soil are also used up more quickly, so regular feeding is important. Also pay attention to your balcony's load-bearing capacity, especially when using several large and heavy containers.
Growing your own vegetables is an adventure that is well worth it. Every small step, from the seed germinating to harvesting the first fruit, is a little miracle. Start small, experiment and enjoy your own fresh harvest. You'll see: home-grown vegetables simply taste best.
Frequently asked questions
- Which vegetables are best for beginners?
- Easy-to-grow, fast-growing vegetables are ideal for getting started. These include radishes, cut-and-come-again salad leaves, courgettes, bush beans and Swiss chard. Herbs such as chives and parsley are also very easy to grow and provide a quick harvest. These varieties are forgiving of minor mistakes and give you a successful start.
- How often do I need to water my vegetables?
- Water requirements depend on the type of vegetable, the weather and the location. As a general rule, water thoroughly but less frequently. The surface of the soil should dry out between waterings. Check the soil with your finger. If it is still moist a few centimetres below the surface, wait before watering.
- Do I need special fertiliser for my vegetables?
- That depends on the quality of the soil and the plants. Adding compost in spring provides an ideal basic supply of nutrients. Heavy feeders such as tomatoes and pumpkins need additional nutrients during the growing season. Organic vegetable fertiliser is suitable for this. Light feeders such as radishes and herbs usually grow well without additional fertiliser.
- Can I grow vegetables in the shade?
- Most fruiting vegetables, such as tomatoes and peppers, need plenty of sunlight. However, some varieties can cope with partial shade. These include many leafy vegetables, such as spinach, lamb's lettuce and cut-and-come-again salad leaves. Some root vegetables, such as radishes, and herbs such as mint and wild garlic also thrive with less light.
- What is the difference between garden soil and potting compost for vegetables?
- Garden soil is the natural soil in your garden. For growing vegetables in containers or raised beds, it is often too heavy and becomes compacted. Special vegetable compost or potting compost is looser, retains its structure better and stores water more effectively. It is also tailored to the nutrient requirements of vegetables and is usually peat-free.