Five Basic Reguirements To Grow Vegetables – The Essential Elements

To grow vegetables successfully you need to provide the optimum growing conditions available.

Each individual plot, allotment or garden has its own characteristics which will mean you have the five following basic requirements in varying degrees:-

1. Shelter

2. Sunlight

3. Warmth

4. Fertile, well-drained soil

5. Water

If you are selecting a plot then these requirements should all be considered very carefully.

1. Shelter
 The site of your vegetable plot should be open yet not overly exposed.

Shelter from the wind is surprisingly important to vegetable growing. Even sites that are slightly exposed to wind may see a 20-30 per cent decrease in yields. Stronger winds may wreck crops completely. Beware of surrounding structures that may cause wind funnels that direct the wind across your vegetables.

In coastal areas, windborne sea-spray can contain high contents of salt which can affect both the soil and plants.

If your intended or existing site is open to the wind then this can be counteracted by erecting windbreaks. These should not be solid walls or panels, but should be around 50% permeable to the wind, to allow some airflow. Good examples of windbreaks include, hedges, willow screen, slatted picket style fences etc. Any living barriers such as hedges should be far enough away to prevent competition with the vegetables for nutrients and water, but close enough and tall enough to be effective against the wind. They should also not overshadow the site, blocking out any light.

2. Sunlight
 All plants require light to grow and photosynthesise, (the process by which a green plant manufacturers food in the form of carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water using light as energy.)

Light intensity combined with the photoperiod (day-length required to trigger growth of a plant) are very important in the germination and growing of any plant and this is especially true of in the case of vegetables.

The day-length is governed by season and latitude, different vegetables require varying day-lengths at various stages of growth. For example short day-length plants require less than 12 hours of light per day to grow and seed, whereas long day-length plants require over 12 hours to grow and seed.

Sound complicated? Well, basically all this means is that shorter day length vegetables can generally be grown earlier in the season than longer day ones because they require less hours of daylight.

In general terms of your vegetable plot, the key is to make sure that your plants are not overshadowed at any time during the day by trees or fences or such like, as this reduces the light available, and the plants ability to photosynthesise. This in turn reduces growth, which will finally produce weaker crops with smaller yields.

3. Warmth
 For most vegetables, an average day time temperature of 6 degrees centigrade is required for them to grow, between spring and autumn. Some crops are damaged by colder or freezing temperatures (such as tomatoes) and others such as brassicas actually prefer cooler temperatures.

Variations in temperature can also cause varying rates of photosynthesis, causing plants to grow faster or slower accordingly.

Of course growing seasons can be brought forward slightly by starting crops undercover in greenhouses, or cold frames etc.

4. Fertile, well drained soil
 The makeup of soils and pH values can be quite complex and will be covered in a future part of this guide.

What is required for vegetables in general is a friable loam, which is fertile, water retentive but free draining. The recommended pH is between 6 and 7, but the ideal pH varies slightly dependant on the vegetable that is to be grown.

The soil should be easily worked, not heavy and lumpy (clay), or fine and loose (sand), but have a good crumbly texture. It should also be rich in nutrients hold moisture, but allow free passage of water through it. The underlying ground, subsoil should also be permeable to allow free drainage.

Good soil for growing vegetables rarely occurs naturally unless you are very lucky. Most soils will require improvement, to either, break them up, improve texture, or control nutrient and pH levels.

5. Water
Rainfall varies according to your location. Some areas may receive little rainfall which will mean that additional manual watering will be required to grow healthy vegetables. In comparison, in areas of high rainfall the importance of having a free draining soil becomes more apparent. Over-watering or saturated ground can lead to increases in fungal disease problems, and a loss of nutrients from the soil via leaching.

When it comes to additional manual, or automatic watering, the amount of water required will depend on ground conditions, and the requirements of the vegetable. As a rule it is best to water heavily and occasionally, rather than lightly and frequently. Light waterings do not reach deeply into the ground so do not encourage deep rooting. They also evaporate more quickly in hot or windy weather, before roots have chance to absorb the moisture.

When watering, water the base of the plant, and the best time to water is in the evening.

A well prepared soil will help minimize the amount of watering required.

Individual vegetable types have their own critical watering periods at various stages of development.

Summary
For most of us, the choice of plot can be very restricted, there may be limited space available and possibly the perfect conditions cannot be achieved. In this case you should not be disheartened or think that it is therefore impossible to grow vegetables on your plot, having none-perfect conditions just means you may have to work a little harder, be a little smarter, and at worst may mean a slightly lower yield rate, but it rarely spells complete disaster!!

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