How to start your first vegetable garden

Article updated on April 19, 2024

The summer season brings its share of exciting projects to invest every square foot of our home's exterior. After the bird feeders, the lawn and the flowers, my family and I still had some love to give... to our first vegetable garden!

The adventure began one spring day. Much to my surprise, the lover comes home with peat moss pellets and sows no less than nine vegetables (including pumpkin!) in the kitchen. After a few weeks, beautiful shoots seem to stare at us and silently beg at mealtimes. It's high time I got back to work on this project. I live in the horticultural capital of the province, after all!

First, the right soil

No problem, I took the key to the fields, or rather the Route des fleurs, and stopped at the Grover FarmI stopped off at Ferme Grover, an environmentally-friendly family business where the friendly Joëlle Grover advised me on my choice of soil. We load up my car with big bags of Fafard urban potting soil. This potting soil, which contains coconut and is approved for organic cultivation, means we can afford to water less frequently. The lazy, inexperienced gardener in me applauds. We add the essential nutrients to help the garden grow: Fafard Biosol compost and Fafard 4-3-7 natural vegetable garden fertilizer. I take the opportunity to choose romaine lettuce and patio cucumber plants to complete my assortment of vegetables.

Alice in Wonderland

I continue my journey towards Les Serres Clérouxa magical place where you feel as if time has stopped and you've entered the world of Alice in Wonderland. Paper lamps on the ceiling, caged birds, little houses, wooden animal sculptures, sumptuous flowers... I'd spend the whole morning wandering and meditating, but that's not my mission. Looking for ideas for urban vegetable garden containers, I admire the wooden boxes from Caisserie McNeil (very pretty, but small). Finally, I set my sights on the larger Smart Pots. Lightweight and durable, these geotextile gardening pots are suitable for all kinds of surfaces and crops.

Good neighbors

I take the opportunity to get some advice from the manager of the garden center on the rules of good vegetable companionship. I learn that, as in the sauce, tomatoes, basil and garlic like to socialize, as do cucumbers and dill. My cart fills up with a few more finds: a black tomato plant, an irresistible strawberry planter and two trios of herbs for the balcony. I also bought two protective allies: nasturtium, which attracts aphids, and tagetes, which repels insects and parasites. With my notebook full of instructions, I return home and put my ambitious project on paper, drawing my three-box vegetable garden.

Do you know how to plant cabbages?

That evening, as daylight fades and my toddler sleeps peacefully, I head to the back of my yard, where the sun shines all day, to get my hands in the dirt. I fill the huge rectangular black bag with compost, then potting soil. Concentrating on my task, I then proceed to transplant the pre-moistened seedlings and seedlings, and find myself talking to them in a reassuring, motherly voice. Handling living things means offering them the best possible environment, in the knowledge that they will return the favor a hundredfold!

A few days later, I'm queen of the vegetable garden with my daily morning visits to prune, clean, pinch, pull, aerate and water. Am I a lazy gardener? It's true that a vegetable garden takes up a lot of time, but these moments quickly become windows of relaxation and family sharing. And I can't wait to see the look on lover and toddler's faces when they see their first cabbage and broccoli bloom!

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