You’ve set aside space for your personal backyard vegetable garden.

You have your supply of high-quality, nutrient-rich triple mix soil from Van Beek’s Garden Supplies ready to go.

All you need now are some vegetable seeds to plant.

In order to have a successful summer harvest, you need veggies which are:

- Fast-growing

- Easy to care for

- Able to grow and thrive in the summer heat

Before you plant, though, you need to…

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Get your soil ready

Your veggies need healthy, well-drained soil in order to grow and thrive.

The best way to achieve that is to:

- Lay fresh topsoil on top of your garden

- Till and aerate the soil thoroughly to allow for maximum water drainage

- Add natural compost to the top 10” of your topsoil base

Once the soil is ready, it’s time to plant.

And the easiest veggies you can plant are:

Carrots

- Best grown in full sun exposure

- They do tolerate light shade

- Grows best in light, sandy soils

If you haven’t replenished your topsoil for the season, you’ll need to do so before planting carrots (fresh, workable soil is best). Keeping a consistent soil temperature (around 21˚C) is also crucial.

Zucchini

- One or two plants is sufficient for a great crop

- Use fertilizer products to help with fruit formation

- Consistent soil moisture is required for good growth

When planted properly, zucchini can grow very proficiently. It grows best in soil that’s approximately 25˚C. If the soil is too cool, the zucchini won’t grow.

Onions

- Best planted at the start of summer (since they require a bit more growing time)

- Keep the soil aerated for regular drainage

- Use compost to assist with growth

You could grow onions from seed or plant small “bulbet sets” (if your garden is big enough). Once the green shoots sprout, you can cut them & use them in salads (even before the bulb itself is ready).

Tomatoes

- Best planted in the hot summer heat

- All they need is the right amount of moisture and sunlight

-Can be grown in gardens or containers

Just about any variety of tomato will work in a summer vegetable garden. You can even transplant container tomatoes to your outdoor garden once the soil has properly warmed up.

Cucumbers

- Requires full sun exposure for best growth

- If there’s any chance of frost, don’t plant them

- A few plants can yield plenty of cucumbers

If your garden space backs onto a fence, you can (and maybe should) grow cucumbers vertically along a trellis. If you only have a small garden space, you can always plant dwarf cucumbers.

Peppers

- Plant peppers as early as possible

- Give them a boost with low or no-nitrogen fertilizer

- Make sure they’re kept consistently moist

To speed up your pepper growth, plant young seedlings instead of seeds. They love heat, so you can cover them with black plastic to attract and retain heat.

Contact Van Beek’s for all your summer garden needs

Whether you need convenient soil delivery, fresh seed products or just helpful advice, Van Beek’s is your place for it all.

Simply contact us using our easy-to-fill information form.

Once you do, a member of our team will get back to you to discuss your needs and answer every question you have.

Happy planting!