NOTE: THIS IS A REPRINT OF AN ARTICLE ON MY PREVIOUS BLOG AS I REBUILD THIS INFO HERE.
Even for the most amateur gardener, growing your own vegetables is high on the list of gardening priorities. The rewards of being able to harvest something you’ve grown yourself outweighs the minimal effort it takes to achieve. All you need is a plot of soil, some good-quality seeds and a source of regular water.
Well…that is until the health of your vegetable patch begins to decline and the rewards of your labour become insignificant at best. How do you keep your vegetable patch healthy and ascertain the level of its health? Read on for more tips….

• Soil Condition – to ensure a healthy vegetable patch it all begins with the soil. Most issues that pertain to growing successful vegetables start here and if this is not maintained your vegetable success rate will fall. For more info on keeping your soil healthy check here…
• Pest Management – apart from managing your soil, managing and eradicating (if that’s possible!!) pests is the next focus. Caterpillar’s eating your cauliflowers, white moth’s chewing their way through your lettuces and slater’s biting the tops of carrots. Some people use chemical sprays which in most cases are only temporary solutions while others prefer ‘Companion Planting’. Companion planting is the concept of grouping plants together that use eaach other’s natural abilities to ward off pests and therefore allow more success with your vegetables.
• Water Source – of all the plants in your garden, vegetables will probably require the most water, and regular water as well. Without a regular water source, your vegetables will struggle to grow and fruit consistently. If you are producing small, inedible fruits or vegetables that seem stunted in their maturity it will most probably be linked to inefficient watering.
• Adequate Support – many of the climbing vegetables require support to enable them to grow and produce. If the support is not adequate or doesn’t allow for good ventilation or sunlight exposure, these vegetables will struggle to succeed. Make sure your supporting frames are strong enough to hold the climber well into maturity without sagging or showing signs of stress from the increasing weight.