Few culinary delights compare to the taste of fresh vegetables from your own vegetable garden. Growing veggies is an outdoor activity that people of all ages can enjoy. With careful planning and preparation, beginners can enjoy the same great results as seasoned veterans. To get started on your own easy-to-grow vegetable garden, follow these seven simple steps.

Stock Up on Supplies

An assortment of gardening tools simplifies tasks, but you don’t need a full tool kit to achieve tasty results. The basic items that you’ll need to grow and maintain your vegetable garden include:

•     Garden Spade
•     Cultivator
•     Soil Testing Kit
•     Soil Amendments and Fertilizers
•     Seeds and Plants

Select the Location

Most vegetables need at least six hours of direct sunlight every day to thrive. Select a bright sunny location with easy access to a source of water and make sure the plot is large enough to give your veggies room to grow.  If you are worried about pests, you can have the area sprayed before you start planting so that you don’t create a haven for creatures who will feast on your vegetables and ruin all you hard work. If possible, choose a spot in the yard that is out of the way—preferably a corner where your pets or children won’t damage any of your plants while playing in the yard.

Choose Your Amendments

A soil testing kit lets you identify whether the soil has the right nutrients, minerals and texture that vegetables need to flourish. Choose soil amendments that will make up for any deficiency. Organic amendments like manure, for example, improve soil texture and contain nutrients as well.

Veggies are fast-growing plants that need one or two applications of fertilizer to meet their nutrient needs. All-purpose vegetable fertilizers contain the right mix of nitrogen, phosphorous and potash that most vegetables need to grow.

Prepare the Soil

“Turn over” the soil by plunging your spade deep into the ground, lifting out the dirt and re-depositing it. Apply a layer of your soil amendments, and then turn the soil over again. Use a rake or cultivator to break up large pieces of dirt and to smooth the planting bed.

Plant Your Veggies

Most seeds, seedlings and young plants come with packets or tags that include plant care information about spacing, planting depth and watering requirements. Whether you’re sowing seeds are transplanting potted veggies, don’t pat the soil down around the plant or seed too firmly. Although roots need some resistance, too much compression makes it hard for them to grow.

Water and Weeding Your Vegetable Garden

After planting, give the plants a gentle but thorough soaking to get them started. While different types of veggies have different watering needs, a good rule of thumb is water whenever the soil an inch or two below the surface becomes dry. A daily check on your garden allows you to pull weeds as soon as they appear.

Harvest Your Bounty

Snap veggies like tomatoes, peppers and beans off from the base. Pull root vegetables up from the ground gently to avoid damaging neighboring plants. Even a small garden can produce more vegetables than your family can eat. Canning or freezing the veggies lets you enjoy them year round.

Even an experienced gardener encounters a few failures when growing vegetables. Although it takes practice to discover which plants work best for you, you can count on your share of delicious success too. The most important key to success when it comes to gardening is to do your homework. The more you know about growing vegetables and tending to a garden, the healthier your garden will be. Seek advice from the internet, gardening books, as well as professionals, and you’ll have a flourishing vegetable garden in no time.

AUTHOR BIO: This article was written by Dixie Somers, a freelance writer who loves writing for business, women’s interests, or home and family. She lives in Arizona with her husband and three beautiful daughters. When choosing a location for your garden, pest and rodent exclusion professionals suggest that you inspect the area for critters or pests who might damage the vitality of your garden so that you can humanely remove the pests before you start planting.