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          Plant Production and Gardening
          Vegetable GardeningVegetable Gardening

  Grow Veggies at Home
        

          
            *Plant what your family enjoys cooking and eating!*
Learn about vegetable gardening through NAL collection items and selected external links to information.
A quote from the 1918, Farmers' Bulletin 934, Home Gardening in the South [usda.gov]: A well-kept vegetable garden is a source not only of profit to the gardener but of pleasure to the entire family.

  Gardening Guides
    
    Easy Gardening*Texas A&M AgriLife Extension*
These gardening factsheets help homeowners plan a garden and grow vegetables. Available in English and Espanol.

    Find a Factsheet
      
              Starting Seeds Indoors*University of Minnesota Extension*
This guide to starting garden plants from seeds indoors covers planning, planting and growing seeds, and moving seedlings outdoors.

    Start Garden Plants
      
              Gardening at Home*Cornell University*
Growing guides offer detailed descriptions and growing instructions, site and soil requirements, varieties, and more.

    Read Growing Guides


  Gardening History and Heirlooms
    

    
            Remember that special plant from your grandparents' garden that you wish you could grow now?  Those heirloom fruits and vegetables were valued, saved and passed down through generations.
      

    
            Search our Archive

      The Home Vegetable Garden
    
    

          1906
      The Small Vegetable Garden
    
    

          1917
      The City Home Garden
    
    

          1924
      Diseases and Insects of Garden Vegetables
    
    

          1931

  Plan a Garden
        
                  Learn about starting a garden, container gardening, and companion planting.
    
    Start a Gardenyellow pepper
    
    The basics of starting or planting a vegetable garden can be achieved in six simple steps: Planning; site selection; soil preparation; planting your seeds; maintaining your garden; and harvesting.
Identify nutrition education curricula [usda.gov] for elementary students including School Garden Center Curriculum Resources.
Ask an Extension Service Agent [nifa.usda.gov/] about veggie gardening!

    Start a Vegetable Garden
      
              Container Gardeningblue planting container
    
    Window sills, kitchens [archive.org], patios, balconies, wall gardens, and doorsteps can be ideal for vegetable container gardening. Containers provide a way to grow food and add color to smaller spaces. Learn everything you’ll need to create Successful Container Gardens [illinois.edu] and harvest your bounty before you know it!
The Library of Congress' minibibliography on container gardening provides access to titles in braille and audio. [loc.gov]

    Grow Vegetables in a Container
      
              Companion Plantingpumpkin corn pepper
    
    Companion planting takes advantage of the natural "relationships" between different vegetable crops and other plants. Utilizing companion planting in the garden improves productivity and also helps to deter harmful pests. Combination planting also aids in weed suppression and attracts beneficial insects and pollinators. [usda.gov]
Which plants and vegetables are companions? Check the Friend or Foe Companion Planting Chart [wvu.edu].

    View a Growing Guide


  Books on Vegetable Gardening
    
    **Contact your local library to borrow books.**
*All-new illustrated guide to gardening: planning, selection, propagation, organic solutions*. Bradley, Fern Marshall and Trevor Cole, eds.  NAL call number:  SB453.A615 2009.
*Building raised beds: easy, accessible garden space for vegetables and flowers*.  Bradley, Fern Marshall.  NAL call number:  SB423.7.B73 2015.
*Find-it-fast answers for your vegetable garden: 1,251 ways to outsmart insects, diseases, and weeds and keep your plants healthy all season long.*  Bradley, Fern Marshall.  NAL call number:  SB608.V4 B73 2007.
*Food grown right, in your backyard: a beginner's guide to growing crops at home*.  McCrate, Colin, Brad Halm, and Hilary Dahl.  NAL call number:  S494.5.U72M33 2012.
*Gardener to gardener: 1,001 greatest gardening tips ever: the best hints and techniques from the pages of Organic gardening magazine*.  Bradley, Fern Marshall, ed.  NAL call number:  SB453.5.G328 2002.
*Resourceful gardener's guide: garden solutions, hints, and homemade gadgets from gardeners across the country.*  Bucks, Christine and Fern Marshall Bradley, eds.
*Rodale's ultimate encyclopedia of organic gardening: the indispensable green resource for every gardener.* Bradley, Fern Marshall, Barbara W. Ellis, and Ellen Phillips, eds. NAL call number: SB453.5.R65 2009.
*Vegetable gardening: from planting to picking: the complete guide to creating a bountiful garden.*Bradley, Fern Marshall and Jane Courtier.  NAL call number:  SB321.C823 2006.
*Saving vegetable seeds.* Bradley, Fern Marshall. NAL call number: SB324.75.B73 2014.

  Search the NAL Collection
  

      The vegetable garden problem solver handbook : identify and manage diseases and...
      The healthy vegetable garden : a natural, chemical-free approach to soil, biodi...
      The modern homestead garden : growing self-sufficiency in any size backyard.
      A home gardening intervention to improve vegetable consumption among urban poor...See all 3,925 results
      
              Ask an Expert
        

          
            *USDA*. *National Institute of Food and Agriculture*
Ask your local Extension Service Agent [usda.gov] about veggie gardening! Learn how to start a vegetable garden, select and grow plants, identify and control garden pests, and more.


  External Resources
    
    American Horticultural Society
      National Herb Garden
      National Gardening AssociationPage Content Curated By
    

      Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (AFSIC)
    Special Collections
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