Grow vegetables!
Simple methods anyone can use anywhere to produce nutritious food.
Start here
A Primer on Vegetable Gardening
Start your garden with this simple, easy-to-follow guide by R.L. Villareal, S. Shanmugasundaram, and M.L. Chadha.
A vegetable garden for every situation
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Like a sheet mulch garden, this approach allows you to plant a garden on concrete or other surfaces unsuitable for growing vegetables—except it’s even easier.
WHAT YOU NEED for a MILK CRATE / BOX/ BASKET GARDEN
- milk crate, wooden box, or basket
- burlap sacking
- soil mixed with compost
HOW TO
- Make or obtain a slatted wood box (like those used to transport fruit) or get a milk crate or rough-woven basket.
- Cut pieces of burlap or rough sacking big enough to line the inside of the box, crate or basket.
- Fill the container with soil and you are ready to plant.
This method turns a grassy area or a weed patch into an instant garden. It works best with seedlings, rather than direct sowing of seed.
WHAT YOU NEED for a SHEET MULCH GARDEN
- compost
- soil
- cardboard
- straw or wood chips
HOW TO
- Spread a 5 – 8 cm (2 – 3 in) layer of compost over the area and water deeply.
- Put a 15 – 20 cm (6 – 8 in) layer of topsoil on top of the compost.
- Cover with a layer of cardboard (remove any tape as it is not biodegradable).
- Cover the cardboard with a layer of wood chips or straw (the cardboard pieces should overlap at least six inches to discourage vigorous weeds).
- Push back the mulch and cut a hole in the cardboard as big as the seedling’s root ball. Drop the seedling in the hole. and lightly tamp the soil.
- Put the mulch back. Water well.
- A good method for planting seedlings of larger plants such as tomatoes, cucumbers and squash!
Stack ’em up for a vertical garden!
A vertical garden can be made from many different materials, such as:
- a couple of pots hanging from a horizontal rod
- some milk crates or boxes stacked on top of each other
- a sheet of mulch cloth with pockets to hold soil that can be attached to a wall
- a wooden pallet with mulch cloth tacked to the bottom and sides, and the pallet set up on edge
- a freestanding wire-mesh cylinder lined with mulch cloth
- and many more!
Just add soil, water and seeds/seedlings!
Microgreens are young vegetable greens harvested when approximately 2.5–7.5 cm (1–3 in) tall. These “micro plants” are bigger than sprouts and smaller than baby greens. They can be grown in containers on windowsills, in a greenhouse, or outdoors.
Microgreens are usually harvested 7–21 days after germination, once the plant’s first true leaves have emerged. They shouldn’t be confused with sprouts, which usually do not have leaves and have a shorter growing cycle of 2–7 days.
WHAT YOU NEED for a MICROGREEN GARDEN
- Good-quality seeds
- A container filled with potting soil or homemade compost
- Lid for your container
- Sunlight, ideally for 10-12 hours per day.
HOW TO
- Fill your container with soil, making sure you don’t over-compress it, and water lightly.
- Sprinkle the seed of your choice on top of the soil as evenly as possible.
- Lightly mist your seeds with water and cover your container with a plastic lid.
- Check on your tray daily and mist water as needed to keep the seeds moist.
- A couple of days after the seeds have germinated, you may remove the plastic lid to expose them to light.
- Water once a day while your microgreens grow and gain color.
- After 7–21 days, your microgreens should be ready to harvest.
GOOD VEGETABLES FOR MICROGREEN GARDENS
- Brassicaceae family: Cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, watercress, radish, arugula
- Asteraceae family: Lettuce, endive, chicory and radicchio
- Apiaceae family: Dill, carrot, fennel and celery
- Amaryllidaceae family: Garlic, onion, leek
- Amaranthaceae family: Amaranth, quinoa, swiss chard, beet, spinach
- Cucurbitaceae family: Melon, cucumber, squash
Don’t have space for a garden? Try growing a few vegetables and herbs in a sack or bag.
WHAT YOU NEED for a VERTICAL SACK GARDEN
- A burlap or plastic sack – anywhere in size from 5 kg to 50 kg.
- Soil mixed with compost.
- Rocks for drainage.
- A cylindrical bucket or tin, open on both ends OR a wire-mesh cylinder about 12 cm (5 inches) in diameter and as tall as the sack. The diameter can be smaller for small sacks and larger for big sacks.
HOW TO
- Choose the location for your sack (you don’t want to move it when it is full of soil!).
- Place about 12 cm (5 in) of soil at the bottom of the sack. Set the bucket or tin in the center and fill the tin with rocks.
- Surround the tin with soil until it comes up to the rim of the tin. Then slowly lift it up the tin, so that the rocks remain in the center. Set the tin in the middle, fill it with more rocks, and surround it again with soil. Lift it up and repeat this step until the sack is full. This “rock channel” will make it easy to water your sack garden. If you can obtain some wire mesh, make a cylinder, set it in the middle of the bag, fill it with rocks, and then add the soil all around to the top of the sack.
- Poke holes into the side of the sack at an even distance about 20 cm (8 in) apart.
- Transplant seedlings into the holes and tamp soil lightly around the roots.
- Beets, carrots, lettuce or other vegetables or herbs can be direct-seeded on the top of the sack.
- Water your sack garden from the top: Pour water into the rock channel until it comes out of the bottom holes.
WHAT YOU NEED for a HORIZONTAL SACK GARDEN
- A burlap or plastic sack – anywhere in size from 5 kg to 50 kg.
- Soil mixed with compost.
HOW TO
- Choose the location for your sack (you don’t want to move it when it is full of soil!).
- Fill the sack with a mixture of soil and compost.
- Sew up or secure the opening. Lay the full sack flat on the ground or surface.
- Poke drainage holes (about 1 cm [0.5 in] in diameter) into the bottom side of the sack at an even distance about 10 cm (4 in) apart. If the sack is made from loosely woven material that will allow water to drain, you do not need to do this step.
- On the top side of the sack, cut hole openings for seedlings, or cut row openings for seeds.
- Transplant seedlings into the holes and tamp soil lightly around the roots. OR sow seed in rows at the appropriate depth.
- Water your sack garden gently from the top.
WHAT YOU NEED for CONTAINER GARDENS
- buckets, pots, barrels, baskets, bottles, tins, boxes or other containers
- soil mixed with compost
- rocks for drainage
HOW TO
- You can use many different kinds of buckets, pots, barrels, baskets, tins, boxes or other containers to produce vegetables. The container must be large enough to hold the plant(s) you want to grow, and have drainage holes so excess water can escape. Dark-colored containers absorb heat—they may make the soil too warm for some vegetable crops in summer.
- Look for vegetable containers at least 25 cm (10 in) wide and 30 cm (12 in) deep. Bigger containers hold more soil and retain moisture longer, so you don’t have to water as much. Poke several holes in the bottom for drainage and then put in a layer of rocks about 3 cm (1 in) deep.
- Fill containers with soil, leaving about 8 cm (3 in) space at the top so you have room to water.
- Thoroughly water the soil in the container before you plant. Soak the soil completely, then allow it to sit for a few hours to drain excess water.
- You can sow seed directly in containers or use seedlings.
- Leave 8 – 10 cm (3 – 4 in) of space in between each plant, or according to the seed spacing recommendations. Set seedlings at the same level they were growing in their pot.
- Sprinkle fertilizer in the soil, either before or after planting. Don’t over-fertilize! Plants will grow too quickly, get soft, and the flavor won’t be as intense. Starting about a month after planting, feed your vegetables about once a week with a water-soluble fertilizer or manure tea.
- Keep the soil in your vegetable container garden from drying out by covering the top with a layer of straw, compost, old leaves, or a similar material.
- Check plants daily and water when necessary to keep them healthy and productive.
- Some vegetables need particularly large pots, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. Plants that grow tall or produce vines, like tomatoes and cucumbers, will need support in a container, such as poles or a wire mesh cage.
Straw bales serve as quick and easy raised beds, allowing you to grow food wherever you have sun, whether on concrete, a lawn, or hard-packed bare earth.
WHAT YOU NEED for a STRAW BALE GARDEN
- straw bales
- fertilizer or manure
- soil
HOW TO
- Be sure to use bales of straw, not hay, as the latter contains seeds that can sprout and become weeds.
- Place the bales with the cut ends of the straw facing up and water them until they are soggy.
- Each day for 10 days, apply a generous dusting of all-purpose fertilizer (organic, if available) or well-composted manure to the top of each bale and water thoroughly. This accelerates the decomposition of the straw into a rich and fertile growing medium.
- After 10 days, spread a 5 cm (2 in) layer of soil on the bales.
- You can plant seeds directly in the soil. For seedlings, use a trowel to gouge out little holes in the straw and add some extra soil to fill the holes as you plant each one.
Keyhole gardens are round raised beds that simplify the process of growing your own vegetables. You can raise the wall to a convenient height for people who use wheelchairs, or if you don’t want to bend over!
WHAT YOU NEED for a KEYHOLE GARDEN
- soil
- outer wall material (rocks, bricks, metal sheeting, what have you!)
- sheet of wire mesh, or natural materials to weave a rough cylinder shape
HOW TO
- Using pegs and string, mark two nesting circles: One 2 m (6 ft) in diameter and one 30 cm (l ft) in diameter.
- Leave a wedge shape or “keyhole” that goes from the outside edge of the widest circle to the center, so you can access the middle.
- Create your outer structure by building a wall out of brick, stone or metal. Build up the wall until it is about 1 m (3 ft) high.
- Use the sheet of wire mesh to create a cylinder about 30 cm in diameter, or make a rough basket cylinder from wood poles and dried grasses.
- Set the cylinder in the center of the circle and put a layer of stones and twigs on the bottom for drainage.
- Add a layer of wood ash provides potassium to the soil and an extra layer of grass retains the moisture.
- Add soil on top of the wood ash. Fill nearly to the top, making sure the soil slopes down from the center to the garden edges.
- Fill the compost basket with raw vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, eggshells, grass, leaves.
- Vegetables and herbs that will be picked often should be planted around the edges of the garden.
- Plants that are harvested once, such as carrots and beets, should be planted toward the center.
- Water the garden by pouring water into the composting cylinder.
For the past 50 years, people worldwide have turned to the World Vegetable Center for advice on home gardens to grow their own vegetables, increase the family food supply, and provide essential nutrients in the family diet.
Want to start a family garden? Begin with A Primer on Vegetable Gardening
Also visit our document archive, HARVEST, for links to downloadable production guides for specific vegetables.
A community garden is a single piece of land tended by a group of people, who either have individual or shared plots to work in the garden space. Community gardens can be urban, suburban, or rural. They can be located at schools, hospitals, workplaces, correctional institutions, in neighborhoods or villages. Community gardeners often share resources such as seed, tools, fertilizer, and mulch—and share the labor as well.
Community gardens build stronger, healthier communities:
- Combat food insecurity, both in quantity and quality
- Build on the resources of cities and towns to deal with urban problems
- Fight climate change by reducing the distance food travels, and minimize the carbon footprint of food
- Boost the local economy
- Improve community health through better nutrition and increased physical activity
- Create social capital
Here are some tips for organizing a community garden.
World Vegetable Center school garden programs typically take a two-pronged approach: classroom curriculum and school garden. The curriculum covers Good Gardening Practices; Nutrition Education; and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). The school garden incorporates hands-on gardening activities and demonstrations to enhance the learning experience for students.
WorldVeg school garden programs impact the lives of students, their families and communities through dissemination of agricultural information and technologies, and messages on nutrition and WASH. The programs encourage families to start their own home gardens by modelling the school garden.
These manuals explain how school garden projects were implemented in Nepal, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, and Indonesia:
This policy brief advocates for investment in multi-intervention school garden programs:
What VEGETABLES need to grow
SOIL
Most vegetable crops grow best in well-drained, rich, crumbly loam soil teeming with life (earthworms, for instance). If your soil is dense and hard-packed or loose and sandy, amend it with compost and other soil builders such as shredded leaves or grass. This will gradually build up into a structure that will allow plant roots to spread easily and take up oxygen, water and nutrients.
Compost — decomposed organic wastes such as straw, leaves, ash, manure and kitchen scraps — help create good soil texture, provide some nutrients for plants, and encourage beneficial soil microorganisms.
It’s easy to make your own compost!
WATER
Vegetables vary widely in their water needs. As a general rule, apply water two to three times a week and water deeply each time as opposed to a brief, shallow watering every day. Watering deeply — moistening the soil to a depth of six inches is ideal — will encourage plants to send roots well into the ground. If it rains frequently, you can water less.
Watering early in the morning gives crops time to absorb the moisture before it evaporates in the heat of the day. Any water that gets on the foliage will also have enough time to dry off before nightfall, minimizing the risk from slugs and fungal diseases.
Drip irrigation for small gardens helps conserve water and ensures it is delivered to the plant roots.
SUNLIGHT
Plant growth and performance is fueled by energy from sunlight. Situate your vegetable garden in a place that will receive sun for at least half the day.
See below for details!
FOOD
If you want vegetables to feed you, you have to feed them first!
To thrive, vegetables need three major nutrients:
- Nitrogen (N) for strong growth of leaves
- Phosphorus (P) for good root and stem development
- Potassium (K) to promote flowering
and trace elements such as Boron, Calcium, Copper, Hydrogen, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Molybdenum, Silicon, Sulfur, and Zinc.
A healthy, well-cared-for soil enriched with compost will provide many of the nutrients vegetables require.
Commercial fertilizers are available with different combinations of mineral nutrients. Although some vegetables have specific nutrient requirements, most will do well with fertilizer at a ratio of 3-1-2: That’s 3% Nitrogen, 1% Phosphorus & 2% Potassium. A fertilizer with a 6-2-4 or a 9-3-6 ratio will also work.
Use fertilizer with care. Over-fertilization is harmful to plants, wastes resources, and pollutes rivers, lakes and groundwater.
SUNLIGHT
Even the most open garden area can provide some shade. Tall stalks of corn, for example, can provide partial shade for smaller radishes and peas, while heavy-leafed squash plants might provide near-permanent shade for carrots.
FULL SUN
Full sun means a minimum of 6 hours (usually at least 8) of sunlight per day. For at least 6 hours, the sun should be directly shining onto the plants nearly every day of the season. No shade (from trees, buildings, etc.) should block sunlight from full-sun veggies.
- Cucumbers
- Pumpkins /Squash
- Eggplant
- Peppers
- Tomatoes
PARTIAL SUN
Partial sun vegetables require at least 4 hours of sunlight per day, but often thrive with less than 6 hours of direct sunlight.
- Beans
- Beets
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Leeks
- Onion
- Peas
- Radish
- Turnips
LIGHT SHADE
Light shade vegetables do well in less sunlight (2 to 4 hours per day).
- Arugula
- Brussels Sprouts
- Endive
- Kale
- Leaf Lettuce
- Mustard Greens
- Spinach
- Swiss Chard
What YOU need to grow vegetables
SEEDS and SEEDLINGS
Obtain seed from seed companies, friends — or save your own.
Seedlings may cost more, but will get a crop into the ground quicker. You can produce your own seedlings.
Use sterilized soil to get your young plants off to a good start!
TOOLS
You don’t need many tools to build and tend a garden — a shovel, hoe and rake, a watering can or hose should do it. Keep your tool collection simple to start, then add to it over time as you gain gardening knowledge and experience.
PATIENCE!
A vegetable garden will produce some quick rewards (like radishes!), but others vegetables like tomatoes and peppers take time to bear fruit. Tend your crops with care: pull weeds, pick off pests, water and feed them regularly. You’ll soon be enjoying a bountiful harvest!
Start a new tradition!
Grow these hardy, tasty and nutritious traditional vegetables
SPIDER PLANT
An annual herb, Spider Plant (Cleome gynandra) adds a tangy mustard flavor to meals and beta-carotene to diets — just what the body needs to produce vitamin A for good vision and a healthy immune system. It contributes plenty of vitamin C, iron and protein, too. An all-around healthy choice!
OKRA
Some call it lady’s fingers; we call it delicious! Abelmoschus esculentus contributes folic acid and antioxidants to the diet. Eat it sauteed, stir-fried, raw or pickled. Use it to thicken soups and sauces. Okra’s slippery texture comes from mucilage, which forms a soothing film over mucous membranes, relieving minor pain and inflammation.
ROSELLE
Add some color to your diet! Dried, pickled, in jams or drinks, the beautiful ruby-red calyxes of Hibiscus sabdariffa provide a delicious boost of antioxidants. Enjoy the young shoots in salads or stir-fried dishes; they contribute a pleasant sour flavor and vitamins C & E, calcium, iron and more to the meal on your plate.
MALABAR SPINACH
Smooth and savory, red-stemmed or green-stemmed, leaves of Basella spp. enrich meals with ample vitamin C.
This fast-growing leafy green can be consumed in many different ways. It’s a great source of folic acid, too.
AFRICAN EGGPLANT
Eggs without chickens? It’s possible with Solanum aethiopicum! African eggplant produces a versatile egg-shaped fruit and highly nutritious leaves that contribute vitamin C, calcium, protein and more to the diet.
Try growing “garden eggs” at home!
AMARANTH
Tasty leaves AND a versatile high-protein grain, all in one amazing plant! There are many species of Amaranthus that can enrich diets with calcium, vitamin C, iron, and protein. Eat the fast-growing leaves and stems fresh, steamed, or boiled, in soups, stews and other dishes. Try popping the grains, or grind them into flour.WAX GOURD
Benincasa hispida can be stored for months — it’s a vegetable for every kitchen! Consume the sweet, mild-tasting flesh in soups, stews and drinks. When mature, the fruit loses its fuzz and develops a waxy coating, which gives it a long shelf life.
WINGED BEAN
All parts of the Winged Bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus) are edible: Leaves can be eaten like spinach, flowers can be used in salads, pods can be eaten raw or cooked, and seeds can be used in similar ways as soybeans. The unusual shape adds visual appeal to meals.BITTER GOURD
Momordica charantia comes in many colors (from deep green to pale cream), shapes (slender or thick, warty or smooth), sizes (tiny to large) — and degrees of bitterness.
Try several types and find your favorite!
Enjoy the fruits (and vegetables!) of your labor
Try these delicious and healthy recipes with your garden-fresh produce
• Mungbean for Africa! Recipes for Good Health and Good Taste
• Central Asian and Caucasian Recipes with New Vegetables
• African Traditional Vegetables: Recipes for Health and Good Taste
• Traditional Recipes from the Northern Region of Ghana
• Home Garden Recipes for Every Season: Fresh Vegetables with a Punjabi Flavor
