Getting started with a vegetable garden

The location is crucial for how well your vegetables grow:

• Sun: Most vegetables need at least 6-8 hours of sun a day. A south- or west-facing spot is ideal.
• Shelter: Avoid very windy spots. A hedge, fence or wall can provide shelter – but make sure it does not cast too much shade.
• Water: Place the vegetable garden close to an outdoor tap or water butt. This makes watering in dry spells much easier.
• Close to the house: The closer the vegetable garden is to the kitchen, the more often it gets used.

Raised beds have become very popular, and for good reason. The soil warms up faster in spring, so you can start the season earlier. You get a comfortable working height that is easier on your back, and you can fill the bed with exactly the right soil – regardless of the soil in the rest of the garden. Fill the raised bed with raised bed soil, which is blended for precisely this purpose.

In-ground beds are cheaper to create and retain moisture better. Remove grass and weeds, loosen the soil to a depth of 20-30 cm, and mix in new topsoil if the existing soil is heavy or low in nutrients.

Vegetables thrive best in a loose, humus-rich and nutrient-rich soil that can both hold water and drain away excess water. If you have heavy clay or very sandy soil, you can improve it with soil conditioner, which adds organic matter and improves the soil structure. Read more in our guide How to Improve the Soil in Your Garden.

For some crops it pays to choose a specialist soil:

• Potato soil for potatoes and root vegetables
• Herb soil for herbs that prefer well-drained soil
• Greenhouse soil for tomatoes, cucumbers and chillies in the greenhouse

Start with crops that are easy to grow and give quick results. That way it is fun from the very first season:

• Radishes: Ready to harvest after approx. 4-6 weeks.
• Lettuce and spinach: Can be sown several times during the season, so you have fresh salad all summer.
• Peas and beans: Give a large harvest and are popular with children.
• Potatoes: Easy to grow and give a large harvest in little space.
• Courgettes: A single plant can produce many courgettes over the summer.
• Herbs: E.g. parsley, chives, thyme and dill – perfect in a pot or along the edge of the bed.

In Denmark the timing depends on how much frost the crop can tolerate:

• March-April: When the soil can be worked, you can sow peas, radishes, spinach, carrots and onions. These crops tolerate some cold.
• April-May: Plant seed potatoes, and sow lettuce and beetroot.
• Mid-May: Once the risk of night frost has passed, you can plant out frost-sensitive plants such as courgettes, beans and tomatoes.
• October: Plant garlic so it can establish before winter and be ready to harvest next summer.

• Watering: Water thoroughly a couple of times a week rather than a little every day – preferably in the morning. This way the water reaches the roots, and the plants become more robust.
• Weeds: Keep the beds free of weeds, especially while the plants are small. A layer of grass clippings or straw between the rows retains moisture and suppresses weeds.
• Feeding: Add compost or soil conditioner every year so the soil keeps its nutrients.
• Crop rotation: Avoid growing the same crop in the same place year after year. Rotate the crops on a 3-4 year plan – it reduces diseases and pests and makes better use of the soil's nutrients.

If you want to know more about individual plants, you can find plenty of advice in our plant encyclopedia.