Vegetable garden

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vegetable plots at Collingwood Children's Farm in Melbourne, Australia.

A small vegetable garden in May outside of Austin, Texas

A vegetable garden (also known as a vegetable patch or vegetable plot) is a garden that exists to grow vegetables and other plants useful for human consumption, in contrast to a flower garden that exists for aesthetic purposes. It is a small-scale form of vegetable growing. A vegetable garden typically includes a compost heap and several plots or divided areas of land, intended to grow one or two types of plant in each plot. Many families have home kitchen and vegetable gardens that they use to make food. In World War II, people had gardens called 'Victory Gardens' which provided food to families and thus freed up resources for the war effort.

With the increased interest in organic and sustainable living, many people are turning to vegetable gardening as a supplement to their family's diet. Food is grown in your own backyard, uses up little if any fuel for shipping, and the grower can be sure of what exactly was used to grow it.

There are many types of vegetable gardens. Potagers, a garden in which vegetables, herbs and flowers are grown together, has become more popular than the more traditional rows or blocks.

Seed catalogs are a major resource of home gardeners, with Pine Tree, Territorial and Burpee being among the countless options. There are also specialty seed catalogs available, such as Totally Tomatoes and The Vermont Bean and Seed Company. A very diverse range of Asian vegetable seed can be obtained from Evergreen Seeds through their website.