You should start your small vegetable garden by deciding what types of vegetables you would like to grow in your garden. The top five most planted vegetables are tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, peppers and leafy greens like lettuce. There are many other options of vegetables for you to choose from. As your local nursery, friends or family what types of vegetables are easily grown in your area. Make a list of 2-5 vegetables you would like to plant.

You can plant your small vegetable garden in a nice sunny corner of your yard or you can do container gardening if you do not have a yard. A few containers of varying shapes and sizes can work well for any small deck or window spaces. Either way you will want to do some soil preparation. Don't plant your vegetable seeds or plants when the soil is too dry or too wet. The perfect type of soil to plant in will crumble and break into small clumps when in your hand. The ground soil should not be compacted so that the seeds or roots can grow into the soil.

Planting a small vegetable garden in containers may require that you buy soil for the containers. The best soil to buy is one with a built in fertilizer to help the plants or seeds become established. If you are using ground soil from another source you may want to go ahead and fertilize the soil before planting the vegetable seeds or plants.

Now that the soil for your small vegetable garden is prepared you can begin to plant some of your vegetable seeds or plants. Refer to the vegetables you want to plant for how deep you need the soil in the containers or how deep you need to dig the holes in the ground. Plants that are already established and came in a small container should be planted so that the soil is covered. This is the root system that needs to be put into the ground or container so it can continue to grow.

The vegetable seeds or plants are now in the ground. For seeds you will want to cover them lightly with soil and not compact the soil on top of the seed. Compacting the soil will not allow the seed to get sunlight and start a root system. For established plants that you have planted you will want to keep the soil firm but not too loose. Too much sun can burn the baby root system causing your new vegetable plant to die.

Your small vegetable garden is planted. You will need to have some follow up care to get those most out of your small vegetable garden. Make sure the soil stays somewhat damp and loose around the plants and seeds. Trim any dead leaves if they occur. When your vegetables start to show up use them in your food for some great fresh nutrients.