Selecting a good site for your vegetable garden is one of the most important decisions in the early stages of setting it up. A good choice is essential for the ongoing productivity and success of your vegetable garden.

When selecting the site consider the following:

• what space you want to devote to the garden compared with other activities
• access to the garden so it's convenient for both gardening and harvesting
• is the patch of ground growing good weeds; if it is, it will also grow a good garden
• soil fertility (if planning an in-ground vegetable garden
• close proximity to a worm farm and/or compost heap is beneficial
• access to a water supply (tap/irrigation/hose) will aid the productivity of your garden
• fencing or walls that may provide vertical garden space
• access to sunlight

Of all the above points, the most important is access to sunlight. A successful vegetable garden needs at least six hours of sun a day and generally, the more the better. To establish how much sunlight your site will get, watch for the shade of your house, surrounding trees and buildings over the potential site as the sun follows its transit across the sky. The lowest position of the sun in winter and the summer and winter sunrise and sunset positions when you look at shade. Especially important is the shade that may be cast across a garden in the depths of winter. A lack of sunlight can sometimes be compensated for by the reflected light and warmth from fencing, walls and buildings. To help you do this, here is a sun mapping tool . Otherwise, the team at Vital Veggies can help.

Once you've covered all the points above, you're at the stage where you'll be ready to prepare the site and if using raised bed gardens, check out the selection from Vital Veggies.

The use of raised beds in gardening goes back centuries and is based on the ability of the soil to be well draining and energetically a raised bed garden makes a superior garden bed, according to Rudolf Steiner, the father of biodynamics.

Best site for a veggie garden