there are a lot of ways to approach this subject. my approach tends to be somewhat unorthodox perhaps and maybe a bit oversimplified. i see gardening as a skill, like baking. baking can be as simple as making a batch of drop biscuits, or as complicated as a six tiered wedding cake. when you are first starting out, you may not have all the know how and all of the equipment. if you have never baked before, and try the six tiered wedding cake at your first shot, you are bound to get frustrated and walk away from the project vowing to never bake again.
i think many newbie gardeners walk away frustrated because they are attempting the wedding cake instead of making biscuits. there is an overwhelming amount of information on seed starting, planning a garden, and then growing it and a lot of terms and techniques are thrown out there that can cause someone completely new to the process to feel that they are in over their head. i know i did.
when i first started out, i knew nothing. as in i knew nothing. i planted cool weather plants in warm weather, i planted shade plants in the sun, i started a compost pile from large chunks of turf (removed to make my shade garden in the sun) that never fully decomposed and ended up housing a large snake. i persevered though, prodded on by my husband who gradually came to share my enthusiasm as well. i learned from my many mistakes, picking up new knowledge and techniques as i went along. this year i am getting ready to plant my fourth kitchen garden. last year we had enough lettuce, beets, and snow peas (among other things) that we were able to significantly offset the produce portion of our grocery bill. my goal is to eventually be able to grow year round, growing the majority of the vegetables we eat.
following are some of the suggestions i would make to someone just starting out, or still relatively new to the process. if an avid, experienced gardener is reading, these might make you wince. but just as letting your eggs and butter come to room temperature before making your cake batter will result in the most perfect height and texture; you can still get a pretty decent cake even if you don’t know to do that. and just as a six tiered wedding cake will show of your skill as an expert baker, sometimes a plain ‘ole sheet cake is just as enjoyable. my point is, you don’t have to know it all in order to produce a few tomato and lettuce plants.
1. plan your garden
you should do this very early in the year. most people probably don’t start to think about this until the weather gets warm but by that time, it will be too late to put some things in. you want to remember that there are cool season vegetables (lettuce, peas, swiss chard, beets, etc.) and warm season vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant). your seeds are going to need to either be started indoors not too long after you have put away the holiday decorations; and your cool season vegetables will be started outdoors not too many weeks later.
some important things that you will need to know and remember if you don’t already are your hardiness zone and the last hard frost date. these vary from region to region. the hardiness zone is a number assigned to your region that will tell the grower what type of plant life will thrive. the last hard frost date is just that: the average date of the last hard frost. you will be planting your cool weather vegetables before this date (most likely) and the warm weather veg, after. contact your county extension agent for this information or ask a local nursery, not a big box store.
leaf through seed catalogs for ideas. decide what you really like to eat and grow that. we love salad greens so we grow lots of those. broccoli, not so much; so i don’t normally mess with it. to get the best results, grow varieties that are recommended for your area. again, your county extension agent, should be able to help you in this.
2. evaluate your site
choose a site for your garden where you will have convenient access to a water source and one that will get about 6-8 hours of full sun a day. if you don’t have full sun, not to worry. you can still grow some vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, beets, and swiss chard, that will tolerate a certain amount of shade. make sure you choose a site that is well drained. to determine whether or not you get good drainage: dig a hole and fill with water. if you come back an hour or so later and the water is still standing, choose another site or use a raised bed.
a word to the wise: keep it small. you can always add to it later. don’t tackle too much when you are just beginning. a few tomatoes for a salad will be great. don’t try to grow enough to can 50 quarts in your first summer. otherwise you will never want to do this again.
3. prepare your bed
once you have decided where to locate your bed, decide on the shape and get rid of the existing grass if need be. this is where it really doesn’t need to get all that complicated. when i started my garden three years ago, i wanted four 4′x4′ square beds. i used the leftover boxes from our move, collapsed them, and laid them out in a shape roughly that size. the cardboard smothered the grass and the bed was built on top. it was that easy. i edged the squares with stones salvaged from another part of the yard. the cardboard eventually decomposed acting as a compost of sorts for the garden soil. if you don’t have cardboard boxes the same thing can be done with several layers of newspaper. other options would be to use chemicals to kill the grass, or to build a completely raised bed by putting the garden in a container: sort of like a sandbox. cover the bottom with landscaping fabric and fill with soil. if you have invasive bermuda like i do, you might consider using two or three layers of fabric. the sides of your container will need to be at least 12″ tall to provide the proper depth. if you want to cut the turf and remove it piece by piece, more power to ya.
at this point it is my duty as an extension agent to tell you that you need to have your soil tested and amended, and that you should repeat the process every five years or so. i have a confession to make: i have never had my soil tested. i have nothing against soil testing, it is just that in my effort to keep things simple, i have never gotten around to it. when i laid my flattened boxes out in the yard i built up on top a combination of top soil, compost, vermiculite, sand, and peat moss; all of which i purchased at lowe’s. i have a compost bin in my yard, and every so often i will add more compost to my existing mix. it works.
4. plant your seeds/transplants
if using seeds, plant according to the instructions on the back. in future i would like to designate specific posts to specific crops, including planting instructions; and maybe even a post on how to read the back of a seed packet. for right now the important thing to remember is that you get them into the ground before or after that final frost, planting them at the proper depth specified, and mist them well with your hose or watering can. you will need to check on them every day and make sure that the ground covering them is always kept moist so that they will germinate. (this is something i had to learn the hard way)
if you are using transplants, select healthy plants with a nice healthy white root ball. make sure the leaves are not overly damaged or diseased. i strongly recommend purchasing from a local nursery instead of a big box store. you are more likely to get a product that has been grown locally and therefore already adapted to your climate as well as the help of someone a little more knowledgeable about how to grow it. to plant your transplants, dig a small hole in the soil the same depth as the pot and drop them in. pat the soil up around it and water it in well.
fertilize your garden every so often. again it doesn’t need to get complicated here. if you are just getting started, i recommend selectig a basic garden fertilizer and using it according to the directions on the label. just remember more is not always better. over feeding will kill your plants, or give you plenty of foliage with every little produce.
some things to remember:
~ walk through your garden every day to keep track of disease, pests, and weeds. if you stay on top of things you will be better able to keep them under control before they get completely out of hand.
~ be careful not to overwater your plants. keep the soil moist but not soaking wet.
~ harvest your produce in the morning when the flavor is at its peak. who wants to work out in the blazing summer heat anyway?
~ keep it small and keep it simple. you can always add more to your garden as you gain in experience.
~ don’t overthink it – make it your goal to just enjoy your garden.
suggested resources:
designing the new kitchen garden
the vegetable gardener’s bible
