Gardening 101–Plan For a Good Harvest

It’s time to begin thinking and preparing for the spring/summer garden!  I love this time of visioning, planning, browsing through seed catalogues, and generally anticipating the work and the results of my garden adventures.  Since I have moved into a new home this year, it’s kind of back to square one with building garden beds and plotting out a landscape that will hopefully become a sanctuary, filled with butterflies, birds and blooms.  Oh yes, and all sorts of veggies and herbs for our kitchen.

There are so many informative resources at our fingertips to help with becoming a competent gardener.  I have a handful of bloggers and podcasters that have taught me so much over the last number of years, and still help me stay in step with innovative options for gardening, and new thoughts about effective practices.  I have learned to trust their advice about all kinds of things, from soil recipes, to composting practices, to favorite varieties of tomatoes and other veggies, to helping seed starting and transplanting and more!  I’ll share my top resources in another post, for sure.  In the meantime, it  has been very satisfying to begin to master some aspects of gardening practice, and at the same time there is sooooo much more to learn.

So when I think of what I’ll share in my garden blogs, it’s a definite that I’ll be referring to my own trusted resources, as well as sharing small and not-so-small progress, successes, tests, and learnings—for the next season.  There is always the next season!

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Here are some considerations and questions that will set the table for the real work ahead.

1. LIGHT! Where will I place my garden beds?  Or perhaps a better question is….where is the south facing area of my yard.  Since the sun rises in the East and sets in the West, my garden should be facing south to ensure that my plants enjoy at least 6 hours of sun.  I’ve been watching the sun and shade patterns in the backyard for months, so have a good idea where I want my new beds. Of course there are different requirements and some veggies and also herbs that can grow with less light. But since I grow peppers, tomatoes, eggplants and some root vegetables (among other plants), this is optimal for me.

2. WATER!  Since we already have irrigation on the property, we’ll need to make sure that wherever the beds are placed, the drip irrigation hoses that we’re planning for, can be connected to the larger irrigation system in the yard.  It should be pretty straight-forward in our case.  If you are considering a new garden, position your beds to be able to connect, or at the very least be in proximity to a water source for hand watering.  FYI, I sometimes tease my husband that I really married him for the irrigation system in his yard.  But I digress.

3. SOIL!  How will I construct my garden:  in-ground, raised bed, container gardening, grow bags, vertical growers, or a combination?  What soil will I use, or what soil recipe makes sense for my garden choice—compost, amendments etc.?

4. GARDEN TO TABLE!  What will I grow?  This actually could be the first consideration, since the answer to this question will drive the size and requirements of the garden.  One word of caution, or should I say wisdom, since I had to learn this lesson in previous years. 

If you are a new gardener, start small.  You can always add another bed next year.  My preference is to suggest starting with a square foot garden, and maybe some container herbs.  That’s what I did, and I remember being so surprised at the growth and production of my first garden efforts.  And believe me, I knew NOTHING at the time, and quickly learned that a sun, some water, decent soil and good seeds or transplants can kind of grow themselves.  It’s the order of things, the structure and rules of nature that were designed and are governed by the Creator God!  Thank-you Lord.

REMINDER

I’m planning to stay within some boundaries this year, so that my good and productive early efforts of sowing and plant management don’t ultimately lead to garden overwhelm in the summer. It’s a thing, believe me. Consider just growing what you eat—first. Toward the end of the season, the size and scale of what we tackle in the garden will be the result of what we’ve planned for. That’s why the winter is an important time for those just beginning, or starting up another garden, like I am. Believe me, if you are still new to all of this, these are words of wisdom. There’s always some room to test and try new plants as time goes on. 

In this first year of my new garden beds, I’ll be employing all the learnings I’ve accumulated over the last handful of years.  And specifically I will grow what we eat, and plan to preserve or freeze just a limited portion of what we harvest.  Oh, and there may be herbs to make tea, or season up our plates!  More to come on that in future blog posts.    

5. BLOOMS!  An important component of rounding out the kitchen garden, is to create a thriving ecosystem/ sanctuary for beneficial insects, birds and wildlife to do their ‘symbiotic thing’ so that your garden and mine have the best chance at flourishing and producing beauty and nourishment.

I’m excited, motivated and glad to be able to share my efforts and results here on Growing New.  If you’ve considered growing a Kitchen Garden, or thought about beginning to learn what its all about, come along with me as I attempt to document my journey.

Grace and Peace.  Till next time!

Robin

Genesis 8:22–“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” —NIV