What You Should Know Before Starting A Vegetable Garden

Starting a garden can be one of the most exciting tasks to take on. It can also be the most daunting, but it doesn’t have to be!

When planning your garden, it’s important to consider the microclimates in your yard, the amount of sunlight and shade exposures, and also which hardiness zone you live in, when choosing the location of your garden.

Why is this all important? Let’s take a look…

Know Your Local Environment

In order for your garden to thrive, you need to have a good understanding of the local environment.

Take note of the usual time of the first frost and springtime thaw where you live. What you are able to plant usually depends on when your growing season begins and ends and also by how long the season lasts.

It’s important to know where the sun rises and sets relative to your planting area. The best place to plant your garden is in an area that receives morning sunlight (at least 6 hours) and gets afternoon shade, when the sun is the hottest. 

By observing any annual or seasonal weather patterns in your area, you can get a good idea of whether you need to prepare for any heavy rainfall, winds, extreme temperatures, etc.

Take notice when pests start appearing in your garden area and try identifying them.

Find out when seeds naturally germinate in the soil. Sometimes the best way to learn is by trial and error after experimenting a few times. Remember, you will constantly be learning from your gardening mistakes, so embrace them!

Know Your Microclimates

What is a microclimate? Microclimate is the climate of a small or confined space. Typically, the climate in the restricted area is different from the climate of the surrounding areas.

Some yards have “cold pockets” due to shadows being casted over the area for a prolonged time. A wall which faces the sun all day, can act as a “heat sink” as well. Hills can also create windy microclimates. Observe these areas closely and throughout the year, as the location of the sun and other seasonal changes affect how those microclimates function.

Your yard might be too hot to grow any spinach during the summer but that same area would be great for tomatoes. Consider all of these seasonal changes before you decide where you want to grow your food.

There are at least 4 different types of microclimates that can be found around your home:

1. A cool shaded side which faces north
2. A hot side which faces south
3. A warm area with afternoon sun which faces west
4. An ever-changing side that is either cool or warm, depending on the time of the year and if any objects such as trees or high fences create shadows on that side.

After observing where the heat, cold, light and shadows are in your garden, you’ll begin to have a better idea where you should start your garden. If you position your rows, plots or raised beds to run from north to south in the winter, your plants will not cast shadows on each other and they will receive optimum sunlight. It is also a good idea to grow the short plants to the south and any taller trellised plants against a north wall for the same reason. Make sure you do the opposite in the summer.

Sun and Shade

Any plant that produces fruits or vegetables will require plenty of sun. Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, beans, corn, cabbage, eggplant and most fruits and berries will require at least 6 hours daily. Normally, the larger the fruit, the more sun it will require.

In contrast, many vegetables and herbs do well in shaded areas. For example, beets, carrots, spinach, lettuce, kale, chard, cauliflower, lettuce, onion, arugula, chives, basil, parsley, mint and winter squash are just some of the many edible plants that will do just fine with less direct sunlight per day. Most leafy green vegetables do well with only 4 hours of sunlight per day.

Plant Zones

The geographic climate zone that you live in will determine which plants are best to grow in your garden. The USDA’s Hardiness Zone Maps are the most commonly used maps and are even found on the back of most seeds packaged in the United States. These maps can give you a better idea of the time of the year that is best to plant a particular fruit, vegetable or herb from seed.

I know these things can get a bit confusing, so if you aren’t sure about the hardiness zones, visit your local nursery or community garden and ask for help.  Nursery associates are always happy to answer any questions and they can also offer plants that grow well in your climate zones.

How Do I Know When To Water My Plants?

In order to keep your plants thriving, it’s important to ensure that your plants always have enough water. Plants absorb water through their root hairs.

Having good soil with plenty of organic matter will act as a sponge and enable your plants to have access to water, as they need it, while also allowing for good drainage.

So, how do you know when it’s time to water your plants? The best way to tell is by digging your finger down about one or two inches into the soil and feel if there is any moisture or if it feels dry.

The type of soil you have will have a huge impact in how often you will have to water your plants.

Remember, the more organic matter in the soil, the less watering you’ll need to do.

The shallower the roots and the hotter the day, the more watering a plant will need.

If you’re watering your plants yourself, pay close attention to the weather and humidity and set reminders on your phone if you have to!

If you choose to use a sprinkler system with timers, they will likely need to be adjusted, depending on the weather. Examine your soil often and make sure that plants aren’t receiving too much water or too little and adjust accordingly.

Never water in the middle of the day, as the water droplets can potentially magnify the sunlight and cause damage to your plants. The best time of the day to water your plants is early morning and late evening.

Drainage

When you have soil is sandy, it will drain too fast. On the other hand, if you have clay soil, it will drain too slowly. By adding organic matter, to either type of soil, it helps to balance out the soil and help with any drainage issues. Ideally, you want a balance of sand, silt, clay and organic matter in order to have a good foundation for your plants and ensure they will have proper drainage and moisture retention. Organic matter gives the soil a healthy aerobic environment, improving root development and nutrient availability in the process.

Make a hole in your soil about 6 inches wide and about 12 inches deep and fill it with water to the very top in order to test your drainage. If the water takes longer than 9 hours to empty, there’s drainage issues. The good thing is that you can add organic matter, or drainage pipes, in order to solve that problem.

Or grow your plants in raised beds….

No yard? No problem!

Container Gardening

If you live in an apartment, have limited space, or just don’t want to have a huge garden, container gardening is for you.

Growing in containers provides you with fresh herbs and veggies only a few feet away from the kitchen. Nothing beats the taste of freshly harvested fruits, herbs, or veggies.

Pay attention to these simple (but important) rules will ensure you will have bountiful harvest, even in limited space.

Here are some important things to consider for your container garden:

Sunlight

Get to know the sun and shade patterns in your potential planting areas to get an idea of what plants will work well in your location. Remember, fruit frees and vegetables that set flowers need a lot of sunlight.

Container size

The bigger your containers, the more room the roots will have to grow. The more extensive the root system, the more the plants can intake nutrients and water. The available space directly influences the nutritional value, size and quality of your herb, fruit and vegetable crops.

For example, tomato plants need at least 15 gallons of soil for them to grow into good tasting, nutritious tomatoes. Other crops can survive with less soil, especially herbs.

Containers made of terra-cotta, cedar or redwood will give you the best results. These materials are a bit porous, allowing the soil to “breathe”, preventing extreme or sudden temperature fluctuations.

Plastic containers work well if you apply mulch to retain moisture, as water can quickly evaporate, especially on hot days. However, applying mulch to any container plants is a good idea.

Potting medium

The quality of the soil is an important factor if you want healthy plants and a good harvest.

Many bagged soils have chemicals, such as synthetic plant nutrients, which you’ll want to avoid.

Be sure to pick a soil made of natural ingredients from good organic sources and that contain no animal manure.

Getting an organic soil will prevent you from having to add chemical fertilizers so often, as these chemical fertilizers tend to run off.

Ideally, your soil mix should include 30-35% compost. When space is limited, a plant can only have what you provide, so give it the best.

Fertilizer

Your fruits and vegetables will need plenty of fertilizer to reach their full potential, especially when they’re in containers. Feed the plants in your containers gradually, using the best organic fertilizers you can find.

Organic fertilizers that contain earthworm castings are a great way to build your soil and provide a steady intake of nutrients to your plants.

However, if you’re looking for something that’s fast-acting, try an organic liquid fertilizer. 

These organic liquid fertilizers contain fish and seaweed emulsions and/or poultry manure that has already been composted and provides a quick nutrient boost to your plants.

I personally recommend a combination of both slow-releasing nutrients and a nice liquid boost every now and then.

Check out the Soil Care and Fertilizers resource page for a list of great organic products that I use in my garden.

Trellising Support

Although not all plants will require support, having a trellis support can give some plants an advantage.

Some vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers and other vine plants produce a larger harvest with the added support when compared to the same plants grown without support.

There are different kinds of trellises for different types of plants.

Some plants will require one single stake in the center of your container, such as peas.

Tomatoes and other big bushy plants might require a sturdy cage.

Cucumbers, melons and some squash do well with grid-like trellises or even an A-frame trellis. 

You can even make some simple DIY trellises at home!

The better light exposure leaves get, the more likely your harvest will increase.

Not to mention, trellises also help to create more air flow between the plants to help minimize fungal diseases and allow the bees and other insects to easily pollinate your flowers.

Check out the Garden Tools resource page for a list of the different types of trellises available for your garden.

Raised Beds

If you do have the yard space, but no existing soil in your yard, raised beds are a great choice.

Raised beds make your yard more attractive and make it easier to plant and harvest your crops, thanks to the added elevation.

Raised beds also give you more control over the composition of your soil and have even been shown to increase crop yields.

The best thing? You don’t need existing soil to have a garden! You can build your garden practically anywhere in your yard.

When selecting materials for your raised bed, consider your various options: brick, stones, or hay bales.

If you plan to use wood, make sure it’s a hardwood such as redwood or cedar that hasn’t been contaminated with chemicals to preserve the wood. If you aren’t sure, ask your local hardware specialist for help selecting the right type of wood for your raised beds.

There are also raised beds made of plastic that come ready to assemble and are usually more affordable.

Make a Plan, Stay Flexible

When planning your garden, here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Will you sow your own seeds, grow transplants, or a mixture of both?
• Are going to grow directly in the ground or will you start raised beds?
• Will you water by hand or use a sprinkler or drip irrigation system?
• Do you plan to grow fruits, vegetables, or herbs? All 3? Or just some?
• How much sun will your plants need?
• What will you grow during each possible growing season? (Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter crops)

Remember, gardening is all about learning, so embrace it!

Experience will be the best teacher and you will learn from any mistakes you make. If something doesn’t turn out as you ideally imagined, don’t fret and try to focus on the lesson. Learn from it.

We can do all the planning in the world, but in the end, mother nature has the last say. What we can control is the ability to learn from it.

I will leave you with this famous quote :

“Life is what happens to you while we’re busy making other plans” – John Lennon