My first seedlings have sprouted, and are growing rapidly. I finalized my garden dreams into a plan. Now it is time to prepare to garden!
Here are the 10 essential elements for a successful growing season-
- Know what your growing
- know your grow zone
- Sunlight
- Growing space
- Soil
- Companion planting
- Succession planting
- Watering & Feeding
- Moisture barriers
- Extending seasons
1. Know what you are growing
I mean this in two ways: know what vegetables your family will eat that you can grow, and know the plants specific requirements. Some need to be planted after the last frost. Others can tolerate a few frosts. This information can be found on the back of seed packets.
Here are the vegetables I will be growing this year: cucumbers, asparagus, tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, kale, carrots, zucchini, pole beans, bush beans, peas, bell peppers, jalapenos, radishes, swiss chard, beets, spinach, lavender, applemint, basil, sage, garlic chives, onion chives, parsley, dill, celery, thyme and lufa squash.
2. Know your grow zone
Knowing your growing zone (when your first and last frost dates) is very important. Although there is still the danger of a frost after the last date. Keep your eye on the weather, and be prepared to fight for your plants! You can protect them from a frost by covering them with an old sheet, or covering them with gallon jugs.
Peas, beets, kale, spinach and carrots a few examples of frost tolerant veggies. Tomatoes, zucchini, and my morning glories are NOT frost tolerant. They need to be transplanted outside after the last frost is past.
3. Sunlight
What part of your yard gets the most sun? That would be the optimal location for your garden. Most plants require a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight. If you garden doesn’t get that much sunlight, don’t worry. There are a good amount of vegetables that are shade tolerant.
It is wise to look at the seed packets for the plants specific requirements, why? Well, I bought some morning glory seeds( my Grandfather’s favorite). In my head I was going to plant them by my front porch, to grow up the supports.
After a brief chat with my Mom I realized a very major flaw in my plan. I watch the sun SET from my front porch and RISE from my back porch…see my thinking error? Those poor morning glories would not be very happy. Not enough sunlight!
4. Growing space
You know what you are growing, you know where. Now how about what you are growing it in? Do you have a garden? Or are you like me and making do with a rental, unwilling to invest in something you can’t move with you.
Pots. I have accumulated a variety of pots. Some are borrowed from my Mom, some are leftover from other projects and a few I got on sale at Home Depot. Anything can be a pot, as long as it can contain your plant, its soil and drain(so you don’ t drown the plants). I’ve even got a few plants growing in old hot water bath canners that rusted through their bottoms.
Shallow raised beds. I will be growing in two raised beds made from free pallets. My husband will be building those in the next couple weeks. The plan is to make 3-4ft square raised beds. Likely 12-18″ deep. These will work for my climbing and shallow rooted veggies.
Deep “raised” beds. I will be growing in very non traditional deep raised beds. They are a combination of new and old 18-30 gallon totes. This will allow root space for my deeper rooted vegetables.
5. Soil
So you know what your growing, where its going to be and what its going to be in. Now how about the soil? Can you use whatever is laying around your yard? Yes, to an extent and depending on what soil type it is.
My yard consists of sand with a little bit of organic material. I am less than a mile from Lake Huron, so that makes sense. While sand is good for drainage it is very poor in nutrients. I will need to add to my soil to make it the right environment for my plants.
Because I will be growing in container and two raised beds, I need to purchase some dirt. What kind will I get? Good question. I am still working that out.
Potting soil/ raised bed mix will be the majority of it. Exactly how many bags will I need? Still calculating that…Compost or manure are great sources for nutrients. Cow, chicken and goat manure are all great. Perlite will help with soil aeration, vermiculite will help with water retention. Wood charcoal, dried leaves, dead fish all bring good nutrients to the soil as well.
What you will need is dependent on what you are growing in, how good of drainage it has and what soil you are starting out with. Container gardening and raised beds are worlds apart.
6. Companion planting
Surprisingly there are plants that help eachother grow and those that hinder. They are called friends and adversaries. Just keep this in mind when it comes time to plant and make sure not to plant adversaries next to eachother! If you are up for the puzzle of planting friends as neighbors, best of luck!
I tried to draw it out what I want to do, but it got trickier when I included succession planting. My conclusion is I will do my best to plant friends as neighbors and I’ll definitely be sharing pictures but I don’t have the time to draw it out for you to see now. Sorry!
7. Succession planting
Spring isn’t the only time to plant. With succession planting as one crop finishes you plant another. This is especially useful if you are planning to grow a vegetable for storage. You don’t want it to be ready to harvest before you are prepared to store it! Carrots, lettuces, spinach, kale, beets and radishes are my main veggies I’ll be rotating in as other things are done growing(peas, beans) or are mature and harvested(early carrots, radishes).
I will be growing watermelon radishes for cold storage this year. Since I can’t store anything in my root cellar until the temp stays below 50, I need to harvest towards October. Watermelon radishes take 60 days to mature. I CAN’T plant them until august at the earliest because otherwise they will be ready without me. Yes, they can stay in the ground for a while and keep growing. But not two months. They would be wonky by then and no good for cold storage.
8. Watering & Feeding
Water is essential for plant growth! I bet you knew that already. Did you know that there is an optimal time to water your garden? It depends on when the sunlight hits the garden the longest. If you water at noon in full sun most of that water will get evaporated, not absorbed into the soil.
Mid morning or late afternoon are the best times for watering. After the cool of the night is lifted, before the heat of the midday sun and after worst of the sun, before the dew sets.
If I mix compost into the soil at planting won’t my vegetables be set all summer? The answer to this is no. Mixing compost into the soil it great! But as the plants use up the nutrients in the soil they will need to be replaced. Some vegetables use up a lot of nutrients, some can fix their own and others are light feeders.
How often do you need to feed your garden? It depends on what you are feeding it, however a good rule of thumb is every 3-4 weeks. Your plants will show signs of distress if they need more. Light/ opaque leaves on lettuce, brown leaf tips those are good indicators your vegetables are lacking necessary nutrients.
9. Moisture barriers
Moisture barriers will help the plants retain water and keep the soil cooler. There are a few options: mulch/straw, plastic barrier, or living mulch! Living mulch is using one plant to shade another until it is big enough to create it’s own shade. Fast growing lettuces are an excellent choice.
I will be using leftover pine shavings from my root cellar as my primary mulch. I also plant to try out the living mulch concept. Basil and tomatoes are friends according to our chart, I am thinking of putting a few in a pot with my tomatoes to help keep them cooler. Any cool ideas spring to mind for what vegetables you will be planting?
10. Extending Seasons
It is possible to start plants early, it is also possible to extend their growing season. Why would you want to do that? Because eating home grown kale is so much better than store bought!
Row covers can extend the season, so can using gallon jugs as little green houses. Remember those black totes I got? What color heats up the fastest in the sun? Black. What does putting a lid on some thing do? Contain what is inside it, in this case it will be heat. The totes will absorb heat from the sun and heat the soil within. Warmer soil means the plants will start growing faster. Putting the lid on will contain the heat in the day and protect them from frost at night.
If you use a combination of row covers and frost tolerant plants like kale and spinach, you could harvest potentially into the winter months. My parents both have hoop houses and they grow leaf lettuce, spinach and kale all winter. When it gets below freezing the plants send all their water to the roots. They look dead at this point, but just wait until it gets above freezing and watch them perk back up! It’s amazing, and delicious! Kale and spinach grown in the winter are sweeter than their summer varieties.
Little Stewards
Get your Little Stewards involved! Have them
- pick out seed packets at the store
- identify your grow zone
- answer questions based on the info the seed packet shows
- how much sunlight does the plant need
- how deep does it need to be planted
- how far apart
- how many day until harvest
- help pick out or make pots(remember anything can be a pot, even an old rain boot!)
- find the sunniest locations in your yard
- pick out good neighbors for different plants based on the chart
Big Stewards
There is a lot of information here. Please don’t get overwhelmed! Take it one step at a time(and get those Little Stewards involved!) This is by no means an all inclusive list. If you have questions please ask! The vegetable gardener’s bible by Edward C. Smith is a great resource.
- Know what your growing
- know your grow zone
- Sunlight
- Growing space
- Soil
- Companion planting
- Succession planting
- Watering & Feeding
- Moisture barriers
- Extending seasons
I don’t have all the answers. And honestly, its been a few years since I had my own garden. But I hope you feel welcome to embark on this gardening adventure with me this season. Not all my plants will make it, not all my plans will work. But I am excited to try my best! And maybe learn a few ways no to do something. We are all growing and learning together! Becoming environmental stewards one adventure at a time!