Selecting an appropriate spot for your garden is the most important decision you will make for your garden. If the site is wrong you are going to spend a lot of time hoping for results which will never come. The article below will give you an idea of how to plan your garden. First, a small garden where direct sunlight is a problem. Next a large garden with plenty of sunlight.
SMALL GARDEN/LITTLE SUNLIGHT The garden space shown above on the left has all the ingredients necessary for a small garden. It’s dimensions are roughly 4 feet by 15 feet. The yard of this house is surrounded by large, historic, ancient oak trees. City Code prohibits even the trimming of large branches from those trees. Very little direct sunlight penetrates to the ground. The flowering bushes on one side and the carport on the other side further inhibit direct sunlight. Direct sunlight for 5 to 8 hours per day is a necessity for most vegetable plants. Why this spot, then?
I walked around the yard at different times on a sunny day just to get an idea of which area got the best sun. The sun travels from the left side of the picture to the right side nearly directly overhead for a full 4 ½ hours in early May to a full 5 hours in late June. This picture was taken in late afternoon and the sun is about to make another appearance as it pours through gaps under the branches of the tree adding another 1 to 2 hours of direct sunlight, pouring under the carport.
Drainage was a problem because in the past the carport would flood after a heavy rain storm. This was remedied by digging a small trench along side the garden at the edge of the carport, providing excellent drainage where there had been none. This was the only spot in the yard where a garden had a chance for sunlight. Also, for normal watering an outside spigot was readily at hand. It has an added advantage in that the owner can spend summer evenings enjoying watching the progress each day.
What type of yield can be expected from such a small space? I planted this in early June so lost two months of what was normally good growing time. So double these yields if the garden is planted timely. First let’s look at the plants. At the left end of the space are two tomato plants which will produce full sized tomatoes. I expect at least 140 tomatoes (about 100 pounds) from these two plants. The next two plants are cherry tomatoes. They should easily produce several gallons of cherry tomatoes. Next, along the foreground are four pepper plants, two for banana peppers and two for jalapenos. I expect around 60 banana peppers and 150 jalapenos. Behind these are planted three rows of ‘pole’ beans. These green beans produce climbing vines which seek to grow upward, thus the arrangement of poles and strings upon which the beans can climb. According to the seed package they should be trellised six feet high. (I added more strings later on as the plants sent out runners.) There are good bush type green beans but they stay pretty close to the ground and will not produce as much. Therefore, I don't use them when space is at a premium. The arrangement in the picture not only utilizes ground space available but also utilizes what would normally be ‘air’ space over the beans, increasing the yield drastically. Expect 10 pounds of green beans from this size of space. At the very end of the space are two hills of squash. These will take up a lot of space but in this arrangement they will grow out over the grass at the end of the garden or we can set up a trellis arrangement for them to grow upward. They still get direct sunlight for a good portion of the day as well as taking advantage of the late afternoon sunlight. Expect a bushel of squash from each hill. Draw a schematic or site plan once you have selected your space. Take a blank piece of paper and a ruler (or a word program using 'text boxes' as I did above) and draw a box with the dimensions of your garden to scale. Then plan what you will plant where. Make sure that taller plants do not put shorter plants in their shadow. For the small space I rejected some plants which take up too much space and give only small yields per plant (such as corn). However, the small space will produce some basics to supplement your grocery budget as well as to satisfy your need for fresh produce. Not much for canning in this size space but a lot of satisfaction for your Summer meals. The cherry tomatoes and peppers will make some of the freshest, best tasting salsa you have ever had. By the way, this garden had been in the ground about three weeks when the picture was taken. We expect yields to begin in about another five weeks. The garden above was planted at my Mother’s home in coastal North Carolina. At my home in northern Nevada I had a much larger space and I include a schematic of it above.
Herb gardens need much less sunlight and are described in that section of this site.
LARGE GARDEN WITH GOOD SUNLIGHT At my house in Reno, NV (high, dry, desert country) my yard was predominately shaded by older trees and shrubs along with flower beds. However, on the side of my garage was an empty space for a utility easement for power lines. It was out of sight and out of mind. I checked my plat map and determined that I owned it. The space has a wonderful Southern exposure. The soil was very sandy. I dug the whole space up and added a few bags of potting soil, mixing it in well. After the first year I mixed in refuse from my compost pile and the soil became richer.
Also, I followed the tips in this site and had a huge harvest. I gave away bushels of fresh produce and each time it brought smiles to the faces of my friends and co-workers.
As I said, above is a schematic I drew while it was too cold to plant. I was more than ready to plant when Spring finally came.
PREPARING THE SITE
Once your site is selected you can dig it up either with a shovel or a tiller. Even on the larger site I presented above I used a shovel as it seems to get me closer to Mother Earth and the whole garden process. I dig up the site to a depth of around 12 inches, simply turing the earth over with the shovel. Then I take a hoe or a pitchfork and break up any clumps. Next, using a stiff tined rake I level out the surface. Then I add one cup of granular 5-5-5 fertilizer for each 25 sq ft of space. Then I water it well, partially dissolving the fertilzer and partially re-compacting the soil. I do not use Miracle Grow for this as it dissolves and washes away too rapidly. I then allow it to set for at least 24 hours before planting.
AUTUMN GARDEN
Incidentally, that Fall, after my vegetable garden was dead, I planted the area to the left of the garage door with bulbs for yellow onions. I was outside every day once Spring was around the corner helping them grow. This was the first time I had planted a crop in the Fall to be harvested in the Spring. They never made it to maturity since I ate them all as ‘green’ onions. The area to the right of the door waited patiently for Spring. In early March I obtained some seed potatoes and planted them. I also planted several types of lettuce and they were great in salads. Harvest came just about the time I was ready to plant my Summer garden. These cool weather crops allowed me both a Spring and a Summer harvest. Great fun!
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