This is part of the RW&G Virtual Victory Guide series, a group of quick, casual posts designed to help newbie gardeners get started.
Let’s assume for a few moments that you’re a homeowner who wants to dedicate space to a garden or reclaim an existing ornamental bed for vegetable production. Ideally, you’ll want to select a spot that gets at least six to eight hours of sunlight each day. You can actually purchase gadgets that help you tell how much sun is in a given spot, but I'm a little suspicious of those since the sun moves throughout the year, changing position in the sky.
Now, let's talk dirt. With a little research into what kind of soil is in your yard (your county/parish extension office can help with this bit), you should have a pretty good idea whether or not you can mark off your pot, pull up some grass and weeds and put your plants right in the ground. More than likely, you’ll need to break up (till) the soil and add compost, humus or other soil conditioners. Others, stuck like me with rock-hard clay, will need to resort to raised beds (pictured above) or containers. Here's an obvious tip: look around your neighborhood. If you see lots of traditional, in-ground vegetable gardens...well, you can probably dig away.
If you’re new to gardening but have plenty of space, consider creating a traditional “kitchen garden,” a small bed that includes only a narrow assortment of plants clustered together. It’s a great way to create a laboratory in which you can learn the finer points of vegetable gardening. (Other popular terms meaning roughly the same thing are “cottage garden” and potager.) As you become more adept at gardening, you can expand the number of beds, creating a grid. Typically situated near the home, a kitchen garden is made intentionally accessible for the hurried cook.
Convenience aside, families with small children or pets may want to place the garden a bit further away and perhaps create a small fence around it for added security. Placing your garden in the front yard invites interest from neighbors and might encourage “sampling.” Whether that's a positive or negative outcome is a matter of perspective. You can plan for this by placing a few plants out front and more out back--or you can be gracious and use your own visible Victory Garden as a tool to attract others to the concept. Some generous gardeners hoping to spark wider interest in growing vegetables have created accessible “sample beds,” from which passersby are invited to partake via small signs.
Your landscape’s terrain will impact your site selection. Factors such as slope and water run-off (both from the land and your rooftop if you don’t have gutters) are essential considerations. There’s nothing quite as frustrating as putting in a new bed only to discover a deep groove and damaged plants resulting from rain pouring off of your roof in sheets during a spring thunderstorm. (Yes, regrettably, I speak from experience. Don't ask.)
Speaking of the elements--and admittedly wandering off topic slightly, you’ll want to think about how to protect your plants from them during temperature extremes. Glass garden cloches placed directly on the ground and clear plastic mounted on supports can help seedlings placed directly in the ground get started in the cooler months. Shade cloth and burlap can be helpful to plants receiving a surfeit of summer sun, but this is seldom necessary. Mulching properly at the base of your plants can help protect roots and retain moisture in the soil. (Oh, and for those of us in the South and West, I cannot recommend highly enough the Heat Zone map when considering what to plant when.)
Readers: Other thoughts? Tips? Suggestions? Share 'em!
If you’re new to gardening but have plenty of space, consider creating a traditional “kitchen garden,” a small bed that includes only a narrow assortment of plants clustered together. It’s a great way to create a laboratory in which you can learn the finer points of vegetable gardening. (Other popular terms meaning roughly the same thing are “cottage garden” and potager.) As you become more adept at gardening, you can expand the number of beds, creating a grid. Typically situated near the home, a kitchen garden is made intentionally accessible for the hurried cook.
Convenience aside, families with small children or pets may want to place the garden a bit further away and perhaps create a small fence around it for added security. Placing your garden in the front yard invites interest from neighbors and might encourage “sampling.” Whether that's a positive or negative outcome is a matter of perspective. You can plan for this by placing a few plants out front and more out back--or you can be gracious and use your own visible Victory Garden as a tool to attract others to the concept. Some generous gardeners hoping to spark wider interest in growing vegetables have created accessible “sample beds,” from which passersby are invited to partake via small signs.
Your landscape’s terrain will impact your site selection. Factors such as slope and water run-off (both from the land and your rooftop if you don’t have gutters) are essential considerations. There’s nothing quite as frustrating as putting in a new bed only to discover a deep groove and damaged plants resulting from rain pouring off of your roof in sheets during a spring thunderstorm. (Yes, regrettably, I speak from experience. Don't ask.)
Speaking of the elements--and admittedly wandering off topic slightly, you’ll want to think about how to protect your plants from them during temperature extremes. Glass garden cloches placed directly on the ground and clear plastic mounted on supports can help seedlings placed directly in the ground get started in the cooler months. Shade cloth and burlap can be helpful to plants receiving a surfeit of summer sun, but this is seldom necessary. Mulching properly at the base of your plants can help protect roots and retain moisture in the soil. (Oh, and for those of us in the South and West, I cannot recommend highly enough the Heat Zone map when considering what to plant when.)
Readers: Other thoughts? Tips? Suggestions? Share 'em!
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