beginning

Beginning Your Garden
by Amber S.

Tools You Will Need
Caring for Tools
When to Begin
Greenhouses
Choosing Your Crops
Where to Plant
Planning the Garden
Companion Planting
Heirloom Quality Seeds
Starting the Seeds
Digging Up the Garden
Preparing the Soil
Planting
Basic Care

Here is a great photo of one of my vegetable gardens.
It is still early spring, so the plants are only just starting
to really grow. They should be huge in a few weeks.

Tools You Will Need
There are a few basic tools that everyone needs to have in order to keep a healthy garden. These include a pointed shovel, fork, garden rake, cultivator, garden hoe, trowel, and a pair of shears or garden snips. (The fork is not absolutely necessary and can be replaced with the shovel or the rake in most cases.) Good tools can be purchased at a local hardware store for around five to ten dollars apiece. Expect to spend anywhere from twenty five to thirty dollars for a complete set of necessary tools. Some optional tools include a wheelbarrow, push mower, flathead shovel or spade, flower pots, and a compost tumbler. For organic gardening, you will need a compost pile or composter. Instructions to build a composter can be found here.

Some Simple Gardening Tools


Shovel (the pointed variety)	Fork (manure fork or compost fork)	Garden Rake	Cultivator


Garden Hoe	Trowel	Garden Shears

Caring for Your Tools
Unless they are cared for properly, tools will not last through even one season. Tool care is simple and easy to follow. First, and most importantly, NEVER leave tools outside after using them. Sun and moisture will cause the wood to warp, crack, and loosen. When the wood dries out too much and becomes loose, the head of the tool will not stay on and the tool becomes useless and will have to be thrown away. Keep all tools inside a shed or garage to protect them from the elements. Secondly, keep your tools clean and dry when you are not using them. Dirt and water will cause them to rust. If you have tools that require sharpening, buy a sharpener and keep it in storage where you keep your tools.

When To Begin
Gardens are usually begun in spring, but some gardens can be begun in the fall. Begin planning your garden during the winter. Seeds should be started indoors around six weeks before the last spring frost. Find a warm place to start your seeds where they can get plenty of sunlight after germination. In our home, we have a small atrium attached to the house. A garden shed with windows that is protected from freezing will also work. If you do not have an area that is warm with plenty of light, you can grow them in a garage with a grow light which can be purchased at a local hardware store. Seed packets should state when you need to begin your seeds and how you should go about doing so.

Greenhouses
Greenhouses are useful, but not necessary. Also called hothouses, these structures help keep plants warm out-of-doors before the planting season begins. Sunlight comes into the greenhouse through the walls and ceiling and remains inside the greenhouse as heat. You can build your own greenhouse with a few simple tools and supplies. Instructions for building a large passive greenhouse can be built here. For a simpler greenhouse, purchase some heavy chicken wire and plastic sheeting. Bend the wire over your plants in a a half-circle over your plants so that it creates a dome. You can then lay the plastic sheeting over your wire for protection. tie the plastic to the wire with string and bring it around and down to close off the ends. Secure the greenhouse to the ground with stakes. You can pull the stakes up and lift the cover for watering, or you can run a soaker hose through the covered garden and turn it off and on when watering is needed.

Choosing Your Crops
The most important thing about choosing which crops you will grow is location. Obviously, if you live in Alaska, you won't be able to have a full harvest of watermelons. First, decide all of the plants you would like to grow and make a list. When choosing your seeds, make a note of the weather conditions each plant prefers. If it does not coincide with your region, you will have to cross it off of your list. Some plants have different varieties that grow in different types of weather, so check out each type before you choose. Some plants need lots of water and should not be grown in dry areas. Other plants require cool weather and should not be grown where the summers are too hot for them to grow. As you look up the climatic conditions for each variety, make a note to the side of each strain you can grow in your garden.
If this is your first garden, you should be careful not to grow any plants which require too much care and are not good for beginners. Asparagus is one such plant. Asparagus takes three years to mature and become established. This is an example of a plant that is best left to the experienced gardener. Some good plants for the first-time gardener include pumpkins, watermelon, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cucumber, potatoes, okra, beans, peas, corn, leeks, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, squash, turnips, beets, and radishes. There are also a variety of other plants that are suitable for a first-time garden. Herbs are almost always easy to grow and are very good for first-time gardeners.

Where to Plant
Location is one of the most important factors in having a successful garden. You must choose a place that gets full sun at least 2/3 of the day and has good drainage. For anyone not familiar with gardening, good drainage means that it is on a hill or on flat level ground. Don't plant in a ditch or at the bottom of a hill or anywhere water drains or will collect. Too much water can drown a plant. If you are planting next to a house, you will need to plant away from the edge of the roof or install a rain gutter over the area where the roof slants down over the garden. Rainwater pouring off of a roof will damage plants and cause excessive runoff which will wash away your topsoil, exposing roots and killing your garden plants (and I can say this from personal experience). Try to grow your garden as far from any trees as possible. Trees will compete with garden plants for water and can sometimes create too much shade, not to mention covering the garden in leaves in autumn. Plant the garden near the house so that it will be accessible to water and easy to take care of. Gardening should not mean taking a trip out across the pasture. Think about crucial elements when planting. Is it too near the composter? Insects that feed on compost would also love to feed on your garden plants. Is it near the garage? That might make it easier when toting tools and supplies back and forth.

Planning the Garden
The beginning gardener should know how much room a garden takes up. While planning the size of the garden, you will need to assume that you can plant about 1 1/2 plants per square foot. Carrots and smaller root crops can be planted three per square foot. Spreading plants such as squash, watermelon, pumpkin, and cucumber need an extra square foot or two for growth. If you plan on growing climbing plants such as beans or peas, you will need a wall to grow them against. A trellis can be built if there is no wall. An eight by eight foot garden can grow anywhere from sixty to seventy plants which is quite a lot. While planting, be careful not to plant plants too far apart or too close together. Taller plants should be planted in the back where they will not block sunlight from the rest of the garden. Medium plants go in the middle and short plants in the front, etc.

Companion Planting
     Companion planting means planting different varieties of plants together in order to protect them from pests. There are different ways you can use companion planting. First, it is important to mix the crops together in the garden. Try not to plant more than four or five of one type together. Plants that are grown all together spread disease and pests easily. Many inflictions tend to favor a particular plant and will have a hard time spreading to the other plants if there are other types of vegetation between them. In nature, plants are mixed together, making it more difficult for insects to find the plants they prefer. Another type of companion planting uses plants to deter insects. Marigolds, garlic, and mints are perfect for keeping plants out of the garden. Plant these plants around the perimeter and throughout the garden. I plant lots of them around plants that are particularly prone to insects. Marigolds are the best and are very easy to grow. Wormwood keeps away pests well, but is very poisonous and should not be grown around children or household pets.
     A third type of companion planting is done by planting together plants which complement each other. Complementing plants deter insects from each other and also add nutrients to the soil that the other needs. Below is a list of companion plants:
Cabbage - Plant mint and nastrium to keep away cabbage moth and improve soil.
Corn - Lamb's Quarters.
Fruit Trees - Plant Nastrium to keep away pests.
Radish - Plant Nastrium.
Raspberries - Plant Garlic to keep it in good health and keep away pests.
Roses - Plant Garlic to keep it in good health and keep away pests.
Tomato - Plant Basil, Mint, and Dill to keep away various pests.
     The fourth type of companion planting is using plants as a trap. The bait plant is planted near other plants to lure insects. These plants can be pulled up and the insects destroyed. Lamb's Quarters and Nastrium are good plants to use as lure plants as they attracts aphids.

Heirloom Quality Seeds
It is important to purchase heirloom quality seeds when buying seeds for your garden. Heirloom quality means that the seeds are not hybrids, have not been chemically treated, and have not been genetically engineered in any way. Heirloom seeds are seeds from plants that have been grown for hundreds of years and are chosen because they are healthy, grow best, and taste the best. Unlike manufactured seeds, heirloom seeds are not produced to make more fruits than the plant can sustain without chemical fertilizers, and have not been irradiated to make them sterile so you can't grow the seeds that will be produced by the plants you will be growing. Heirloom seeds produce healthy plants that provide lots of vitamins and minerals and are the best tasting. Always opt for heirloom quality seeds when purchasing or you may have to buy new seeds every season.

Starting the Seeds
Begin by reading the packets of each type of seed you purchased. A few will require direct seeding into the garden, but most will need to be started in flats. Flats are plastic planters used specifically for starting seeds. These are what plants come in when you buy them at the store already grown. They contain separate individual spaces to plant seeds. After determining how many plants you will be planting, you can decide how many seed flats you will need. These can also be purchased at any gardening or hardware store. Fill the flats to the top with potting soil (be sure it has not been treated with any chemicals). You can add compost or manure for plant food. The soil should be soft and moist and full of organic matter, not clay. I use Jiffy Peat Pellets which are contained in netting that deteriorates as the plant grows. Be careful removing the plants during planting with Jiffy Pellets as the roots sometimes grow into their neighbors' pellets and can tear easily. The Jiffy Pellets have soil already in them and come ready to go. There is no mess.

     Begin your seed starting about 4 to 6 weeks before the last thaw. Put your seeds in the refrigerator for at least one day before you plant them. This will stimulate germination by producing an artificial winter. If you are using the plastic containers, fill them almost all the way to the top, leaving about 1/2 inch around the edges. The soil will settle during watering, so be sure you don't have too little soil. Any seeds whose instructions say, should be soaked in warm water overnight. This is usually only for large seeds such as cucumber and corn. Put aside the seeds that say they should be direct-seeded. You will plant these when the time is right. Make a little hole in each flat with your finger or a spoon and drop in the seeds. For large seeds (cucumber, pumpkin, squash, watermelon) plant only one seed per flat. If, after one week, you see a flat that is not sprouting, plant another seed in it to get it going. If the seeds are small (strawberry, herbs, etc.) plant two or more seeds. The smaller the seeds, the more you should plant in a flat. Smaller seeds can be harder to germinate and many of them won't make it. Cover large seeds with about 1/2 inch of soil. Cover small seeds with about 1/8 inch soil. For large seeds, water after they are planted. Small seeds may float to the surface, so make sure the soil is completely moistened before covering them and don't water them afterward until the soil begins to look dry..
     Mark the seed flats with a marker so you will remember which seeds are planted where. You can make plant markers with plastic yogurt or margarine containers. I cut them into long triangle shapes. The point, I press down into the soil and I write the name of the plant on the wider end with a permanent marker. Some seeds need dark to germinate and some need light. Place seeds that need darkness in a closet or under a cabinet where they will stay cool, but don't forget to water them if they get too dry. Seeds that need light to germinate can be kept in a window. It can take anywhere from three days to three weeks for a seed to germinate. Read the package to find out how long the sprouting time is. If you don't see any seeds sprouting after this time, you may have over or under watered them.
     Once the seeds start sprouting, give them a little time to grow and gain strength. Small plants will need to be watered with a mister. Larger plants can be watered with a watering can or under a low-running tap. Be careful not to drown them. After one week, you will need to weed them. Each plant needs room to grow, so you cannot have more than one plant in each flat pot. Decide which of the sprouts in each pot you want to keep. The healthier one should be kept and the smaller one should be pulled up. Pull them until you have only one sprout in each container. If you have any containers that have not sprouted yet, plant another seed in them so that each pot will have a plant. This one will be smaller when it sprouts but will catch up with the others quickly. Keep weeding out the smaller sprouts each time you go to water them. If mold or mildew begin to develop on your planting flats, move them outside or somewhere where it is warm and dry. They may be in an area that is simply too moist.

Digging Up the Garden
By now you should already have chosen where you want to plant your garden. To get the soil started, you will need a shovel. Mark off the boundaries of the garden with a garden hose or with stakes with string tied between them. Using the shovel, dig down as deep as it will go and then pull the shovel handle back to pull the soil up. Move the shovel over and dig another spot. Keep doing this until all of the soil in the garden has been dug up. It should be a bit clumpy. Don't worry about removing any grass.
Next, you will need the rake or the cultivator. I rake up the soil the best I can so that it is broken up into smaller pieces. If you have a tiller, this will work even better. I prefer to do all of the work by hand. Remove any rocks you find. Rocks will ruin the growth of your root crops such as carrots, onions, potatoes, leeks, and radishes. If you have lots of very large rocks, they can be used to line the edges of the garden. If you are having trouble tilling because the soil is too hard, use a shovel to break up the large pieces at first. Areas with clay soil, like where we live, tend to be harder to till. You may want to try digging two to three days after it rains as the soil will be softer. Do not dig up muddy soil. This prevents the soil from aerating and is bad for both plants and earthworms.

Preparing the Garden Soil
Garden soil must be rich in nutrients. You will need compost and manure when treating your garden. I buy about 4 bags of compost and two bags of cow manure for every 64 square feet (8x8 feet) of garden. Bags of compost and manure cost between one and two dollars each at the garden store. If you make your own compost, you will not need to buy compost. If you keep animals, chicken, goat, and horse manure can be used instead of cow manure. Chicken manure can burn plants, so only use about four cups of chicken manure for each 64 square feet. Do not use manure from meat-eating animals such as cats, dogs, and humans. If you have very sandy soil, you may need an extra bag or two of compost. Spread these out evenly over the soil and rake them in with your garden rake and your hoe. A tiller can also be used. Do not water the garden until you have planted your seedlings.
The garden will need some kind of edging to keep the outside plants from creeping over the borders. Edging will save you a lot of time in the long run, so it is best to get it put in early. You can make a fancy border out of logs, bricks or stone. If you need a cheap alternative, however, garden stores and hardware stores sell metal edging for about a dollar per twenty feet.

Planting Your Garden
     After you have turned the soil and thoroughly raked in the compost and manure, you can begin planting your garden. A spring planting schedule can be found here courtesy of Heirloom Seeds. Determine when the last frost of the year occurs in your area. Then check the dates under that column to find out when you should plant each of your seedlings. It is better to plant your seedlings late than early. If you think they are still to small to be transplanted, wait until they are big enough to survive a rain.
     Using the hoe, rake out rows in your planting bed. The rows should be about six inches apart and six inches wide. Depending on what area you live, the rows should follow a certain pattern. If you live in a wet climate, the rows should point downhill so that excess water will be able to run off easily. If you live in a dry climate, like I do, you need to make the rows run horizontally across the side of a hill so that excess water will be trapped between the rows. If your garden is planted on flat ground, just make the rows whichever way you feel suits you best.
     Begin in the back of the garden. If you are planning on growing climbing plants such as peas or beans, you will need to construct a trellis for them. You can buy pre-made wooden trellis at the hardware store and then just prop it against two poles. Another method is to buy metal fence stakes and run wire or string between them. Climbing plants usually like to grow between six and eight feet high, so you may just want to build the garden next to a fence. You may still need to nail in some nails and string together a grid of twine for them to climb up.
     The tallest plants will go in the back of the garden with the plants getting shorter as you work your way forward. This allows the shorter plants in front to get the same amount of sunlight as the plants in the back. If the garden is out in the middle of the yard and not near a building or a fence, then the tallest plants should be grown in the center of the garden and the shortest plants on either side. If you are not sure how tall your plants will grow, consult your seed packets. Typically, tall plants include climbing plants and corn. Medium-sized plants include tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and okra. Small plants include carrots, onions, radishes, lettuce, and creeping plants such as pumpkin, watermelon, and squashes.
     Dig a hole with your trowel as deep as you need. Make sure that the soil that the seedling has been grown in goes in deep. You will need at least one inch of garden soil to cover the original soil you grew the seed in. Don't pull seedlings out of the containers by the stem. This will put strain on the plant and it will weaken or kill it. Instead, try pushing it out from the bottom of the container. After it goes in the hole, cover the seedling with soil and pat it around the base of the plant. Your seed packet should tell you how far apart you need to space the seedlings. I like to plant all my plants about a hand's length and 1/2 apart (about ten inches). Onions and carrots get planted about 1/2 a hands width apart (about 4 inches). If you need to sow seeds directly into the garden, this is the time to do it. Plant lots of seeds. Later, you can go back and pull up the weaker seedlings. Be sure to mark each row so you will know what types of plants you are growing. For safety, don't put all of one type of plant in the same area. This will invite pests and disease. Instead, mix all of your plants in together, or only plant four or five plants together in one area. This will help to confuse insects and, if you do get pests or disease in an area, all of the other plants of that type will be protected by not being near them. Water the garden after you are completely finished with the planting.

Basic Care of Your New Garden
Watering - One big mistake many gardeners make is to water their garden too little and too often. When you water, you should do a long deep watering down the rows, not on top of the plants. This forces the plant to grow a strong taproot straight down to get at the water. Plants with a strong taproot will need to be watered less and will be much stronger. If you water your plants over the top of their roots too little and too often, they will only grow short small roots at the surface of the soil. These plants will be weak and will topple over. A heavy rain will wash the soil away from their roots and destroy them completely.

A good way to provide a good, soaking watering is to purchase a soaker hose. These are black foamy water hoses that leak water through their porous sides. Wind these hoses through the garden up and down each row. For a small garden, this is an easy way to soak them as you only have to turn on the faucet and turn it off when it is finished. For larger gardens, you can use a sprinkler that gets a good even coverage, or hand water it. To soak it, water it until water begins standing in puddles between the rows for more than one minute before soaking into the ground.

Weeding - You will need to weed your garden at least twice a week. Go through and pull up anything that is trying to grow that looks like it should not be there. While you are checking, you can also look at plants for signs of disease or pests. A few bugs on a plant are alright. It is when you have huge colonies or the plant begins looking a little sick that you should be worried. Take the proper steps to alleviate the problem.

Aeration - Plants need air to get to their roots in order to stay healthy. There are a few ways you can keep your garden soil aerated. Earthworms are the best option. You can purchase earthworms or dig them up from other areas in your yard. Turn over some soil in the garden and place the earthworm on top. It will find its way down into the soil. Earthworms are not harmful to plants and do an incredible job of aerating the soil naturally so you never have to do anything. You can also try using spike clogs. These can be bought at a few garden stores. Walk around in the garden with them to churn up the soil. This is great for lawns as well. The final option is cultivating the soil. For larger gardens, use a large cultivator. For smaller gardens, you should use a hand cultivator. Use the cultivator to make holes in the soil and turn it up just a little between the rows. Be careful of any roots.

Roots - Sometimes dirt can get washed away from the plant's roots. If the plant has not been buried deep enough, cover the roots with soil again. If it is caught early, the plant can usually be saved. If it has only been a couple of days since planting, you may dig up the plant and bury it deeper. Be careful not to damage the plant's roots.