Hello Friends!
Its that time of year to get the pencil and paper out and start dreaming up your garden space!
For our garden I have a few things to keep in mind while I am in the planning phase.
1- Where did I plant things last year?
2- How am I going to rotate my planting so I can get the most from my plants?
3-Which plants can handle the shade?
4- Where is the kids garden spaces going to be?
Where did I plant things last year?
I like to look over where I planted things the year before, that way I can make sure I am not planting the same thing in the same area multiple years in a row. A couple of ways I keep track of where I planted things is by taking pictures and by drawing out where everything was planted. You may think you will remember where everything is planted, but most likely you will forget a few things.
How am I going to rotate my planting so I can get the most from my plants?
We have two reasons for rotating plants.
One reason I am making sure I rotate our plants is because of squash bugs. Squash bugs like to feed on and lay eggs on young squash (and pumpkin) plants. When they do that they are weakening the plants, which ultimately will kill the plants. By moving the plants, I am helping them from getting infested with a TON of squash bugs. While the bugs are capable of traveling, rotating where you have your plants will delay a bug population build-up.
Second reason for rotating your plants is for the soil. If you keep planting the same plants over and over again in the same spot, you are going to deplete the soil of good nutrients. When you deplete the soil, your plants suffer. Then you won’t get as good of a harvest.
Which plants can handle the shade?
This is important because some plants can handle less sunlight then others. Most plants need at least 3-6 hours of sunlight. All plants need some sunlight, so keep that in mind when planning your garden spaces. Some examples of plants that can grow with less sunlight include your salad greens, chard and lettuces. Beets, carrots and potatoes will also grow in shade but prefer at least half a day of sunlight.
Where is the kids garden spaces going to be?
Last year the 4 older kids each had a spot in the garden. This is something they are looking forward to (and so am I). Each of the kids looked through a Baker Creek seed catalog (rareseeds.com) and picked out a special seed packet to try this year. I also picked up Children’s Garden Packets from Berlin Seeds in Millersburg Ohio for the 3 girls garden spots. Most of those seeds can be direct sown, but a few, like the tomatoes, we will be starting inside this week.
After I consider all these things, I can start laying out where I want everything to be planted. Right now we have lots of room to move plants around. However, that wasn’t always the case.
When we rented I only had the flower beds around the house to plant a handful of things. I had to be more mindful of what I was planting.
If you only have a small space, don’t worry you can still have a wonderful garden.
Something to be mindful of is that you may need to amend your soil. Burpee has a good organic raised bed and container mix that will aid in plant growth and yield. (https://bit.ly/BurpeeNaturalandorganicraisedbedmix )
By doing this you are adding nutrients back into the ground and will have more productive plants. Another thing you could do is plant some plants in containers and give your beds a break for a year or two.
Until Next Time,
Julie