Vegetable Gardening (9 page)

Chapter 3: Planning Your Veggie Garden

In This Chapter

Finding the right spot for your garden

Getting the scoop on vegetable varieties

Knowing how to time your planting

Mapping out your garden design

Before you go out and till up the whole yard to create a vegetable garden, you need to do a little planning. I know, I know. You're dreaming of luscious melons, mouth-watering tomatoes, and crisp salad greens picked fresh from your garden. But as my dad used to say, "You gotta have a plan, Charlie." So, in this chapter, I provide you with a basic plan for locating and mapping out the perfect vegetable garden to suit your yard and needs.

Deciding Where to Put Your Vegetable Garden

When considering where to plop down your plot, think of these three main elements, which are necessary for the perfect spot: site, sun, and soil. The following sections describe each of these and give you some things to think about when surveying your yard for the best possible spot for your plot. Figure 3-1 puts some of these ideas into visual perspective.

Don't be discouraged if you lack the ideal garden spot — few gardeners have one. Just try to make the most of what you have.

Considering different sites

Choosing a site is the important first step in planning a vegetable garden. This may sound like a tough choice to make, but don't worry; a lot of the decision is based on good old common sense. When you're considering a site for your garden, remember these considerations:

Keep it close to home.
Plant your garden where you'll walk by it daily so that you remember to care for it. Also, a vegetable garden is a place people like to gather, so keep it close to a pathway. (I talk about garden paths later in this chapter.)

Vegetable gardens used to be relegated to some forlorn location out back. Unfortunately, if it's out of sight, it's out of mind. I like to plant vegetables front and center — even in the front yard. That way you get to see the fruits of your labor and remember what chores need to be done. Plus, it's a great way to engage the neighbors as they stroll by and admire your plants. You may even be inspired to share a tomato with them.

Make it easy to access.
If you need to bring in soil, compost, mulch, or wood by truck or car, make sure your garden can be easily reached by a vehicle. Otherwise you'll end up working way too hard to cart these essentials from one end of the yard to the other.

Have a water source close by.
Try to locate your garden as close as you can to an outdoor faucet. Hauling hundreds of feet of hose around the yard to water the garden will only cause more work and frustration. And, hey, isn't gardening supposed to be fun?

Keep it flat.
You can garden on a slight slope, and, in fact, a south-facing one is ideal since it warms up faster in spring. However, too severe a slope could lead to erosion problems. To avoid having to build terraces like Machu Picchu, plant your garden on flat ground.

A bit of science also is involved in choosing the right site.
Microclimates
are small areas of your yard whose temperatures and related growing conditions are slightly different from the overall climate of your yard, neighborhood, or town. These differences usually are caused by large objects, such as your house, a wall, or a tree. For example, the south side of your house may be hotter than the rest of your yard, because the sun reflects off the walls and the house blocks prevailing cold winds. Or an area under a large tree may be cooler than the rest of the yard because of the shade provided by the tree's canopy.

How big is too big for a veggie garden? If you're a first-time gardener, a size of 100 square feet is plenty of space to take care of; I like to tell beginning gardeners to start small and build on their success. However, if you want to produce food for storing and sharing, a 20-foot-x-30-foot plot (600 square feet total) is a great size. You can produce an abundance of different vegetables and still keep the plot looking good.