As February has rolled into March we still are experiencing some cold temperatures; now is the time to begin planning your garden. By now you have asked yourself and others what they would like to eat fresh out of the garden in the coming months. Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, corn, beans, peas, strawberries, Brussel sprouts, zucchini, squash, and maybe even asparagus. Your mouth is watering just thinking of how good these will taste. However, now is the time to plan, because most of the fruits and/or vegetables you are talking about have different growth characteristics, temperature requirements, space requirements, soil requirements, and the time to harvest in some cases is the following year for new plantings. Do you begin with plants or just seeds? If you are using just seeds, when do you start them? Can I plant them directly into the garden or do I have to start them inside and them plant them outside? So many questions!!!
So, let’s begin by sorting what we want to plant into categories. Some plants might fall into two or more categories.
Heat/Sun Plants: Plants such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, beans, corn, squash, zucchini, melons all need heat and lots of sunshine.
Roaming/Vine Plants: Plants that like to send out vines that roam around the garden – melon, squash, gourds, and pumpkins need space to grow along with ample sunshine
Vertically Climbing Plants: Anything that grows up supports – peas, beans, and some squash such as cucumbers, will need to be located where they won’t shade other vegetables. The one exception is areas with very hot summers where some cool season crops such as lettuce and spinach can benefit from shade in the heat of the day.
Root crops: Some plants perfer a loose soil with high organic matter and minimal clay. Onions, carrots, turnips, parsnips, horseradish, radish, beets, and potatoes will grow in harder soil, but the crop is usually stunted or malformed.
Cool season: These plants require cooler temperatures and do not like the heat of the hot summer. Broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, spinach, leaf lettuce, peas, and cauliflower. Theses can be planted in late March and can withstand frost and colder weather.
Crops that require large areas: These crops will require large amounts of space in order for them to grow and produce high quality produce. Strawberries, asparagus, and corn come to mind. The rule of thumb for corn is that you must have at least 10 rows to get good pollination. Strawberries need room to send out their runners, and asparagus sends out rhizomes and spreads underground.
Pollination: Certain plants need to be near others in order to pollinate well and ‘set fruit’
Accessibility: What plants do you want to be able to regularly harvest? Herbs, salad, tomatoes etc. These should all be placed near to your kitchen or easily accessible in your garden, as you will be going there every day to harvest. Not only will you then be more likely to use them, but it will help you to keep on top of the weeds and remove slugs regularly.
Succession Planting: If you are short of space or want a crop throughout the season, consider using succession planting and intercropping to produce fresh produce all summer long.
Special consideration: Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, asparagus, and all fruit trees all require some special consideration. All these plants will not produce fruit and/or you should not harvest during the first year. All these plants take time to establish an adequate root system and support structure in order to be productive for several years. Additional research and planning will need to be undertaken if you want to successfully grow these plants.
Now that we have the plants all sorted out, now we can look at the garden area itself. Consideration to the following three areas are a must if you want to have a successful experience.
Plant in a sunny location. Most vegetables need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day. There are a few veggies (mostly the leafy ones) that will tolerate some shade.
Plant in moist, well-drained soil. If you have poorly drained soil where water pools, plant veggies in a raised bed or raised row for improved drainage. Wet soil means wet roots, which can turn into rotted roots. If you have rocky soil, till and remove the rocks, as they will interfere with root growth and make for weaker plants.
Plant in a stable environment. Avoid places that receive strong winds that could knock over your young plants or keep pollinators from doing their job. Nor do you want to plant in a location that receives too much foot traffic or floods easily. Consider fencing if you have deer, rabbits, or groundhogs in the area.
In the next article we will discuss cold crops, seed starting, growing degree days, what does “bush” mean, and crop succession through the year. Future articles will discuss what is “organic”, use of pesticides, good bugs and bad bugs of the garden, and specific varieties including heirloom varieties. Just remember the days are getting longer and spring is on its way!
