Vegetable Patch? Found your Corner?
Grab your hat, gloves and gardening shoes, put on the sun block, sunglasses and step outside…Look around you. Where would be a good, sunny, partially shady spot ideal for a vegetable patch? Found your corner? Let us get started then.
There are many opinions as to where the best or ‘perfect’ spot for a garden should be. It does not have to be ‘hidden’ away or the most unsightly spot on your property. If it is well planned, laid out, positioned and cared for, it can add quite some ambience to your dwellings. There is nothing more homely than a homegrown garden, showing off your green thumb and outdoor prowess!
For most of our urban-style properties, we will be lucky to find some space and sometimes we cannot be too meticulous and have to make the most of what we have at our disposal in the end. For larger properties, sometimes picking a spot behind the garage, next to a boundary-fence, at the far-end of the property or close to outbuildings will make the most sense. For city-type properties, some even resort to ‘container’ style or conservatory-type gardens to optimize their homegrown vegetables. The choice of location is really up to you. Pick what you will be comfortable with, as it will form part of the landscape and surroundings you spend time in and look at every day.
Pick a spot that is easy to get to and that gets some sunlight throughout the day. Plants need sun and water, as well as good soil to grow and thrive. Try to create an environment most conducive to these requirements. Stack all odds in favor of the plant growth and you are all set for success.
Also, make it easy for you to get to. If you are going to spend a lot of time working, watering, weeding and caring for your vegetable patch and backyard garden, good accessibility and the shortest route possible to get to /in your garden is essential.
Exposure to sun, shade, wind, the elements and all weather nature can throw at you and your vegetable garden, is a crucial success factor and one of the first major criteria for any location you might realistically have in mind.
Making the most of sunlight throughout the day as well as providing shelter against cold winds and frost can all contribute to having your vegetable garden more than merely survive, bear fruit and reward your efforts and troubles.
Slight slopes, facing east or south are considered best for backyard vegetable gardens. If you do choose to give it some shelter, using a back-building wall of fence to shelter, it from the elements will go a long way to protect your young plants and garden-in-the-making. To get it off to an early good start consider protecting it from invasion or too much exposure either way by light coverings or fencing.
You can even invest in a living fence or hedging to protect and beautify it even further. As a newcomer to home-gardening and growing vegetables in your backyard, we oftentimes overlook these simple fundamentals and basics and then do not understand why our veggies are not ‘growing’ as well. All these factors interplay and feed off one another to create the best and most welcoming environment for your plants to grow and thrive in.
Whether you are an amateur or seasoned outdoor gardening enthusiast, paying a little more attention to the small details will go a long way in guaranteeing your successful backyard gardening and fresh vegetables all season long. It takes both planning and execution to make this one work well!
Other considerations include the ground or soil that the plants are expected to root and grow in and from. It almost goes without saying that in most urban areas, you will have to pay some close attention to the soil as they will not be ‘user’ or plant ready off the bat, or naturally fertile ground for plant-life.
With all the products available these days from home gardening center, farm-cooperatives and even local farmers (like manure etc.), it will not take much to create the perfect environment for your vegetable patch and/or backyard produce garden.
These ‘gardens’ or patches are typically smaller in size and scope and does not require that much square footage of feed, soil or products, so it is still cost-effective and worthwhile to do and consider.
Pure, uncultivated, even building sand or fillers (after residential development) are quite common on our modern properties. They will require some detailed preparation and upgrade PRIOR to starting any planting of any kind. This will be your first taste of what it takes to be a backyard vegetable gardener. This is where the real work starts.
Healthy or fertile soil (or more specifically the lack thereof) does not have to be a deterrent or leave you discouraged. There are many options for feeding and upgrading the soil to be very fertile and welcoming to plant-life of all shapes, sizes and challenges. YOU CAN RISE TO THE CHALLENGE! Throw your energy and early dedication into this aspect of your veggie patch and you will be pleasantly surprised by your results down the line. Cultivation and feeding, and all other related forms of soil preparation, should also not be underestimated. It can make or break the success of your garden!
Some avid gardeners have described the perfect growing environments and mixtures of soil as a "rich-looking, textured, sandy loam."
Typically, you will not be merely finding these fertile breeding grounds, you will have to build it from the ground up so to speak. bit, by bit.
You are working on creating the perfect environment for plants to sprout, root, grow and thrive. Plants need nutrition, feeding, care and cultivation, as well as watering and sunshine.
Accessible nutrients in the soil are a key ingredient for your growth recipe for success for any and all backyard vegetable gardening. Availability of these plant-foods and nutrients are part of your set-up and preparation steps that cannot be overlooked or underestimated. It is the one thing you need to absolutely pay attention to for your garden to thrive, bear your lots of produce, and reward later down the line. What you put in, you will get out! You are preparing a feast and food-store for your plants. You are placing within their sprouting and rooting tips all the sustenance they require. term, in one word, "available" plant food. You are adding and feeding the soil with what the plants will need through out their life cycle to give you the best harvest possible.
Cultivation and care is essential, making these foods available airing and digging, ensuring optimal absorption, drainage and more and continued feeding or addition of foods from the outside to ensure optimal growth.
A "sandy" , grain-like texture is essential for good absorption of water, drainage and providing the optimal fertile ‘ground’ for your plants to survive, thrive and bear produce in and over time.
Not too dry, not too wet is a good rule of thumb. Not too much clay, not too much dry dust. Just enough sandy particles to provide a good growing environment. Darker rich soil is typically deemed more fertile and enriched. Take a very close and detailed look at the soil in the location you had selected. Does it look like somewhere where plants will thrive?
Ensure that there is a good clay/dust relationship in your soil and that it is well fed and cultivated, creating the perfect environment for your plants.
Watering and effective drainage, absorption rates are other factors that are often underestimated by the beginner gardener.
Some of this can be effectively addressed already by/with the choice of location itself. Digging around in the soil in your perfect or selected spot for your vegetable garden will hold some valuable clues as to what lies beneath the surface and some of the challenges you might already have regarding these aspects. Plants need water to grow as well. Try to find a sub-surface that is a little ‘harder’ typically, different from the darker, cultivated upper layers or surface soil/ Avoid too much clay-like soils beneath where roots might rot and absorption will be poor. Again, a sloped garden seems to be the best solution.
Shape and size of your garden, with easy access to it from at least two sides can be extremely helpful to you. Another consideration is how close and reachable watering sources are. For the more adventurous amongst us and space no trouble, consider two garden patches, enabling rotation and a wide variety throughout the season.
Taking care of these consideration beforehand and prior to staring any serious planting will save you lots of agony down the line. Paying close attention to the little details will serve you well in the long run. The more you plan and prepare well, the better off you will be down the line.
After picking your perfect location, soil-mixture, texture, drainage and feeding, tilling and toiling, it is now time to start picking what you will be seeding this patch with. Which vegetables are your favorites and where is the best place for them in your patch? For most the question of what exactly to plant, often ends up in front of the see-counter staring at packages and hand-picking a couple of personal preferences that stand out and/or that you really want.
Other considerations are rarely taken into account, before rows are dug and seeds are planted. Most just randomly opt for some over other vegetables and/or fruits, typically choosing tomatoes, potatoes, some kind of lettuce or greens, cucumbers, squash and beans.
Way back, catalogues held the key to offering available and picking from a list, reading through descriptions and products , sowing and planting and then waiting was the process to follow. There are however, ways to get the most from your vegetable gardening experience without entrusting it to mere random chance and luck. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE, by heading some advice from the experts on (i) different types of seeds, for different soils, conditions, exposure and geographical locations, (ii) tools of the trade, (iii) planting and transplanting small seedlings (iv) feeding the soil and caring for your plants.
This does not necessarily have to require more backbreaking hours of work. Not working harder, just smarter is what is required. Planning well is the key. Paying attention to basic, gardening and vegetable care fundamentals will make all the difference.
Some avid gardeners will propose some vegetable gardening aides and guidelines to help and assist you in making your veggie patch an extremely successful endeavor.
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adhering to a deliberate planting plan and schedule
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sticking to a so-called planting table
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using a check list
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tracking and keeping a garden record
All of the above, individually and collectively work together to increase your odds of success as a backyard. They do sound like a lot of work and somewhat complex for a task so simple. Yet, again, we will emphasize that taking some extra planning time beforehand and utilizing these tools to help you plant, care and harvest BETTER, adds some real success guaranteed, as opposed to leaving your veggie gardening results and outcome up to random chance!
Keeping track of what is happening in and around your garden and having, a written record of it will go a long way in setting you up next year, saving you time and money! You will be working with some known facts as opposed to mere unknowns. These tools are highly customizable and you can tailor them to your personal preference, need, requirements, and garden. A personalized solution and approach of sorts. This is the best way of gardening in your own backyard, making sense of what it is you have, what you need, what works, what does not and so on.
Figuring out what and when to plant is a good first step. You are the one setting your garden patch up for success, yielding vegetables and fruits or berries season-round. Make every gardening moment count, by working with, according to and sticking to a plan. It can be as simple or as complex as you might choose for it to be. In the end, it is all about the results, right? Would you then not want to everything within your power to make it deliver?
Plants will not all mature and yield their crop at the same time. You need to stagger and plan, even plant accordingly. Some weeks you might have ample supply and then for a month almost nothing. Try and ascertain for yourself, when you will need how much of what for your family meals and table and plant accordingly. Focus and try for a continuous supply throughout the season with some variety.
There are some great examples of these ‘planning’ and planting tools, schedules and other aids available in print and online.
Try and create on a piece of blank paper the layout, shape and size of your garden. Opt for a more rectangular shaped garden to enable planning and accessibility. Draw the rows and label what will be planted where. Rows placed and planned vertically is better than horizontal.
When you opt for what goes where, try to remember that you will need to plan for the actually cultivating, planting, access, weeding and watering. There are some veggie crops that will be with you for several years (e.g. rhubarb and asparagus). Keeping these closer to the ends are advisable. Seasonal veggies are next in line so to speak (parsnips, onions, carrots). Next will be the ‘batch-growth’ crops (peas, lettuce, and spinach).
Higher or taller crops like beans are typically best planted at the back. Move and plan from tallest in the back, to shortest in the front. This layout and mock-up of your garden will help you put some real thought and planning into your garden, more so than a haphazard planting all-over, that is difficult to get to and no more than some chaotic growth!
Planning should typically rather be done earlier and in due time, than rushing it when it is almost time to plant. The rule of thumb is that the more time you spend planning, the more you actually save yourself in hour’s worth of labor in the garden itself, later on. Again, working smarter, not necessarily harder!
Having a short-list or checklist will help you plan for and think of everything you might need, including supplies and tools. You can easily list all the needs you anticipate or know of for every week, every month, throughout the season and ensure that you are prepared when they do arise. | 
