Plan Your Backyard Garden

Winter time is great to plan a backyard garden. We tend to stay in more, particularly in the northern climates. Sometimes, when the deep snow hits, we don’t even have a choice.

Perhaps you have had the foresight to start a compost pile. In autumn, we have raked the leaves, added small twigs, etc. into a large pile and covered it with black plastic to capture the sun’s heat or put the leaves in plastic bags. By spring, viola, you have compost. This is a natural way to add compost to your soil, thus enriching it and making the soil more pliable and easier for the plants to root or the seeds to germinate.

The winter season also gives you time to plan what vegetables you want to plant. Time to check out the different needs of the crops; their spacing, depth and width each require compatibility of one crop to another. Also, the space required for each vegetable in the garden.

After much contemplation and visualization, your vegetable garden will appear clear in your mind and make the actual work much easier.

How much land do you have to use for this project? That will have a lot to do with your choices. Also your climate will tell you much. Do you have a short or long growing season? The farther north you are the shorter time frame you will have for growing crops. And just the opposite for a southern climate. On the seed packets you will find planting instructions and the length of time for the seeds to develop full grown and producing plants. A great help in making choices.

If you are lucky enough to have a large area to plant your garden and the time to devote to it, you might want to plant a few things that your neighbors like. When we were living on more than enough acreage, we planted things that we were not going to use just because we had the room. I never dreamed of the results.

After telling her she could pick all of the turnip greens she wanted, one neighbor brought us baby chicks. Each time that she picked the greens and tomatoes and beans also, we found our chicken population had increased. Another neighbor gave us blocks of cheese in return for freshly grown vegetables.

Additionally, I canned many of the over load of vegetables. A first time experience, but well rewarded come winter. Another reward was going out to the garden and picking fresh vegetables for a meal; potatoes, tomatoes, squash, peppers and beans fried together with herbs sprinkled on top was most delicious and nutritious too.

Another reward is the benefits of being outside in the sunshine. I sure didn’t need any vitamin c. It was provided for me from a natural source. Plus the added benefits of the exercise involved in the work.

Don’t forget to plan on how much money you will be putting into this project. The cost of seeds is one, plus the cost of purchasing some started plants. For instance, tomatoes. It is of course easier to begin with starter plants and this will help ensure a good crop. Also, the wire frames to enclose tomatoes to give them a structure to hold the plants. Tomatoes can produce quite large plants and you don’t want them falling over and having your tomatoes lying on the ground where they can easily rot.

If you decide to plant beans you will have no problem with using seeds and they germinate quite easily. Although, you will have to provide some type of structure for them to climb.

Remember to have a hose close enough to water your plants. Mother nature, being who she is, does not always provide rain when plants need them. It’s best to water your vegetables in the early morning to give them adequate moisture through the day, particularly when they are young. Once the plants are firmly established you can put mulch around the base of each plant to keep the moisture in.

Other expenses include gardening tools, gloves, etc. Plus, you may want to rent a tiller to break up the soil. A tiller is much easier than digging it by hand.

Small green onions are an easy crop to plant and grow. Once established, you can pick them at any time of their growth. The same with chives and they can be used in many ways in your cooking; stews, soups, potatoes and sauces. They add a delicate fresh flavor to all types of food. Good luck with your garden.

Make some time and plan your backyard garden. Knowing what to plant, when to begin planting and how to plant the vegetables and herbs will make the gardening work more fun.

Article contributed by Shya