So you’ve decided you want a garden. Ok, first things first. Where are you going to put it? Sometimes the ideal spot just jumps out at you and screams “Plant Here“! Usually though, to be successful, we need to consider a few things.
Obvious Item Number One is the Sun. Gardens need sunlight right? Plant your garden in a dark north corner and unless you’re into growing ferns, moss, a few wild flowers and possibly begonias, you’re sure to be disappointed.
Go for southern exposure. That way you get nice warm sunlight all day long. Try to place the rows of vegetables and or flowers running north and south. The advantage to this placement is that the plants get the eastern sun all morning, and the western sun all afternoon. Who wants lopsided plants anyway?
Maybe the garden faces southeast. In this case the garden will miss out on some of the western sun. To get the best distribution of sunlight in this case, try to run the rows northwest and southeast. Our goal is to get the most sunlight as evenly distributed as possible for the longest period of time. Considering the lopsided growth of window plants it is easy enough to see how poorly distributed light effects plants. So if you use a little diagram remembering that you wish the sun to shine part of the day on one side of the plants and part on the other, you can juggle out any situation. The southern exposure gives the ideal case because the sun gives half time nearly to each side. A northern exposure may mean an almost entire cut-off from sunlight; while northeastern and southwestern places always get uneven distribution of sun’s rays, no matter how carefully this is planned.
Step Number Two - You gotta have a plan. The garden, if possible, should be planned out on paper or on one of those nifty garden planning programs. The plan is a great help when the real planting time comes. It saves time and unnecessary buying of seed.
New garden spots are likely to be found in two conditions: they are covered either with grass and weeds or junk. If you’re planting a mega-garden, just plough the ground and turn the sod under; but for a small garden simply remove the sod.
Step Number Three-A is a bit of work, but you only have to do it once, and it’s well
worth the effort. Stake and line off the garden spot. The line gives an accurate and straight course to follow. Cut the edges with the spade all along the line. If the area is a small one, say twelve by four feet, this is easy to do. A narrow strip like this, can be marked off like a checkerboard, the sod cut through with the spade, and easily removed. This could also be done in two long strips cut lengthwise of the strip. When the turf is cut through, roll it right up like a roll of carpet. If you are ambitious, and are going for a large garden plot, just divide the plot up into strips a foot wide and take off the sod as before.
Ok. now you have a pile of sod/weeds/dirt. Step Number Three-B turns that unsightly pile into valuble compost. Find a convenient location (no need to worry about the sun), stack the sod grass side down one square on another and leave it to rot and weather. Once the organic material rots, it makes a fine fertilizer. Viola! Instant (almost) compost pile. During the summer add any old green vegetable matter to this. In the fall put the autumn leaves on. Even if you are plowing up a mega-garden (small farm?), pick out the largest pieces of sod rather than have them turned under. Go over the ploughed space, pick out the pieces of sod, shake them well and stack them up in a compost heap.
Got that compost heap going? Great! We’re not quite ready to plant those beanstalks yet though (oh you have Magic Beans? skip Step Number Four). For the rest of us, mere spading of the ground is just the beginning.
The soil is still left in lumps. So here comes Step Number Four. The garden soil must be very fine indeed to plant in, so the seeds can easily grow a strong root system. The large lumps left by spading contain large spaces which no tiny root hair can penetrate. A seed is left stranded when planted in chunks of soil. Think Baby Food. A baby surrounded with enormous slabs of Prime Rib would starve. A seed planted among large lumps of soil is in a similar situation. Your spade was the tool of choice for removing the sod, but to really pulverize the soil, you need a rake. Rakes are great lump breakers, but if you still have really large lumps, break them up with a hoe.
The hoe is your friend. Handle it with finesse. Hoes are generally used to rid the soil of weeds and stir up the top surface. A light hoeing in summer creates a thin layer of dust, valuable in retaining moisture in the soil. Spading is vigorous, hard work, but not hoeing and raking. After lumps are broken use the rake to make the bed fine and smooth. The foundation for your garden is complete.
Submitted by Cameron Scott , http://gardening.cameronscott.net