Planning Your Kitchen Garden for Success
Growing many of your own fruits and vegetables is a delicious way to save money. And it's easier than you may think. Right from the start, plan your kitchen garden for success.
Sunlight
Having adequate light for your veggies is a must. Pick a sunny spot for your garden, even if the only area is in the front yard or on a deck or patio. Exactly how much sun your garden needs depends on the type of plants you want to grow and your climate. In cool and foggy areas, look for a location that gets sun much of the day. In places with hot summers, a combination of morning sun and a sun/shade mix in the afternoon is best. But even if you have no area that gets quite enough sun, you can still grow plants with lower light requirements such as berries, summer lettuce, sweet potatoes and many types of flowers.
Drainage
Unless you're growing water lilies or bog plants, your plants won't want to have permanently wet feet. So check to make sure that water is absorbed into the soil reasonably quickly. If your only sunny area has terrible drainage, there are things you can do to remedy the situation. I've turned some of my garden paths into mulch-filled shallow swales (level trenches) and put the dirt from the paths into my raised beds. Excess water runs off the garden beds into the swaled paths. This provides drainage for the plants, yet keeps water in the soil.
However the simplest way to deal with poor drainage is to raise the garden. You can build raised beds using scrap lumber, bricks, cider blocks or even old tires. You don't even need to build anything at all. Straw bales or "lasagna" layers of compost and soil mix provide almost instant raised beds. Right now I'm building some new garden beds using garden trimmings, covered with piles of old leaves and topped with soil mix and mulch.
Size
Small is beautiful, especially if you are a beginning gardener. You can grow lots of food in a small space. Consider your time, energy and gardening experience when deciding how big to make your garden. A plot that's too large to tend easily is no fun. You can always add more garden beds another year.
Protection
If deer, dogs or small children frequent your yard, your garden will need some protection. Fences are a traditional way to go. You can pick an elegant design or a simple wire trellis covered with tomatoes, beans, cucumbers and roses. Black netting tied to posts around the perimeter of my garden has been effective at stopping deer. Some gardeners recommend a double-fence system to deter deer. Two fences, four to five feet tall, are set four feet apart. Double fences are said to work because deer don't like to jump something that is both high and wide.
Pleasure
Gardening is good for the pocketbook. But it's also a great fun. Design a space where you will enjoy spending time. Why not mix flowers and herbs in with your vegetables? They are beautiful and their blossoms will attract beneficial insects that will help keep your garden healthy. Include the whole family in the project. Children marvel at the sight of a seedling emerging from the ground. If you like watching birds, plant some sunflowers to attract them. Don't forget to add a nice place for you to sit and admire your garden.