Planning Vegetable Gardens Chrissa Carlson A vegetable garden

Planning Vegetable Gardens Chrissa Carlson

A vegetable garden is the highest maintenance type of garden there is! • Almost all annuals • Focus on productivity • We want to eat early and often

What we need here is a plan… A garden plan includes: • Knowing your goals! • Locating and designing garden beds • Deciding what you want to grow • Creating a timeline • Laying out plantings in beds

Outline • Planning to meet your goals • Goals of community/schoolyard gardens versus home production • Relationship building • Timing • Planting calendar • Succession and Relay planting • Spatial layout • Plant layout (structural needs, height considerations, spacing (rows versus wide beds) • Companions/interplanting • Space x Time • Rotation • A word about organic gardening • FSNE gardens

Planning to meet your goals • Yield/Production • Biointensive: timing, space efficiency • Education • Crop choice, timing • Positive experience • Attractive space, starting small, keeping it manageable

Planning to meet your goals When working with a school or community to plan a vegetable garden… Relationships are everything! Learning from mistakes Providing expertise

Now for the plan…

• Planting calendar! (see handout)

. Timing • Planting calendar! • Direct seed versus transplants • Transplants: • Plants with a long time to maturity (cabbage, broccoli, tomatoes, peppers) • Optional for earlier harvest (melons, squash, lettuce) • Direct seed: • Root crops • Tall skinny crops: beans, peas, corn, okra • Plants with a short season (lettuce, spinach, arugula)

1. Timing • Planting calendar! • Direct seed versus transplants • Identify short season versus long season • Quick!: radishes, lettuce, peas • Shortish: other leafy green things, carrots, turnips, cucumbers, beans • Long: tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, sweet potatoes

1. Timing • Planting calendar! • Direct seed versus transplants • Identify short season versus long season • Consider planting in 2 weeks successions for continuous harvest

2. Spatial Layout: Plant characteristics • Learn about your chosen crops • Growth form: trellis tomatoes, pole beans, peas…cucumbers? Small melons? • Height: tall stuff in the north of the garden • Family: group ‘em! (more on this later)

2. Spatial Layout: Designate areas for different crops • Place long season summer crops first • Place shortish/ cool season crops next –plant twice! • Place shortish/summer season crops next • Where can I tuck in quick crops?

2. Spatial Layout I. Radishes I. Peas II. Toms and Peppers II. Beans I. Kale and Lettuce I. Beets and Spinach II. Kale and Lettuce II. Carrots and Chard I. Turnips I. Lettuce II. Pumpkins II. Sweet Potatoes • Place long season summer crops first (tall stuff in the north of the garden) • Place shortish/ cool season crops next –plant twice! • Place shortish/summer season crops next • Where can I tuck in quick/cool season crops?

2. Spatial Layout: Placement of individual • Row planting: Refer to seed packets for seed depth, spacing plants between rows, and between plan • Raised beds (also referred to as wide beds) • Ditch the space between rows!—no need for footpaths

2. Spatial Layout: Typical row garden 6” 12” 24 plants

2. Spatial Layout: Equidistant planting in wide bed 6” 6” 56 plants! 133% more food— plus soil shading 56 Plants in a 4 ft. by 8 ft. bed 133% more food

2. Spatial Layout: Placement of individual plants • Raised beds • Transplants: plant equidistantly • Direct seed: scatter seeds or make closely spaced furrows

Space x Time=Rotation • Crops in the same family: • Need the same growing conditions • Are planted at the same time • Need the same soil nutrients • Are bothered by the same pests • Growing families repeated in the same space: • Depletes soil of specific nutrients • Allows pests and diseases to become persistent

4. Space x Time=Rotation • Rotation avoids soil nutrient depletion and helps keep overwintered pest populations in check • Group plants by families! • Three rules: • Light feeders follow heavy feeders • Deep-rooted follow shallow rooted • 3 years between planting the same family in the same bed

4. Space x Time=Rotation • If space is limited • Two separate rotations (one for tall, one for short) to keep from moving tall plants to the south side of the garden • Rotate in time rather than space Tomatoes Squash Corn Pole beans Shorter nightshades Brassicas Beets Carrots

Organic gardening… • Twin cornerstones: • build soil health (feeding the soil food web and recycling nutrients) • increase biological diversity above and below groundplants, insects, microbial life • Organic doesn’t mean simply substituting purchased organic pesticides and fertilizers for synthetic products

Sustainable gardening… • Sustains itself through reliance on inherent resources; mimics natural eco-system. • Needs a minimum of purchased “inputs” and relies on locally-available materials. • Does not pollute; strengthens the community ecosystem. • Requires knowledge, planning, and timing.

Sustainable soil building Large amounts of organic matter may be needed for several years. Thereafter, 1 inch of compost will help maintain high yields. Sources of organic matter: • Composted farmyard manure • Compost • Shredded leaves and grass clippings • Organic mulches • Plant roots • Cover crops Diverse sources=diverse nutrients Consider how to generate fertility from local sources…

Resources extension. umd. edu/hgic extension. umd. edu/learn/ask-gardening marylandgrows. umd. edu extension. umd. edu/mg • • • extension. umd. edu/growit Take a food gardening class Find local community gardens Learn about youth/school gardens

This program was brought to you by University of Maryland Extension Master Gardener Program Howard County