As a child, each spring I helped plant seed in the family garden.
Each summer, I spent hours weeding and watering plants. Back in those
days, we used a bucket and ladle, not a garden hose. Through the growing
season, I harvested vegetables and helped with canning them. All these
things, I learned from my mother. What I did not know as a child was
that the location of the garden in the landscape is critical. Were it
not for my father's intervention, my first garden in my mid-20s would
not have been successful. My chosen garden location, he pointed out, was
an area prone to late afternoon shade, which has the potential of
stunting the growth of garden plants. Most any new gardener can grow a
vegetable garden when equipped with advice passed down through the ages
like the advice I received from my parents.
Time commitment
Gardening is a time-consuming process requiring, at times, daily
maintenance including weeding, watering and harvesting vegetables. Plan
to dedicate at least 10 minutes on average each day in the garden to
pull weeds, water plants or admire the bounty of your efforts. Consider
starting a journal of your garden activities. For the new gardener,
recording the outcome of the current vegetable garden can help to create
continued success or avoid failures in future years.
Garden size and location
To control expenses and maintenance time, start with a small garden
about 10 feet square or smaller. Choose an area away from buildings,
shrubs or trees that could cast shadows. Proper drainage is needed, so
ensure the selected garden area is level to, or higher than, the
surrounding area to ensure the vegetable plants are not standing in
water following a rain storm. One last tip about the location of the
garden--it should be near a faucet to connect a garden hose.
Row direction
My father taught me to plant vegetables in parallel rows that run
north to south. Planting in north/south rows allows optimal sunlight to
hit both sides of the plant as confirmed by the Delaware Cooperative
Extension article, Consider a Vegetable Garden This Year.
If your garden is on a hillside, plant rows east to west with the
tallest plants on the north end. Tall plants include corn or pole beans.
Tools
It may sound like a negative concept for someone jumping into
gardening for the first time, but if you purchase the bare minimum
tools, you may feel less guilt or financial loss should you decide
gardening is not for you. I started my first garden with a garden hose,
rake, hoe and shovel, but I could have gotten by with just the shovel
and hose.
Plants or seeds
Back on my parents'
farm, everything was grown from seed. Now, however, I like planting some
vegetables from seed and some from starter plants purchased at the
local garden center. It's a matter of personal preference. Easy
vegetables to grow include seed-planted lettuce, carrots or radishes,
and tomatoes planted from seed or starter plant. Yes, you can grow a
salad! I also grew green beans, sweet corn and peas in my first garden.
Care
Keep in mind that vining vegetable plants, like pole beans, will need a
trellis to climb. To avoid that added expense, look for bush beans,
which do not require a trellis for support. A mechanism is needed to
support tomatoes. I used inexpensive wooden stakes and twine to create
crib-like support around the two tomato plants in my first garden.
Watering may be the most challenging part of gardening. Too little water
or too much water (including excessive rainfall) and the plants suffer.
As pointed out in the University of Kentucky's article, "How Much Water Do Summer Veggies Need?,"
vegetables need 1 to 2 inches of water each week. When in doubt, use my
father's rule of thumb: thoroughly saturate the soil around the plants
seven days from the last rainfall. Increase the water frequency in very
hot, dry weather.
Motivation
What a new gardener
needs more than anything is motivation. I haven't always been motivated
to garden. When living at home, tending the family garden was a chore
that I had to do. I hated getting dirt under my fingernails,
missed spending times with friends, and did not appreciate my parents'
goal of harvesting a sufficient amount of vegetables to carry us through
winter without having to buy vegetables at the grocery. I had no
motivation to garden. Now, as an adult, those three things are what make
me want to garden. They are my motivation. There's something about
getting my hands dirty; it makes me feel a kinship with the soil.
Sharing produce from the garden with friends is quite fulfilling. Most
satisfying of all is placing a meal on the table that includes food you
grew.
