Spring Garden Prep

Spring is here! Which means it’s time to prep the garden. If you have never gardened before I urge you to give it a try. Your garden can be as big or small as you are comfortable with so don’t let the thought of a garden intimidate you. If you don’t have a lot of space or are nervous about maintaining a large garden try a container garden or small raised bed. Gardening is a great way to slow down, spend time together working as a family, enjoy the outdoors and have your hard work rewarded with fresh veggies.

Garden Prep

First, you need to decide the type of garden you want to create.

Container Garden:

• You will need to choose the containers you will be planting in. For herb and lettuces, you can use smaller containers. Plants like tomatoes require larger deeper pots. Your posts should have drainage holes in the bottom. If they don’t, you can drill the holes in the bottom yourself.
• Find a spot that gets at least partial sun.
• Fill your containers with quality soil
• Plant. Planting seeds can be tricky. Start off with small plants and you will have better success. Take a friend and share packs of plants that often come in packs of 6. Make sure you know your planting zone to make the best decisions on plants and time of year to plant.

Check out our Pinterest board for ideas on container gardens!

Traditional Garden

If you are going with a traditional garden, you will need to choose a spot that gets sun and drains well. Your garden will not do well if it is overly shaded or wet. Next you will need to work the ground to loosen the dirt. A rototiller is a great tool for this. It will save your back from hurting for the next day or so. If you do not have a rototiller or know someone who does you can turn the ground over with a shovel. And then break it up with a hoe and even it out with a rake. You will need to work the ground a couple of times to make sure the soil is nice and loose.

You also may want to buy some basic fertilizer to spread on your dirt and then work it in the last time you work your ground before planting. Make sure you follow the instructions on the fertilizer bag so you do not end up hurting your plants.
If you are making a garden for the first time you may want to consider raised beds. You could start with a few and or plan out your entire garden this way. Raised beds are a bigger investment but they can also be easier to maintain.

Raised Bed Garden:

A raised bed garden can be as small or large as you’d like and is great if you have poor soil.

• Choose a nice sunny location for your garden.
• Build your beds on top of the existing ground. You can use wood or stone for the walls. You can make the beds any shape you’d like but make sure you are able to reach the middle of the bed.
• Before you fill your bed with soil, line the bottom with landscaping fabric or weed block. This allows water to drain from the bed but helps prevent weed from growing in your garden.
• Fill your raised beds with quality soil (not dirt from your yard!).

Planting

Now that you have your garden prepped for plants, it’s time to plant! Check out this zone map to see when the best time for planting is for your area.

For most plants you want to plant after the last threat of frost. This site will provide a planting schedule for your area. It is also a good site to learn about what plants are good together and which don’t get along (companion planting). Plants like tomatoes and peppers should have been started inside as seeds before planting season or you can purchase plants at your local garden store to put in the ground. Other seeds like squash, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, beans, etc. can be planted as seeds outside. Be sure to mind the planting distance between plants. You want there to be enough space for air to circulate to prevent fungus and blight killing your plants.

You will want to check your garden everyday. While plants are young and seed haven’t sprouted you will want to keep the soil damp so the seeds germinate. After the plants are established in the ground it is up to you how much you choose to water them. Some people let nature do all the watering believing that this often encourages deeper roots and stronger plants. Other people water their garden every other day or everyday if the weather is particularly hot and dry. You will also want to keep on top of the weeds. If you chose a traditional garden you will probably be fighting more weeds. If you stay on top of them as they poke up it won’t be a big deal. If you skip a few days you may find yourself spending a few hours attacking weeds. Raised beds and container gardens are less prone to weeds. Keep a close eye on container gardens because they do not have as much soil available to the plants you will want to make sure you regulate the soil moisture. You will also want to water the plants with fertilized water every now and then so the plants get the nutrients they need to produce fruit/veggies.

Check out our Pinterest page for garden tips and inspiration!

Gardens can seem like a lot of work, and they are, but they are also very rewarding. Enjoy your time outside and watching your plants grow. It’s exciting to see flowers and then tiny fruits and veggies develop. And it’s incredibly satisfying to pick and eat your fresh produce from your own garden.

Ideas to make gardening a way to connect with others:

• Work the ground together. If you have a friend who is starting a garden, plan to work their ground one day and yours the next (or the next week). This is great if you would otherwise have no help or just want to have a little more fun doing the hard stuff.
• Share seeds! Packet of seed often come with 30 seeds which is usually more than we would plant in our gardens. Seed often don’t keep until the next year so if you are starting seeds inside, plant them all! Then offer extra little seedlings that pop up to a friend. Or go shopping with a friend for seed and plants and split a flat of plants.
• If you find yourself overwhelmed with veggies and you don’t intend to can your goods then be an awesome friend and share the wealth! If you do intend to can and you have a friend who would like to learn how, have a canning party. Canning can be a long and tedious task so having a friend to help and learn make the task much more enjoyable.

I wish you all the luck friends with your gardens this year and I hope that the information above has educated or at least inspired you to start a garden. I would love to see photos of your garden this year! Join me on Facebook and Instagram to share!