When it comes to garden planning, it
seems there's some people who really like it and others who'd rather just enjoy
their flowers and veggies without thinking that hard.
I understand. I feel the same way
about interior painting. I want the walls to be a fresh new color, but I can't
say I'm crazy about sanding, priming and taping around all the wood window trim
either. The thing is, proper planning -- especially on a snowy winter day when
May seems so far off -- is so important for gardeners.
Plus, it's fun. I know I go through
plenty of crumpled-paper sketches and designs, trying to decide what veggies
are going to go where, and when I plan to plant them. But first I always start
with last year's garden and what it looked like, for at least two reasons.
The first is so that I know where
things won't be going. Because of crop rotation, I want to see where everything
was last year so I can change the plots and give this year's plants the best
possible start, hoping to minimize insect pest impacts and nutrient
depletion.
The other reason is so that I can
ask myself questions about what worked and what didn't, or what I might want to
do instead. For example, this year I hope to add grapes to the small fruit
growing at the Madison Street garden. We've had strawberries and raspberries,
and I hope to have even more this year, but I've never tried grapes yet. So
obviously I have to think about where they'll go and what trade-offs or add-ons
need to be made.
Whenever you're planning, it's
important to remember the obvious: sunlight, soil quality, water and drainage.
Planting tall corn plants where they'll block the sun from reaching your green
peppers isn't a good idea, but why won't be painfully clear until later in the
year if you do. So now's the time to think about what plants you want to grow
and why you want to grow them. Oh right -- why do you want to grow them?
It's a question that deserves to be
answered so that you have clear expectations about the care involved, what the
yield should be like, and what it's for. That same tall corn is fun to grow,
and people like to see it when they drive by but the reality is, corn takes up
a lot of space and soil nutrients for less payback than some other plants. So
it may not be the best use of your garden space, when more peppers are what
people want.
Good planning also takes time frames
into consideration. As you think about when to start some seeds indoors and
when that last frost will be, it's a good idea to think about the first frost,
too, and how you'll use your garden space across the season until then. If
you're planting a cool-weather crop in spring, think about how that same space
might be used during the warm-weather months of tomatoes and cucumbers.
But above all else? Pay attention to
plant spacing as you plan your garden. Not just in terms of companion plantings
and what things grow together well, but the actual physical space needed for
plants to thrive. I have a hard time with this because I suffer from "just
one more" syndrome. Just one more tomato plant will fit ... It won't
really hurt to tuck a few okra plants in the same space ... There's nowhere
else to put the eggplant ...
No, I don't like to thin or prune
things either. OK, I always feel bad, as if every plant should have its chance
and I can't decide among them ...
... and this is how I end up with
waaaay too many plants competing in the space.
But the proper space matters for
several reasons -- some you can see, and some you can't. Below the ground, you
want to be sure the roots aren't crowded together, or competing with nearby
plants for all the available soil and nutrients. And above the ground, among
other things? Plants that are too crowded together often restrict airflow and
movement, making them more susceptible to dampness, disease and insect attack.
So happy planning, and remember
those plants will grow too. As you sketch out your designs, by hand or on
computer, keep in mind the mature sizes of things so that the garden you
envision in February?
Is the one you really have in May
and July.
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