Thursday, April 16, 2009

The Small-Plot Backyard Garden

This year, partly due to the recession, we have seen an increase in vegetable gardens nationally, and certainly here, in Clinton County, with the growing Community Gardens initiative taking root. There's even a vegetable garden at the White House--the first of its kind since Eleanor Roosevelt's Victory Garden. 

For those that are of the 'Victory Garden' generation, having backyard or community plots is nothing out of the ordinary. For the generations since, however, it comes as a new concept, or a 'trend.' It is my belief, though, that this trend will lead to a more fundamental shift in our culture as more and more people witness the exponential value of growing produce. 

So as you begin to plant your seeds for 2009, or begin to lay out your plot, remember to enjoy the gardening experience--it is rewarding in so many ways.
Growing vegetables is something just about anyone can do. However, it does require proper care and planning as one quickly learns that a little preparation and planning can go a long way. So how can you plan your garden? Below I've listed a few key tasks that I think are useful to someone starting a backyard garden. 


1) Know your limits. Vegetable gardening is something that does not have to be a full-time job to be successful, but can quickly become so if it's beyond the capacity of the gardener. To ensure the success of your vegetable garden, start small or within your limits, document and evaluate how much commitment you're personally able to provide to the garden, so that each year you can optimize capacity. A nice 4'x4' square foot garden can yield a surprising amount of vegetables, and makes a good starter for the beginning gardener. 


2) Know your yard. Identify a good spot in your yard that will provide at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight. Make sure the spot is clear of trees and is on a level piece of ground for drainage. If there are issues with ground and trees, consider a raised bed or container garden


3) Know your produce. Whether you are starting a small garden, or sowing large plots, the layout of your garden should depend on what you want to grow. Plants have different growing seasons, spacing requirements, some have issues with others, and some plants are helpful to others. Especially for organic growth, knowing your plants and their role in the ecosystem of the garden increases your success. So the more you know about the plants you grow, the better. 

The layout of the Home Spring Garden:

















Some Pictures of the Home Garden (with square foot grids):

7'x4'









The streaks of light are from cassette-tape film that I webbed around the stakes to scare birds away.


To help, here are some resources that I find useful:

National Gardening Association- National non-profit with great resources for all gardeners.
Square Foot Gardening- Started by Mel Bartholomew and is growing popularity.  
Tim's Square Foot Garden- Blog by gardener Tim Beckman; well-documented and good resource.
Garden Web- Community of Gardeners

3 comments:

klh

GARDENS/MINI-FARMS NETWORK
USA: TX, MS, FL, CA, AR, WA; Mexico, Rep. Dominicana, Côté d’Ivoire, Nigeria,
Nicaragua, Honduras, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Haiti, England, India, Uzbekistan
minifarms@gmail.com
Workshops in organic, no-till, permanent bed gardening, mini-farming and mini-livestock farming, worldwide, in English & Español

Organic, No-Till Urban Gardening/Mini-Farming

Organic, no-till gardening/mini-farming in permanent beds, using hand tools, take almost no funds, increases yields, reduces labor by 50% or more, reduces input/expenses to nearly 0 [seed only], increases soil fertility, stops soil erosion [no rain water run off], eliminates most weed, disease and insect problems and greatly increases profits. Drip irrigation or bucket drip irrigation [DIY] as needed.

Mini-farms: Fukaoka Farm, Japan, has been no-till [rice, small grains, vegetables] for 70 years [onestrawrevolution.net]. At the time of my visit, an Indian farmer has been no-till [vegetables] for 5 years; a Malawi farmer has been no-till [vegetables] on permanent beds for 25 years; a Honduras farmer has been no-till [vegetables & fruit] on permanent beds on the contour (73° slope] for 10 years; a PA farmer [corn, vegetables] for 30 years. In 2006 a Cal urban mini-farm of 1/10 acre produced 6,000# of vegetables [not organic; not no-till]. OSU/OARDC: gross $90,000 on an acre [Not organic; not no-till].

No technique yet devised by mankind has been anywhere near as effective at halting soil erosion
and making food production truly sustainable as No-till (Baker)


1. Financial: Little funds are needed. No tractor, no equipment, no fertilizers, no chemicals.
2. Inter-urban, urban, peri-urban. [use land free]
3. Restore the soil to its natural health. Contaminations: inorganic pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, fertilizers
4. Maintain healthy soil: Healthy soil produces healthy plants, for high yields and solves most insect, disease problems.
5. Feed the soil; not the crop: Inorganics feed the plants and poisons the soil. Organics feed the soil which feeds the plants.
6. Increase soil organic matter every year
7. Soil always covered.
8. Use green manure/cover crops.
9. Little or no external inputs. Not necessary to buy anything, from anybody [seed?]. Certain things are recommended.
10. Manage for highest profit per acre [not the highest yield per acre].
11. Leave all crop residues on top of the soil
12. No-till - no digging, no tilling, no cultivating: Worms and roots till the soil. Saves fuel, labor, no weeds, no erosion, high yields, highest profits.
13. Permanent beds with permanent paths
14. Hand tools, power-hand tools and pedal-powered.
15. All year production: DIY hoophouses, high tunnels, shade cloth, row covers, stakes, etc.
16. Organic fertilizers [17-19 probably not needed after the soil is healthy]
17. Organic disease control
18. Organic herbicides & pesticides
19. Biological pest control.
20. Organic matter [Free? Delivered free? When economically feasible, transport to the mini-farm. Use as mulch]
21. Compost [Do not make; requires too much time and labor except for special use. Pile surplus OM to use later as mulch.
22. Vermiculture [Worms will be in the beds]
23. Feed the soil through the mulch.
24. Drip irrigation [Purchase or DIY drip lines]
25. Orchards, vineyards, etc
26. Organic certification [Selling locally? Not needed]
27. Imitate nature. Most farmers fight nature. ¡Nature always wins!

Free DVD on request.

Ken Hargesheimer

klh

GARDENS/MINI-FARMS NETWORK
USA: TX, MS, FL, CA, AR, WA; Mexico, Rep. Dominicana, Côté d’Ivoire, Nigeria,
Nicaragua, Honduras, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Haiti, England, India, Uzbekistan
minifarms@gmail.com
Workshops in organic, no-till, permanent bed gardening, mini-farming and mini-livestock farming, worldwide, in English & Español

Organic, No-Till Urban Gardening/Mini-Farming

Organic, no-till gardening/mini-farming in permanent beds, using hand tools, take almost no funds, increases yields, reduces labor by 50% or more, reduces input/expenses to nearly 0 [seed only], increases soil fertility, stops soil erosion [no rain water run off], eliminates most weed, disease and insect problems and greatly increases profits. Drip irrigation or bucket drip irrigation [DIY] as needed.

Mini-farms: Fukaoka Farm, Japan, has been no-till [rice, small grains, vegetables] for 70 years [onestrawrevolution.net]. At the time of my visit, an Indian farmer has been no-till [vegetables] for 5 years; a Malawi farmer has been no-till [vegetables] on permanent beds for 25 years; a Honduras farmer has been no-till [vegetables & fruit] on permanent beds on the contour (73° slope] for 10 years; a PA farmer [corn, vegetables] for 30 years. In 2006 a Cal urban mini-farm of 1/10 acre produced 6,000# of vegetables [not organic; not no-till]. OSU/OARDC: gross $90,000 on an acre [Not organic; not no-till].

No technique yet devised by mankind has been anywhere near as effective at halting soil erosion
and making food production truly sustainable as No-till (Baker)


1. Financial: Little funds are needed. No tractor, no equipment, no fertilizers, no chemicals.
2. Inter-urban, urban, peri-urban. [use land free]
3. Restore the soil to its natural health. Contaminations: inorganic pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, fertilizers
4. Maintain healthy soil: Healthy soil produces healthy plants, for high yields and solves most insect, disease problems.
5. Feed the soil; not the crop: Inorganics feed the plants and poisons the soil. Organics feed the soil which feeds the plants.
6. Increase soil organic matter every year
7. Soil always covered.
8. Use green manure/cover crops.
9. Little or no external inputs. Not necessary to buy anything, from anybody [seed?]. Certain things are recommended.
10. Manage for highest profit per acre [not the highest yield per acre].
11. Leave all crop residues on top of the soil
12. No-till - no digging, no tilling, no cultivating: Worms and roots till the soil. Saves fuel, labor, no weeds, no erosion, high yields, highest profits.
13. Permanent beds with permanent paths
14. Hand tools, power-hand tools and pedal-powered.
15. All year production: DIY hoophouses, high tunnels, shade cloth, row covers, stakes, etc.
16. Organic fertilizers [17-19 probably not needed after the soil is healthy]
17. Organic disease control
18. Organic herbicides & pesticides
19. Biological pest control.
20. Organic matter [Free? Delivered free? When economically feasible, transport to the mini-farm. Use as mulch]
21. Compost [Do not make; requires too much time and labor except for special use. Pile surplus OM to use later as mulch.
22. Vermiculture [Worms will be in the beds]
23. Feed the soil through the mulch.
24. Drip irrigation [Purchase or DIY drip lines]
25. Orchards, vineyards, etc
26. Organic certification [Selling locally? Not needed]
27. Imitate nature. Most farmers fight nature. ¡Nature always wins!

Free DVD on request.

Ken Hargesheimer

Chuck Bartok

Always fun to run across like Minds. We truck farmed while raising our children and then as empty-nesters, we downsized but are continuing to Grow our Food on very small plots.

Just started a blog on the topic,
http://smallplotgardens.com/highyield
It is actually one of a Network of Garden blogs.
Appreciate your stopping by and commenting

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