GardenersCardiff answers:

To start with, it will take some time and experience before you are growing all of your food, but it is a noble goal. I have about a half acre garden and 18 chickens and still have to buy a little food. Anywyas…

First thing to do to start a garden is to break the ground. A gas powered tiller is the typical choice, or a tractor and a plow and disc or tiller for the tractor. You CAN do it by hand with tools you can get at lowes or elsewhere, but that can be nearly impossible. Even though it does pollute, I would recommend getting a tiller – not a gas cultivator, but a real tiller.

Once you’ve broke the ground adequately you may want to test the soil for nutrients. You can get a soil testing kit at some hardware stores, or most coops or farm supply stores. This will tell you how much fertilizer you need to add to your soil. You can skip this step, but then it’s guess work as to how much you need to add and what balance of nutrients are needed. That said, a lot of people never test and have great results.

Next, fertilizer and soil amendments. I am a fan of composted manure. A good, reasonably powerful organic fertilizer is composted chicken manure/litter. You can buy this at Lowes, coops, farm supply stores, etc. Apply according to instructions on bag, if your soil is already somewhat fertile then you don’t need to add a whole lot, and till into ground well. Composted cow manure is another good choice – it is much less potent than chicken manure and lacks the smell, though composted chicken manure does not usually carry a terribly odor.

Now, your soil is tilled, fertilized, and ready to be prepared for planting. Read the seed packet to determine when and how that type of seed should be planted. In general, you will want to make rows that span the full distance of your garden, leaving enough room to easily get in between rows to harvest vegetable, remove weeds, and other general maintenance. You can make the rows by pulling a hoe in the ground while walking from one end of the garden to the other, going as straight as possible. Plant your seeds X inches apart, where X is the inches indicated by the seed packet for row-type crops. Cover the seeds with dirt and LIGHTLY firm the ground over and near them. Water well to encourage germination. Alternatively, you can soak your seeds in water overnight before planting, then a little less water can be used after planting.

Wait for plants to begin appearing. Depending on your vegetable choices, this could be from about 5 days to a couple of weeks. Do not let weeds overtake the crops in their infancy. Water every day or two depending on how hot, dry, etc the weather is. As the plants grow, continue to remove weeds and to water as needed. Weeding with a hoe or cultivator is helpful to not just remove weeds, but to let more air down into the soil near the roots.

Some plants may need staking, such as bean vines and some types of tomatoes, etc.

Finally, mulching. When your plants are nearing maturity, you can add an inch or so of mulch all over the garden, except on top of your plants. This will help maintain the proper moisture level as well as keep weeds under control with less work. As the mulch decays it will also have a mild fertilizing effect.

Of course, pick your vegetables when they are ripe, or to your personal liking.

Vegetables that I would recommend considering are: squash, sweet corn, purple hull peas, lima beans, garden beans, tomatoes, okra, peppers.

I threw this “Everything to know about gardening” together very quickly, and it is very far from everything that you could know. Hopefully it is enough to get you started with a small garden though, and as you gain experience your garden can become bigger as you feel more comfortable.

Good luck and happy gardening!

GardenersCardiff answers:

Most vegetables that people grow in home gardens are annuals. Most need to be replanted every year. Tomatos, beans, peas, peppers, squash, pumpkins, lettuce, cucumbers, etc. Are all annuals. A few will reseed themselves if you let the fruit go to seed at the end of the season, but most are not dependable enough that you could count on it. (You might get a few random tomatoes coming up, but probably not in the spot you want!!).

Asparagus and artichokes are two perennials (plants that will come back next year) that I can think of.

Good Luck!!

GardenersCardiff answers:

Good Evening ShyGirl,

I was always to poor to know any other way. I have been gardening for 60 years. I don’t know why people love to spend so much money on gardens. I use nothing but natural ingredients. I use no chemicals or pestcides. I think people forget they eat whatever they put on their plants or in the soil. My garden is 20×20 ft, and I have nine (9) rare fruit trees. You see why I have two 55 gal compost drums.

You sound like you need help on making a good compost bin. Since you are new at compost, it may be easier for you to start with a plastic bin. A 32 gal is just find.

Make sure your bin is away from the house. Compost bins will give off odors. Cut out the bottom and add holes around the sides. You must vent the sides. Place four inch bricks shaped like the letter “I_I” or V” on the ground. Place your bin on the top of the bricks. You can shovel compost out of the open end of the bricks when your compost is ready.

Layer in your soil, your vegetable and grass cuttings, dead plants, egg shells, and coffee grounds. I do not use other materials because they can draw mice, and the smell is bad. Never use meat or cooking oils. I mix my compost with chicken manure. Chicken manure is by far the best. Therefore add chicken manure every (about 2 cups) few inches. Keep the mixture lightly moist. You will never buy soil again. A 1cu. Ft. Of chicken fertilizer will cost about $4. The plastic can will cost about $20.

Do not use wood of any type. Wood will draw termites in the summer in certain areas of the country. It does not take them to long to find wood and dirt. I hope I helped. Good luck to you and your family, from Los Angeles.

GardenersCardiff answers:

I’m guessing that there alot of things that might be easier for you to grow from seed in CA than they are for me in WI but I’m going to give you some sure fire ones because that’s what makes starting your first garden so much fun and it makes you want to learn and do more. I recommend Cosmos, Marigolds, Zinnias, Nasturtiums, Morning Glories (if you want a climber), Sweet Alyssum and annual Candytuft. These are all annuals but most, if not all of them will probably self sow in CA. It’s nice to start a new garden with annuals especially from seed because you haven’t made a huge commitment of money or space before you’ve learned exactly what you want. All of the plants I suggested come in a wide variety of heights and colors and all are vigorous and reliable. Follow the seed packet instructions for planting depth and remember to keep the soil moistened but not wet. I sprinkle my seeds lightly at least every day, twice if it’s very warm or windy. Some of these seeds sprout very quickly and the packet will give you some information on that as well though I find that mine usually sprout sooner than the estimate. Good luck and enjoy! I love a new garden!