Planning a home vegetable garden

What Tools do you need ?

• Garden Gloves

• Garden Hose

• Hoe

• Shovel

• Sprinkler

• Rake

• Stakes & String

• Sprayer

• Soil

• Seeds

• Love of Gardening

Location • Pick a site that receives at least six hours of

sun a day. • Afternoon shade benefits most vegetable

gardens because of the high heat and humidity of Indiana summers.

• Think about the space in mid summer when leaves are on trees.

Location

• A slightly elevated site warms more quickly in the spring and has better drainage

• Avoid low-lying areas

• Avoid the north side of structures.

• Place near water source

Soil

Have soil tested for Ph level

best between 6.0 & 6.8

Purdue Extension

http://www.algreatlakes.com

Compost and Organic Material Are Your Gardens Best Friend

Know Your Site

• Old Dump Site

• Old Home Sites

• Old Factory Sites

• Lead Paint

• Exhaust

• Old Cars

Size

• The average home garden is 600sq ft

• First year gardens should be about 100 square feet

• Plant what you can maintain

• Think about the size of the mature plant

Fall Prep

• First Time Gardens Till in The Fall

• Cover-up Now !

• Black Plastic , Tarps , Leaves , Cardboard

• If you are not tilling you may consider Round-up now .

• Round-up wait 2 or 3 weeks then Cover-up

What do you want to grow ?

• Decide What vegetables you want to grow.

• Divide them into 5 groups

• 4 groups for rotation , and one permanent crop group.

• Read seed packets for best information on

planting.

Sample of plant groups

• Squash / Corn = Cucumbers, Melons, Squash, Pumpkins, Corn

• Tomatoes/ Potato = Peppers , Eggplant , Potato, Tomato

• Greens = Lettuce ,Spinach, Cabbage, Kale

• Legumes = Peas, Green beans

• Permanent = Asparagus, Strawberries, Rhubarb, Herbs

Sample Layout

Bed 1 Bed 2

Bed 3 Bed 4

Permanent Permanent

4 Year Rotation

Be Creative

Pie Shapes

Pizza Garden

Salsa Garden

Long Rows

Sidewalk edging

Laying out garden space

• Divide garden beds , and measure Area

• Lay out design on paper.

• Place taller plants on north side of beds so they do not block sun from shorter plants

Design

• Think about how you are going to water your garden ?

• Drip, overhead , soaker ?

• Rain Barrels

• Put Compost bin close to garden

Seeds

• Start vegetables indoors, you gain 4 to 6 weeks

• Your plant roots are established early

• You have many more varieties to choose

Plants

• Buying plants saves you time

• Cost may or may not be higher ?

• Organic ?

• Disease ?

• Growing practices ?

• Less selection

Maximize Space

• Companion Planting ( see handout )

• Use space wisely around plants

• Tomatoes are a warm weather crop so try planting lettuce next to your tomatoes

• Containers

• Make sure to keep good air flow around plants . Close is ok but too crowded can be bad.

Growing Up

• Be creative

• Cucumbers up a fence.

• Old swing sets for beans, gourds etc..

• Look for things to grow plant up , Save money use what you have

• Traditional Raised Beds

• Straw Bales

• Containers

• Mounds or Temporary Soil Beds

Keep a Garden Diary

• Track your successes & failures

• Try using a blog to track garden

• Mark things well. What is it. When was it planted.

• Walk your garden everyday.

• Catch problems early. Act Fast.

Encourage Pollinators • Plant a Varity of colors that bloom all season

Bees

• Plant flowers in colors that bees can see: Yellow, Blue, Purple, and Orange, and They cannot see Red.

• Bees Like Geraniums, Iris, Foxglove, Cosmos, Zinnia, Sunflowers, Dahlias, Asters, Marigolds, Hyacinths, Crocuses, Daisies, Daffodils, Tulips, or Catnip

Butterflies

• Monarchs Larvae only eat Milkweed

• Toxins in Milkweed keep birds from eating Monarch’s

• Easy Access

• Too Many flowers to list

• Purple Cone Flower, Butterfly Bush, Black-Eye Susan, Catnip, Marigold

Let’s Finish by Having Fun

• Be flexible

• Try new things

• Take a chance

• Be Creative

• Grow Something new

Thanks to These Folks For Making This Possible

Some Sites of interest

www.theunitygardens.org

www.ag.purdue.edu

www.octopotsgardens.com

www.botanicalinterests.com