This year, I will be able to graduate from container-gardening to having my own plot (actually 2!). I am extremely fortunate to have the opportunity of renting 2 garden plots through my local community garden. While planting doesn't start in my area for another few months, I am able to start planning what my garden will look like and when I want to plant everything (seeds indoors vs sowing outdoors, etc.). For some reason I thought each plot was 15x15'....turns out it's double! So with having a total of 60 feet of gardening space, I have to also consider what on Earth I'm going to do with everything. I still consider myself to be a bit of a novice gardener, especially when using seeds. This will be the first in a series of posts documenting how I've done everything and what I've learned, and hopefully someone else can learn something, too.
Plan Earlier than you Think
The first thing you need to do when planning your own garden is finding out when the last frost date is in your area. This will give you an idea of when to start seeds indoors and start hardening the seedlings for cooler weather (this mainly applies to tomatoes/peppers in my case). Some areas don't have a long growing season, so it's important to be efficient. My last frost date is about April 24.
I have 2 hand-drawn (and to scale!) maps of what I'm planting and where for each plot. I also have (approximately) when everything is going to be planted. Peppers and tomatoes will start from seed inside, others will be sown directly in the ground. My community garden program gives everyone a variety of seeds. I have tomato and pepper seeds from my own plants last year, and I will be buying the herb plants and corn seeds later on. As you can see, a lot is happening in April, but some cold-tolerant plants can go in the ground or started inside during March as they take longer to grow.
Where I plant everything is also important. Some plants grow well next to each other, and some don't based on what kind of nutrients they need (a quick Google search can answer those questions). I also organized plants by height: one year I planted tomatoes and onions next to each other, and the onions barely got any sunlight when the tomato plants started getting so tall.
I live in a fairly small apartment, so part of my planning process is finding storage for everything. I plan to can quite a bit, and whatever I don't can or consume while fresh will be frozen. Thankfully, my apartment has a spare room that is about the size of a shoebox, but perfect for storage. I have a 3 cubic ft freezer mainly for meat, but I can make room. Last year's canning endeavors warranted the need for a large cabinet, and I took the initiative of ordering a second one for this year. Herbs will be hung to dry, and I may find crates for onion storage. I will need to get creative!
Growing Only What You Will Eat
I like zucchini, but not enough for an entire row. Same with beans and peas. Lettuce is great for fresh salad, but it won't store long-term. I use a TON of tomatoes, carrots, onions, and peppers so that's what I want to use. My wild-card plant is sweet corn: While I've never grown most of the vegetables I'm planting, many of them are pretty straightforward (except possibly carrots...they're apparently tricky as well). Maybe corn is too, but I wanted to try my hand at it and see if I'm successful.
Start Composting
Composting is definitely possible even if you have a small patio or balcony. I ordered this composter: (Amazon.com : Miracle-Gro Small Composter - Compact Single Chamber Outdoor Garden Compost Bin Heavy Duty – UV Protected Turning Barrel Tumbling Composter (18.5 gallons) : Patio, Lawn & Garden) and when it arrives I'll start adding organic matter to it. It's very cold out here right now so I'm not entirely sure how long it will be until I have usable soil. I decided to keep a tin coffee container (about 32 oz can) on my counter to place vegetable scraps, tea bags, coffee grounds, etc. and place inside the composter once it's full. According to the information sheet given when I rented my plots, the soil on each plot has lots of clay so I will need all the help I can get to give my plants the proper nutrients.
I will keep posting once I get things started a little further. In a couple weeks I can start bell pepper seeds, and a couple weeks after that some tomato seeds. Here's hoping for a successful growing season!
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