Vegetable gardens are "in" again. If you want to know exactly what goes into your vegetables and reduce the "food miles" your carrots travel to the distance between your kitchen and the vegetable patch, the solution is simple, grow your own!
If you've never grown a vegetable garden and your property doesn’t even have a designated spot, location is everything. It will make all the difference between a garden full of thriving plants and one that continually struggles.
The ideal vegetable garden site would be level, with good drainage and full sunlight all day. Air circulation would be good and the soil would be dark, loose and fertile.
Since this type of site only exists on those gardening shows on television (where the hosts never have dirt on their hands or their clothes), let’s explore how you can make a good vegetable garden out of less than ideal conditions.
Now is a good time to evaluate your property for sites where the snow lingers and water drains poorly. Such areas will take longer to warm up in the spring. Ideally a gently sloping hillside with southern exposure will warm up and drain quickly and receive the maximum amount of sunlight through the growing season.
Areas that have soggy soil long after a rain are not good candidates. Clay soils will not produce bountiful crops of vegetables and root crops will struggle to penetrate them. If there are no alternative sites work plenty of organic matter into the soil to improve drainage and increase fertility.
Trees and shrubs do not make good companions for vegetable gardens. Trees in particular, with their extensive root systems, will rob nutrients and moisture from the soil. And at the risk of pointing out the obvious, trees and shrubs planted on the south or west side of a vegetable garden will produce shade in the afternoon.
Here’s an instance where weed growth is a good thing. An area that supports a healthy, lush weed population likely has decent, not deep rich loamy soil, but decent soil. If not even a weed will grow, don’t expect a bumper crop of tomatoes from that soil either.
How far away is the site from the nearest water supply? I’m at an age where I no longer enjoy dragging hoses around and I like an easy-to-use watering system that is efficient. Trying to water a vegetable garden with an overhead sprinkler or by hand is an exercise in frustration. Plan to install a soaker hose or emitter system that can be turned on at the tap or hooked into an automatic timer. They’re easy to install and maintain and not expensive.
Finally, how far is the potential site away from your kitchen? I know it’s much closer than the Imperial Valley in California or Mexico, but the closer your vegetable garden is to the back door the more you will use those fresh tomatoes, carrots, potatoes and peas. If the only plausible spot is at the very far end of your property, enjoy the stroll. Make it a pleasant one by planting plenty of flowers along the way. Put a bench into the garden and perhaps a fountain to provide a resting place. Don’t linger too long though; produce always tastes best when it’s cooked right after harvest.
