It is that time of year again! Time to get into the garden and start things growing. Many more of us are growing as much food in our gardens, even in very limited spaces, as we can. This latest post will give you a good start to planning your fruit and vegetable gardens.
Site
Where should a vegetable or kitchen garden be located? A site that is sunny and open, so that plants have good air circulation and space for good traffic flow and maintenance tasks and tools. The planned plot will preferably have a south to southwest orientation to maximize the amount of daily sunlight available. Generally all the vegetables and small fruits we grow locally prefer full sun. When planning a veggy garden in an area where deer feed, then measures must be taken to minimize or stop the deer from feasting on your salad.
Deer control measures for veggie gardens include:
fenced enclosures with wire barriers to full height (10')
electric perimeter fencing
property perimeter fencing to height
bamboo, lattice veggie garden boundaries
The complete fenced enclosures will also serve to keep other garden pests out of your edible garden (rabbits, raccoons).
Planning and Installation
Once an appropriate site has been selected a garden layout can be designed.
A good edible garden plan addresses the types of plants, the size they grow and the quantity of plants desired. Naturally it is better to err on the side of allowing a little more room for future changes and development, rather than to under-estimate the space needed. At this point one has to decide between traditional in ground beds and raised bed gardens.
Raised Beds
Raised beds require more work in the planning and initial installation stages, but once installed raised beds are labour saving and higher in productivity than traditional single row gardens. The soil of raised beds warms up earlier in the spring allowing for earlier crop planting. Raised beds have no soil compaction because they are not walked on, so no cultivation is required during the growing season. Raised beds allow higher plant density, less water use and less weed growth.
Raised beds should be between 3 ½ ' and 4' wide, with a soil depth of at least 18 inches. The length of the beds is only determined by how much room one has, and what one plans to grow. The space for working between the rows should be a minimum of 18” and a maximum of 30”. Use stakes and string for guidelines to create beds that have 90 degree corners and line up perpendicular to each other. If deer control barriers are to be installed allow 18” between the fencing material and the edge of the raised beds. Install the fencing after the entire garden plot has been prepared.
The raised beds can be free formed or if a more orderly and neat plot is desired then hard landscaping materials should be used to build rectangular sides or frames. Concrete blocks, bricks, stones, cedar or fir lumber can be used, but not pressure treated lumber (toxic chemical leaching will occur). The paths between raised beds can be comprised of bark mulch, wood chips or crushed gravel screenings.
The 18” depth of good loam may be best achieved by digging out approximately 6” of the existing soil before building the beds. If soil is fertile then the area for the beds can be roto-tilled or dug over. If removing soil it can be placed where the finished paths will be positioned and raked out before topping with the appropriate material. Once dug the sides can be built (if that is the method chosen), and firmed in place with stakes as anchors. Now the beds are ready for the loam to be added. Once the beds are full the new soil should be watered in and after it settles the beds can be topped up and then ready for planting.
Traditional Garden Beds
For single row gardens the preparation is a little different. First we mark our the entire garden plot with stakes and string to make a geometically square area. Where the new garden is sited over gardens these are the preparation steps to follow:
hand weed perennial weeds to remove roots that can reproduce new plants
rototill the entire area
bring in soil amendments (organic matter and high quality loam)
if necessary build deer proof perimeter enclosures
rototill organics and loam into existing soil
rake and level soil
plot out planting rows (as long as desired) with stakes and string, label each row
space rows to allow for size of crop and room to walk between vegetation
The garden is now ready for planting.
Soil and PH
Soil for vegetable gardens should be near neutral on the PH scale. The PH scale ranges from 1 (highly acidic) to 14 (highly alkaline or basic) with a reading of 7 being neutral. There are simple PH soil tester kits that can be purchased from garden centers. Veggy garden soils should be tested every 3 years to ensure PH levels are compatible with producing productive, healthy crops.
If soil is too acidic less than 5.5 PH then lime should be added to the soil and mixed in either in the fall or if in the spring 6-8 weeks before planting. Where soil is too alkaline well rotted compost or similar organic matter should be mixed into the top level of the soil before planting.
Perennial Vegetables
Most of our popular and successful vegetable crops prefer a well drained loamy soil. In our Pacific Northwest setting only a few perennial vegetable crops are winter hardy, such as artichoke, asparagus and rhubarb.
One of the most rewarding of these is asparagus, but growing this succulent vegetable requires patience and a large garden plot. Asparagus takes 3 years to produce from seed, however 2yr old rootstocks are available for cultivating. Once established asparagus will produce for 15 yrs. Plant roots 12-18” deep in rich slightly alkaline soil and place plants 18” apart. In September cut back plant plumes to just under soil level and cover with a layer of coarse manure.
Rhubarb is easy to grow in a sunny, well drained spot. Allow at least 3 square feet for it to spread. Rhubarb, like asparagus is a cool season plant and produces edible leaves and stalks in the late spring. Rhubarb can be started from seed or nursery stock. It is essential that no water sits around the root crown or the plant will rot. Planting on a mound or in a raised bed is ideal. During hot summers Rhubarb is dormant.
Annual Vegetables
Tomatoes require an early start indoors, a greenhouse or coldframe. Tomatoes can be transplanted outdoors after the May long weekend, but for higher productivity and longer growing season they can be cultivated through the growing season in greenhouses or similar enclosures.
Tomatoes will require staking, pinching back, heavy water and fertilizing throughout the growing season. Tomatoes should never be overhead watered to reduce the chance of disease and fungus problems.
It is a good practice in BC to start any of your vegetable seed early as with tomato plants. Once the soil has warmed in late May most veggies can be transplanted into the garden plots. Some plants such as carrots, lettuces, beets and onions need less room to grow and have no need for vertical support. Other veggies such as peas and beans need vertical supports and good air circulation to inhibit powdery mildew and other diseases.
Other vegetables like cucumbers, squash, zucchini and pumpkins require much more square footage of garden space per plant. These larger plants need about 4 square feet per plant.
Fresh strawberries out of the garden are hard to resist. Strawberries need full sun and well drained sandy loam with additional organic matter. Bare-root plants can be purchased in the early spring. Plant rows about 30” apart and plants 18” apart. After fruiting strawberry plants will produces new plants on runners which can be transplanted to increase crop size. Once plants attain the desired size runners need to be pruned off to reduce crowding and allowing more available energy for the parent plants. Ever-bearing varieties are a good choice as they produce fruit over the growing season, produce less runners and require less room to spread than traditional varieties. Mulching strawberries with sawdust or straw is an excellent method to reduce weeds, retain moisture, and to discourage midlew, rot and pests.
Cultivated Blueberries are medium to small perennial shrubs that thrive in our area, and several native species are long lived plants in BC. Plant nursery stock in spring in full sun, average, but acidic (PH 4.0-4.5) soil. Well rotted compost or other organic matter can be added at planting time. Plants should be about 4' apart and rows 5-6' apart. As with Strawberries mulching is highly recommended. The first fruit will be produced in the plant's third season. Very little care is needed, just once a year pruning and fertilizing for these long lived plants.
Cane Fruits are a delicious addition to any edible garden and amoung the easiest to grow and maintain. The genus Rubus includes loganberry, raspberry and blackberry. There are cultivated varieties of blackberry now available that are thornless and do not spread and invade the garden. Cane fruits require a support system, but this can be a simple row with posts on either end and three horizontal rows of light gage wire running between the posts. Cane fruits can be purchased bareroot and planted in the fall. Plants 18” apart and set rows 4” apart. Rubus prefer poor sandy well drained soils and full sun. Maintenance includes cutting old canes back to the ground and taking one third of new growth off canes in the fall that will bear fruit the next year.
Companion Planting
It is a common practice among organic gardeners to place specific plants adjacent to other plants in the vegetable garden to deter insects and diseases that may be attracted to the vegetable plants. The following table gives an overview of vegetables that work well with other plants.| Vegetable | Companion Plants | Non-companion Plants |
| Asparagus | Basil, Tomato, Nasturtium, Parsley | Onion, garlic, potato |
| Beans | Carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, marigold | Chives, leek, garlic |
| Broad Beans | Brassicas, carrot, celery, corn, lettuce, potato | Fennel |
| Beets | Brassicas, lettuce, onion, sage | Bean (pole) |
| Broccoli | Celery, chamomile, dill, rosemary | Oregano, Strawberry |
| Brussel Sprouts | Potato, Thyme | Strawberry |
| Cabbage | Beetroot, potato, oregano, sage | Strawberry, tomato |
| Carrot | Bush beans, pole beans, lettuce, onion, pea, radish, tomato | Chives, dill, parsnip |
| Cauliflower | Beans, celery, oregano | Nasturtium, peas, potato, strawberry, tomato |
| Celery | Cabbage, leek, onion, spinach, tomato | Parsnip, potato |
| Corn | Bean, cucumber, melon, pea, pumpkin, potato, radish | Tomato |
| Cucumber | Bean, celery, lettuce, pea, radish | Cauliflower, potato, basil |
| Eggplant | Bean, capsicum, potato, spinach | |
| Leek | Carrot, celery, strawberry | |
| Lettuce | Carrots, radishes, strawberry | Beans, beetroot, parsley |
| Melon | Corn, radish | Potato |
| Onion | Bean sprout, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, strawberry tomato | Bean, pea |
| Pea | Beans, Carrot, corn, cucumber, radish | Onion family |
| Potato | Bean, corn, cabbage, pea, eggplant | Cucumber, pumpkin, squash, sunflower |
| Pumpkin | Corn | Potato |
| Spinach | Celery, cauliflower, eggplant | |
| Tomato | Asparagus, celery, carrot, parsley, marigold | Corn, fennel, potato |
| Zucchini | Nasturtium |
Putting the Garden to Bed
In the fall when your annual veggies are finished harvesting they can be removed and composted. Cut back perennial plants as required. Finally apply garden lime to soil beds and plant fall rye as a green compost crop to be dug back into the garden in early spring.
Post written by Allison Marr
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