Easy Garden Anyone Can Make
(Page 4 of 6)
April/May 2008
By Lee Reich
Through the Year
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Andrew’s gardening season begins each March, when he replenishes the wood chips in the paths and the compost in the planting beds. Because the garden is planted so intensively, I also suggested that he sprinkle a little fertilizer on with the compost, which works best when laid down about an inch deep.
Planting is easy and timely. The first outdoor planting date for his area is April 1, for pea planting, something the whole family does together. Another beautiful aspect of this system is that all they have to do to plant is open up a furrow in the soft compost and drop in the seeds. The conventional approach, by contrast, would involve turning over the ground, then raking before even one seed was dropped in the ground.
Andrew’s garden also gets special treatment at the other end of the growing season, as the harvest winds down. I advised Andrew, as each crop is finished, to remove only the tops of the plants and any large roots. Leaving finer roots to rot away air and water. It also readies the soil for the next crop, either right away — with late cucumbers following early peas, for example — or the following spring.
Weeds do occasionally appear, but they can actually help improve your soil, if you just remove the tops and large roots. Overall, weeding chores in this kind of garden are inconsequential.
“I don’t even think about weeding,” Andrew says. “If I’m out in the garden, I’ll pull the occasional weed, but weeding is the last thing I’m thinking about.”
Minimal weeding is the result of not tilling, maintaining a thin mulch of compost in the beds and chips in the paths, and using drip irrigation to only water the crops, not the paths. The circular driveway and surrounding expanse of mowed lawns do their share in weed prevention by limiting the amount of wind-blown weed seeds.
The only other job is deciding what to plant, and where. Because they grow their own vegetables, Andrew and his family can grow things they especially like, such as fennel for their daughter Allegra, and parsley for their daughter Dustine. Although it’s of limited value in such a small garden, Andrew rotates his crops, that is, plants them in different areas from year to year. This practice lessens problems from pests that overwinter from one year to the next. A thorough fall cleanup, and the wood chip and compost mulches, also do their share to prevent pests.
Beyond that, there’s little to do except harvest and enjoy the garden. From midsummer on, this 16-by-16-foot space supplies all the salad fixings and vegetables for the family of four, plus a little extra to freeze. Follow this strategy and, with a minimal amount of investment and labor, you too can enjoy tasty, ultra-fresh vegetables.
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