15 April 2009
Starting Your Own Garden, Part III
Posted by admin under: Gardening; Healthy Eating; Locally Grown; Organic .
Author’s Note: In Part II of this series, we discussed some places to buy seed, and what size of garden to plant. In this post, we’ll discuss some supplies that you’ll need and some ways to control pests in your garden.
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Supplies
The size and make-up of your garden will dictate what kind of tools and supplies you need. If you’re doing a single small raised-bed, your needs will be much smaller than if you’re garden was 2,000 square-feet (like mine).
For a raised-bed, you need the material for the bed. Cedar is a good wood to use (make sure it’s untreated) as it is rot-resistant and looks nice. A lot of gardener supply places sell plastic kits. Directions for constructing a raised-bed can be found here. You also need soil to fill it. You can buy that stuff at any nursery or garden-supply center. Basic hand-tools like a small trowel, rake, etc. will also be needed. I mean small, too. You don’t need a full-size tool (unless you already have it), and large tools in a small bed can be trouble.
For a larger garden, or one that doesn’t use raised-beds, you will need at minimum a rake, spade, and gardener’s fork. A good pair of light-weight cotton gloves are a good idea. You will also probably need to rent or borrow a rototiller to break ground initially, unless there is an existing garden plot. It is possible to break ground by hand using a spade and gardener’s fork but it takes a LOT of time. If you are using your existing soil, it is not a bad idea to get a soil analysis done. You can buy kits at any nursery or gardener’s supply website. The analysis will tell you what kind of soil you have (i.e. loam, sandy, clay, etc) and also what its Ph. is and what nutrients it may lack. This knowledge enables you to target your soil supplementation rather than applying a random all-in-one solution.
Pest Control
Pest control depends a LOT on what type of garden you are growing. If you are growing a conventional garden, dump some Sevin dust on it and be done. Of course, I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT advocate this type of gardening. Chances are, if it kills bugs, it will kill other stuff too!! I don’t like chemical herbicides for the same reason.
For a small garden, hand-picking (physically removing insects by hand and dropping them into a container of soapy water) may be sufficient. There are also organic pesticides like Neem Oil that only affect certain insects, and most of those are pests. You can also introduce beneficial insects that prey on pests. Examples include ladybugs and preying mantises.
I had major troubles with Japanese Beetles and Squash Bugs last season. The Japanese Beetles destroyed my corn crop and the Squash Bugs my summer and winter squashes. This year I am fighting back with Milky Spore, which is a fungus that attacks only Japanese Beetle grubs, and an organic pesticide that contains Neem Oil.
For More Information
About.com Guide To Organic Gardening: great newsletter about Organic Gardening with tips and information.
About.com Guide To Gardening: another great newsletter that focuses on conventional gardening, but still has a lot of great information.
About.com Guide to Local Foods: a newsletter that highlights local food in each state, and gives tips on farmer’s markets and such
Organic Consumers Association: great website about the organic movement in general, with TONS of info and action alerts related to organics
Local Harvest: neat site that has articles about finding locally-grown food, and has a really neat search function that allows you to find events, markets, and farms near you.
Mother Earth News: magazine and website dedicated to all aspects of self-sufficiency, including horticulture
811 - Call Before You Dig: This is very important! Call to have your utility lines marked before you begin digging. Hitting a gas line or a power cable could kill you!
And my personal favorite, Four Season Farm: website of Eliot Coleman, one of the foremost organic farmers in the nation. Most of what I know about organic horticulture I learned from his book The New Organic Grower. The site includes bios, links, and articles.
I hope that this series has given you some idea of what you need to start a successful garden. Our next series will cover planting and maintaining your garden!
