If you live in the outskirts and have dreamed of having a garden, don’t wait any longer! Recent innovations in gardening have made it easier for families to grow fresh, organic vegetables in suburban backyards. Once you’ve started growing your own vegetables and experience the convenience of picking dinner out the back door, we suspect you’ll continue to add to your garden year after year!
For suburban gardens, the trick is to forget the old style of row gardening. It just takes up too much space, and when you live in the suburbs, space is at a premium. Instead, use the Square Foot Gardening method. Using this method, three 4-foot by 8-foot garden beds can meet most vegetable needs for two adults and two children.
Don’t have a sunny backyard? Don’t worry! Most vegetables will survive in partial sun. In fact, in some of the hottest parts of the country, full sun can be too much sun.
Starting
The first step is to create your garden beds. “Garden beds” can be as simple as marking out a section of your garden to grow vegetables. The rocks make fantastic borders. If you have poor soil or drainage issues, raised beds are the way to go. You can make your own raw 2×6 lumber, or there are many commercial options available. However, the most important point is that once your beds are marked, don’t walk on them! This compacts the soil and makes it difficult for plants to grow.
When sizing your beds, we recommend a minimum width of three feet. However, four feet seems optimal, because most gardeners can easily reach two feet from either side of the bed. Space your beds three feet apart. A little more could cause crowding, because as the plants grow, they will spill over the sides of the bed.
Each bed will need to be marked out in 1-foot sections called “planting squares.” Use twine attached to stakes, or build a simple wood grid insert using 1-inch strips of wood.
At the same time that you build your beds, we recommend that you implement a composting system. Again, keep it simple to start with and then adjust as time goes on. One of the best ideas I’ve seen for suburban gardens is a long ditch dug along the back fence to collect fallen leaves. Instead of bagging the leaves, they are raked into the ditch, watered down and left to decompose and turn to mold. Stack the sheets deep instead of wide, and then the next year create a new stack next to the previous year’s stack. It will take a year or two for the leaves to decompose. Start harvesting compost from the first pile added as soon as it has a crumbly brown texture and is not recognizable as leaves. Apply the compost to your garden beds periodically; this is what keeps the soil healthy and capable of producing nutrient-dense vegetables.
For yard trimmings and kitchen scraps, we recommend containers made of wood and chicken wire. If you’re handy, you can make your own. However, commercial options are available. Be sure to skip composting yard trimmings treated with pesticides or herbicides.
Pest control is a priority. Rabbits can be a big problem in suburban gardens. Clearly the most effective solution is a fence around the yard to keep rabbits out. If that’s not possible, try chicken wire fencing around each bed. It doesn’t have to be fancy, it just has to keep the rabbits away.
Although not absolutely necessary, we recommend installing drip tape or hose on each irrigation bed. You can purchase supplies at your local hardware store. Consider buying a timer too. They’re not very expensive, and with a timer, you can basically forget about watering. For the best irrigation system, install rain barrels. Your vegetables will appreciate the chlorine-free water and you’ll save money on your water bill and benefit the environment.
Even before your garden is ready, you can start planning what you want to plant. If you’re looking for an interactive planning tool, check out the garden planner at EZGarden.com. Based on your vegetable preferences and serving goals, it generates a garden plan tailored to your climate that provides step-by-step instructions for planting, maintenance, and harvesting.
Good luck everyone and welcome to gardening!
