My first garden (as an adult)

[MI Brandon]

Hi all, I'm new here (obviously) and just wanted to make my presence known here in the "Vegetable Gardening" area of the forum.
I grew up on a farm in Kentucky and moved off the first chance I could get, vowing to never get my hands dirty again (250 acres of tobacco every year can do that to you).
Now here I am in my mid 30s with a family. We just recently bought a house and I can't wait to plant a garden next year. Go figure! Spent all of my younger life hating gardening and now as a grown man I can't wait to get back into it.

You'd think with all that experience I'd know what I was doing, but to be completely honest I feel like I've never had a row to hoe (figuratively, and literally). I guess I was just too young to "know" what I was doing back then and just did what I was told. My entire family (cousins, uncles, aunts, grandparents, etc) lived on the farm and we raised tobacco and processed farm animals for others for money. Likewise, we had our own animals, and probably 5 to 8 acres of vegetables we grew for our own use and to take to market for more money.
That wasn't the lifestyle I wanted, so I got out. And ever since moving to the city I have started to miss it. But I regress.

After surveying my back yard I figured the best spot for the garden was the south-east corner. Just this week I removed the sod and dug the ground up a bit to check the soil. I guess I got lucky. My neighbors told me that the entire back area of my yard had been used as a garden for 50 years and was only sodded over about 5 years ago. I don't think I could have asked for better soil. The spot gets sunlight for a good portion of the day (minimum 6 hours during the short daylight months) and drains really well. So I'm sure I chose the right spot.

I finally finished removing all the sod and have about 150 sq-ft (roughly 12ft x 13ft) to use as my "first" garden. I'm going to cover it in mulched leaves this week and let it sit over the winter while I figure out EXACTLY what I am going to plant there.

There are 3 of us in my family; my wife, my little boy, and I. My son (4yo) is really looking forward to planting in the spring and was a big help in getting it prepped thus far.
My plan (as of now) is to attempt a row or two of corn on the north end. A few tomato and bell pepper plants. Potatos, carrots, broccoli, lettuce, and maybe some melons. These are our "staple" vegetables that we eat the most of.

Anyhow, I don't talk much, but when I do I say alot (as you can probably tell). I just wanted to introduce myself. Attached is a picture of the garden plot I have set up. The hedge row is on the north end and runs east-to-west.
I wanted to start small and see how things go from there. I just hope I have enough room to plant what I am wanting.
Thoughts?

[Marlingardener]

Great spot, and great plans! If you wide row plant your lettuces and carrots you will be able to pick them easily and not waste valuable space on pathways. Also, with that great chain-link fence right there handy, have you considered using it to support pole beans or cucumbers?
Succession planting might work for you--first the "cool weather" crops--broccoli, potatoes, and lettuce, then the warm weather plants, peppers, tomatoes and corn and melons.
Frankly, I don't see enough room for corn and melons along with peppers and tomatoes. Melon vines get really big! Have you thought of putting tomatoes in containers? There are several varieties that do well in containers, especially the cherry ones.
Please keep us posted on your progress. The leaf mulch over winter is wonderful--just dig it in in the spring and your soil will bless you!
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Gardening at Red Gate Farm www.rgf-tx.com

[MI Brandon]

That's what I'm looking for, input! Someone to tell me if what I'm planning will work, or if I should go a different route.

So a 12ft row would not be plausible for successful corn growth? I could always make my garden larger if necessary. My back yard is about 1/4 of an acre.
It's hard to tell from the pic, but...
Do you see the hedge row? That used to go the entire width of my back yard. Apparently, back in the 40s, when the old house was torn down and my house built, there was an alley way back there, so the hedge row separated this back yard from the alley. The alley was reclaimed when this neighborhood was redone in the early 50s.
This image will give you an idea of what I am talking about.
There's 15ft of yard behind these hedges spanning the entire width of my back yard.


Anyhow, I dug it all out to open up. The garden spot is just off picture to the left... I left that spot of hedge in there to act as a border for the garden. So as you can see, I have plenty of space to open the garden up if need be.

I do plan on using the fence as a trellis for the tomatos, and possibly beans. We are not much for cucumbers here though.

[gixxerific]

If I may, I suggest go big now. I recently moved to a new house and started out with less than you dug up already. It has since grown considerably and may grow more. But I would say do it now and it will be ready for next year. I expanded 3 times this year and they were not very good for growing if I had done all this last year it would have been much better. See what I'm getting at. If you wait and decide to go bigger in the spring it won't be as productive as it would be if done now and overwintered.

Good luck and welcome.

Dono
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Happy Gardening, Dono Feed The Earth & It Will Feed You!

[rainbowgardener]

well, yes and no gixx, re the go big. You are right if you are going to end up having a bigger garden and taking care of it, then it is easier to prepare all the garden space at once. But the biggest mistake that beginning gardeners make is taking on too much, then realizing they don't have the time to keep up with it all, and it get's weedy and doesn't produce well, because not cared for well and then gets frustrating and people give up. You are way better off having a small, well cared for productive garden (read Square Foot Gardening and get inspired with how much you can do in a small area) than having a big, neglected one.

Marlingardener had very good suggestion about starting with the cool weather crops. Broccoli, lettuce, carrots, spinach, peas if you want some, can go in as soon as the ground can be worked. The potatoes can be grown in a big bucket somewhere separate. Once the soil is warmed up you can add the tomatoes, peppers, corn. By the time it is starting to get hot the cool weather stuff will be about done (except for carrots). You can pull some of that to make room for a couple melon plants. Definitely think about doing some beans, one of the more productive things you can grow and would do well on your fence. The corn pollinates better if grown in a square, not a stretched out row.

With beans on the fence, potatoes in a container, your 12X12 area should do pretty well for a reasonable amount of all of the above for the 3 of you. It won't be enough corn, but you can never grow enough corn!

[MI Brandon]

Thanks for the helpful advice. It's making me rethink my plan, which I have plenty of time to do.
I also have plenty of space and a few weeks before the ground starts to freeze, so I do have options. Creating a second garden or even lengthening this one is not out of the question. I'm a stay-at-home dad until my son starts school, so tending a larger garden (or two small ones) is not out of reach.

[healthyfruit]

you have a nice spot there, very clean looking .

thats work to get it lookin that nice ..
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fun.

[gixxerific]

Yeah I guess my suggestion would be for someone like me who would take care of it. But he did live on a farm so I assumed he know what he is getting into.

Anyways again good luck there are many good people and resources on this site to help you get settled in.
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Happy Gardening, Dono Feed The Earth & It Will Feed You!

[stella1751]

[Marlingardener]

It's me again. Have you considered making a very small garden, maybe 6'x6', just for your son? If he enjoyed helping you prepare the garden site he might enjoy having his own garden. Easy to grow things like Black Seeded Simpson lettuce, Danvers carrots, Tendercrop bush beans, Bloomsdale Longstanding spinach would give him success, and the beginnings of a green thumb (which he probably already inherited from his daddy). I've seen child-sized gardening tools, also. Of course, a sign saying " ----"s Garden" would be icing on the cake!
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Gardening at Red Gate Farm www.rgf-tx.com

[applestar]

That's a great suggestion Marlingardener My kids loved having their own garden this year.

It's a good idea to choose fast maturing varieties for your kids' garden. Then you can show them the seed packets and let them choose, and show them how to plant the seeds. My kids planted their favorites in their gardens -- carrots, grape tomatoes, cucumbers. (For toms and cukes, we planted the seeds in pots and grew transplants. We also grew transplants of round carrots in egg cartons). They also got 2 plants each of 3 different strawberry cultivars -- Sweet Charlie (ealy June bearer), Red Giant (mid~late season giant berries), and Tristar (day-neutral), as well as a couple of wild strawberries (F. virginiana - early June) If you go with strawberries, definitely get a day-neutral or everbearing selection for season-long berries. They have a low-bush blueberry each that they're eagerly waiting to grow, and also chose to grow nasturtiums, scarlet runner beans, and 'Heavenly Blue' morning glory, as well as Chocolate-scented daisy. Cukes, pole beans, and morning glory grew up the two arch trellises. In addition, I gave them one container each of rice, and added a goldfish in each to control mosquitoes -- they loved that, so you might consider a small container pond as well. We harvested a small handful of rice grains from each of their rice, too. You could always plant wheat and re-discover the story of "The Little Red Hen". I bought a small manual grain mill, and we're grinding corn from last year's Sunflower/Corn house.

Don't make it a chore, mind you. I made a point of taking care that their gardens were producing well. If they wanted to come help weed or water, or harvest, I welcomed them and showed them what to do. They had fun and were astonished to see how much their little plants had grown. The joy in their faces when they popped a juicy red strawberry in their mouths, or the intent expression as they harvested were priceless.

Since it sounds like you have room, you might also consider planting a Sunflower House somewhere in your garden.
We grew Indian/dent corn last year along with the sunflowers and scarlet runner beans, but I'm planning to plant popcorn in next year's sunflower house. I have the sunflower house situated on the other side of the house from the vegetable garden where regular corn was planted, and the separation successfully kept them from cross pollinating.

[gixxerific]

You could make a smaller garden as well just for sprawling crops like melons or potatoes. They WILL get large and more than likely TAKE OVER a small garden. You can even use your fence as a trellis for melons.

I think I will try this next year a separate raised bed just for melons.
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Happy Gardening, Dono Feed The Earth & It Will Feed You!

[SP8]

If you want fast maturing crops for kids you can’t leave out radishes.
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What I have done in a 2x4m area on a 3rd floor balcony:
VEGGIE-MIGHT

[Duh_Vinci]

Very nice location to start with - good luck!

[applestar]

Growing yes, eating no. My kids "let me" grow some White Icicle radishes in THEIR garden, but wouldn't eat any of them. They thought my other radishes -- Pink Beauty, and Paris Blush or Pink Blush and Paris Beauty, I think -- were PRETTY and CUTE, but wouldn't eat them either.

Anyone have kids-friendly radish recipes? Hmm, as I write this, it occurred to me that an Asian style sweet vinegar pickle (with extra sugar, perhaps) might appeal to them.... A project for next spring: get the kids to eat radishes!