2020 will be the year of the home garden. The pandemic has certainly changed how we are eating, buying food, and even how we cook! Food security is also top of mind for many folks - where does our food come from? Do you have access to the foods you need to stay healthy? Growing your own vegetables, whether in a container or your backyard, is a great way to supplement your grocery bill and to connect to your food. Plus, nurturing plants and watching them grow can bring so much joy in an otherwise uncertain time. At Harvest Moon Farm we aim to connect people to their food from seed to plate, so education is near and dear to our hearts. We want to help you start growing! One super important thing to remember as you start this new project - gardening takes time. Each year you will collect lots of ‘data’ for the next season. Start small and be kind to yourself. Growing is fun after all!
Step 1: Location, location, location!
Will you be planting in the ground or in containers? Or perhaps in a raised bed - a combination of both? The answer to this really depends on how much space and time you want to invest in your edible project (hint: our garden is 100’ by 200’, a full time job, and feeds 100s of people).
A. In ground growing
Pro: Less watering (likely). Very little start up costs.
Con: Your soil may not like to grow veggies. Needs quite a bit of space. Thankfully in most cases soil quality can be improved! Or you can choose option C - container growing.
Tip: Start with a garden 10’x10’ (or less!). A well tended garden can produce a lot more food than one overgrown by weeds. And leave about 18” between each row to allow for room to walk, weed, and move tools.
B. Containers
Pro: Less weeding! Can move pots around for ideal location. Soil heats up fast = faster growth = more production. Less physically demanding.
Con: More watering. Some veggies need really deep pots.
Tip: Use pots that are about 1-2 feet deep and have at least one drainage hole.
C. Raised bed
Pro: Easier to plan, and weed. Can be easier to keep pests out.
Con: Higher start up costs (building materials and soil). Possibile maintenance costs to repair the beds.
Tip: Keep the width of each bed to 4’ or less - mostly so you don’t have to lean over too far. We’re watching out for your back and shoulders here.
Where are you planning to grow? What is the light like? How windy is it?
An ideal spot has a mix of sun and shade (partial sun exposure) and is not too windy (thanks Goldilocks!). We recommend checking the location at least 3 times in the same day (or hourly!) just to be sure there is a 6 hour window of sunlight in your ‘ideal’ spot. If your backyard is shady - don’t despair - some veggies like cooler areas (like herbs and lettuce). If that is the case, perhaps there is also a sunny spot to try growing heat loving veg (like peppers, tomatoes, beans, summer squash & cucumbers) in containers?
Step 2: Prep your soil (and always add compost!)
A. In ground garden
Till area using a garden tiller, a shovel or fork to break down your soil into smaller particles. Start small. You can always add extra veggies in pots or increase your plot size next year! Too often we start the season full of ambition and come September the weeds are so high you can’t find your zucchini. Mix in lots of compost (a layer of ~4”) if it’s the first year gardening in that space. Each season (usually in May), add at least 1” -2” of compost and mix-into the soil.
B or C. Containers / Raised beds
Containers must be at least 1-foot deep to provide adequate space (2 feet would be better). And make sure your pots have drainage (meaning there is at least one hole in the bottom). For herbs, your containers don’t need to be quite as deep. Each season mix ⅔ potting soil with ⅓ compost. Your local garden supply centre may even have a potting mix specifically for this. You’ll need about 8 cubic feet of soil to fill a 4’x4’x6” high raised bed - the staff at your garden centre can help you estimate the amount of soil you’ll need.
If you have a lot of spare pots around or are trying to choose online, you may want to use the black or darker coloured pots for heat loving plants and the lighter colour pots for cool loving plants (see step 1).
Tip: Keep soil damp to touch but not muddy. Water frequently before seeds germinate (once you can see the plant coming out of the earth) or after transplanting seedlings. Once the plants are more established (in-ground or raised bed), they prefer a long drink every few days over a little daily sprinkle. You will likely need to water your containers daily through the growing season.
Veg such as broccoli, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, eggplant, ground cherry, peppers, squash (summer & winter), and tomatoes LOVE compost. So if you plan on growing them, just add some more compost! About 3” should be enough.
Step 3: What to plant?
While we love to ask what people's favourite veggies are, we don’t recommend planning your garden with only your fav veg (even though a garden full of bok choi, artichokes, asparagus, and cauliflower sounds pretty yum). Some plants need specific care, time and nutrients (it takes 3 years and perfect soil conditions to start asparagus!), and simply practise. For first time or beginner edible garden growers, we suggest veggies such as lettuce, kale, spinach, beans, green onions, herbs, tomatoes, and zucchini. And if you only have time or space for one pot - grow one cherry tomato plant and put some basil around the base - the perfect pair.
Starting from seed or transplant? That is the question.
Starting your plants from seed can be very rewarding, but it can also be tricky (When to start the seed so it will succeed outside? How big should the pot be? How warm should it be? Do I need special lights? We could teach a whole course on germinating seeds!). So, we recommend either purchasing seedlings (transplanted) or planting seeds directly in the soil (direct seeded). A combination of the two will help you have veggies throughout the growing season.
Veg that prefer to be directly seeded (meaning from the seed packet to your garden): beans/peas, cucumber, lettuce, roots, spinach, summer/winter squash, corn. Be sure to read the packet very carefully.
Veg that prefer to be transplanted (meaning plant these as seedlings): Tomato, pepper, ground cherries, eggplant, herbs.
The Georgian Bay Area plant hardiness zone is 5b, which means our frost free date is May 11 (2020 is certainly proving this wrong though). The general rule is to start planting after Victoria Day (everyone remembers a May long weekend with snow squalls, right?).
The Harvest Moon Farm Seedling Sale will be available until June 6 (while supplies last). You can order organic seedlings from us for a Friday on farm pick-up or Saturday Collingwood pick-up.
Your garden plan
We suggest you choose 5 types of vegetables to grow. Choose at least 2 from the spring harvest, 2 from the summer, and 1 fall harvest to get you started. And each year add one or two new vegetables.
Spring harvest: beets, lettuce mix, peas, radishes, spinach, kale, swiss chard, carrots
Summer harvest: cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, herbs (basil, parsely, cilantro), zucchini.
Fall harvest: cabbage, carrots, kale, onions, winter squash
Our favourite way to plan a garden layout (for in ground, raised bed and even containers!) is square foot gardening. We go into more details on how to square foot garden in our workshops and garden consultations.
Just remember: start small, be patient, and have fun!
Peace + Carrots,
Cassondra and Andrew