A successful garden doesn’t just happen. It’s the result of
careful planning before you
ever turn the first spade of soil.

And it means following good production practices throughout
the gardening season.

First, decide where to put the garden and what size it will
be. This will depend on the
available land area, how much time you can spend in the garden
and the kinds and amounts
of vegetables required to supply your family’s needs.

A well-drained area in full sunlight is best, preferably with
a good loam soil.
However, I have seen quite productive gardens on both heavy clay
and on very light, sandy
soils.

So if your soil isn’t the "perfect" garden soil,
don’t give up. With proper
management and planning, you can still have a rewarding
garden.

It helps to put the garden within a few hundred feet of the
house. This makes the
garden easier for timely watering and other chores.

After selecting the site, draw a map of the area. Draw it to
scale and show the number,
width and length of the rows.

Next, decide what vegetables you want to grow, and put them
in your garden plan.
Include the amount of fertilizer to use and the time to
plant.

Plan for placement of the perennial crops, such as asparagus
and strawberries, on one
side of the garden so they won’t interfere with other garden
activities.

Tall crops such as sweet corn should be on the north or west
side to reduce shading of
other plants.

Start planting on one side and move across the area with
later plantings. With careful
planning, you will be able to use all the garden area throughout
the growing season. Just
follow with a second crop as soon as the first one is
harvested.

Decide what varieties you want and order the seed early, to
make sure you get the
varieties you want and get them in time for scheduled
planting.

For crops that need to be transplanted — tomatoes, eggplant,
pepper, cabbage,
collards, broccoli, etc. — order seed for growing your own
plants now.

If you decide to grow your own transplants, a helpful
publication, "Home Garden
Transplants" (Leaflet 128) is available through your county
Extension office.

You will need various kinds of equipment to establish and
maintain the garden. Here
again, plan ahead so you’ll have the right tools at the right
time.

A hoe, iron rake, spading fork, round-nosed shovel and
pesticide applicator may be
enough for a small garden.

In larger gardens, you may need other tools such as a
cultivator, garden tractor or
tiller.

As part of the planning process, keep garden records. This
will help you evaluate each
crop and whether the variety is one you want to grow again next
year.

Records also help you remember any pesticides you used and
how much fertilizer you
applied in various sectors of your garden. This information is
important for planning the
rotation for the next year’s crops.

After planning on paper, go out to the garden and take a soil
sample. This will help
you determine fertilizer and lime needs. If the pH is low and
the soil needs lime, put it
out as soon as possible so it will have time to correct the
pH.

Careful planning can go a long way in helping you be a
successful gardener and use your
space to best advantage.

It’s easy to change plans on paper, but practically
impossible to make changes after
the garden is started. So begin now by making a good paper plan,
then follow through and
have a good gardening year.