Choosing the Right Site for Your Garden
This is the first installment in the 5×5 Garden Challenge Series. Every Wednesday I’ll be posting about the challenge, covering topics that will help all the new gardeners get started. If you haven’t heard about the challenge head on over to the 5×5 Challenge Website, we’ll also be putting up a page here that pulls in all the 5×5 Challenge posts.
The first thing to consider when you decide you want to garden is your site. Depending on what you want to grow, you will need to determine if you have full sun, partial sun/shade, or shade. So what do each of these terms mean? Most vegetables appreciate full sun, so finding a full sun location will be the best option. All is not lost if you don’t have full sun, you can still grow vegetables, just not everything you may want to.
FULL SUN: receives at least 6 hours of direct sunlight. This doesn’t mean that there is sun in this area all day long, there can be some shade during part of the day. Six hours is the minimum amount of sun that most full sun plants will tolerate. Areas that get direct sunlight all day will need watered more often. Some plants can take full sun, but many are fond of some shade as well.
PARTIAL SUN / PARTIAL SHADE: receives 3-6 hours of direct sunlight. Most plants that are labeled partial sun/shade need protection from the hot afternoon sun as they can be sensitive. These plants will often wilt in the heat of the afternoon.
FULL SHADE: less than 3 hours of direct sunlight, generally with some filtered sunlight in addition to this. These plants generally don’t like the hot afternoon sun, so morning sun is best for them.
All sun is not created equal. As a general rule, morning and early afternoon sun are better than late afternoon sun. Often plants will appreciate a little shade in the afternoon, particularly in hot areas and in the heat of the summer. When you are determining the amount of sun you get, keep in mind the time of the year. If it is winter and the sun is low, the shady area will be larger than it will in the summer.
Another thing to consider in your garden placement is the location of any large trees. Large trees will not only cast shade, but they will also send their roots into your garden and suck up your water and nutrients. Back in Ohio we had large trees surrounding our garden and were constantly battling them. It’s not a deal breaker if you have large trees, just be aware that you’ll need to add extra compost and water.
When trying to decide where your garden will be, think about the proximity to the door you use most often. If you have to walk by the garden daily, you’ll be more likely to notice weeds that need pulled and tomatoes that need harvested. Having the garden close at hand will make harvesting and using the vegetables easier.
Plants are pretty resilient and will take less than perfect conditions. Don’t be too worried about making sure you have everything just right. Start with what you can and work from there. If you have full sun, great, if you’re on the border, give it a shot. If you can find a space away from trees, fantastic, if not, give it a try but make sure you watch for dryness and consider fertilizing a little more. Having good soil will help overcome a few of the other negatives, so make sure you focus on that. Next week we’ll talk about getting your garden area ready to plant.
If you’re a new gardener, what questions do you have about where to place your garden? If you’re an experienced gardener, what advice do you have for newbies just trying to figure out where to plant.
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Sweet Spring
Dexter (aka Big D) and I have been enjoying spending as much time as possible outside working in the garden. We work until the sun goes down and a chill returns to the air. He’d actually like to stay out much longer, but I make him come indoors when it gets dark.
Yesterday I played hooky from work. It was a beautiful warm day with highs in the mid 50’s. It’s supposed to rain the rest of the week, so I figured I could spend the rainy days getting all my office work finished up. Is there anything better than spending a day in the garden on a beautiful spring day?
What would you consider the perfect temperature for a day in the garden?
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Cultivate Simple 25: Planting for Pollinators
This past Tuesday we packed up our microphones and headed in to the library to record a talk given by Deb Soule titled: Planting for Pollinators. Deb is the founder of Avena Botanicals in Rockport, ME. This summer we’ll be heading down there to see the gardens and take some photos. You’ll definitely be hearing all about it when we do.
From their website:
Avena Botanicals Herbal Apothecary offers a variety of hand-crafted herbal remedies for supporting the health and well being of our customers. Most of our products are made with herbs grown and hand-harvested from our own biodynamic garden situated on a 32-acre farm in Rockport, Maine. Avena was founded in 1985 by herbalist and gardener Deb Soule. In 1995, Avena moved to its current location where Deb was able to design and plant a large organic and biodynamic herb garden. This beautiful three-acre garden provides an abundance of certified biodynamic herbs for the apothecary, a classroom for students, nectar-producing flowers for pollinators and a peaceful place for visitors to renew their spirit and find healing in nature.
List of Plants Deb Mentions in her talk:
- Solomon’s seal – (polyganatum spp.) – root is beneficial for: tendonitis, carpal tunnel
- Native pink beebalm (monarda)
- Lemon Bergamot (monarda citriodora) – annual beebalm,
- Evening Primrose – (Oenthera biennis)
- Grecian Foxglove (digitalis lanata)
- Clary Sage (salvia scarea) – reseeds
- Honeysuckle (red – Lonerica)
- Hummingbird Sage (Salvia coccinea) (greenhouse early April)
- Mexican Sunflower (tithonia rotundifolia) plant out early June
- Lungwort (pulmonaria officinalis) flowering mid-May – shade loving, spreading
- Larkspur
- Marshmallow (Althea Officinalis)
- Nicotiana, Jasmine Scented (nicotiana alata)
- Sunflowers, great pollen producing plants, make sure you get a variety that produces pollen
- Black Cohosh (cimicifuga racemosa) – part shade, woodland
- Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
- Swamp Milkweed (asclepias incarnata)
- Common Milkweed (asclepias syrica)
- Borage (borago officinalis)
- Sacred Basil (ocimum sanctum) – fedco
- Echinacea spp. – 9 species that are native, to US. (tenusienses is on the endangered plant list)
- Blue Vervain (verbena hastata) – native, purple to blue, bloom through August, grow 3’-4’ tall
- Linden (tilia spp) – tree
- Hawthorne (crataegus spp) – cardiovascular tonic herb, dry berries for tea,
- Hyssop (hyssop officinalis) – coughs, astringent
- Lavender (lavendula spp)
- Lemon Balm (melissa officianlis) – antiviral, good for relieving flu, etc.
- Nasturium (tropaeolum) jewel mix, alaska mix
- Poppy (Papaver Somnifera)
- St Johnswort (hypericum frondosum)
- Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) flower in first photo above
- Greek Mullien (verbascum olympicus)
- Rosa Rugosa (rugosa rose)
- Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
Books about Herbs
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:34:30 — 65.6MB)
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Quote of the Day: Linda Joan Smith
A garden’s formality, informality, sense of place, cultural leanings, and general atmosphere arise as much from it’s structural elements as from its plants or ornament. A picket fence sets a different mood than a palisade of heavy timbers or a 10-foot screen of bamboo. A pebbled path imparts a different ton form that of a straightaway of mortared slate. A trellis in an elaborate chinoiserie pattern says different things about the garden–and the gardener–than a simple plant ladder of branches pruned from the orchard and cobbled together with nails and twine. All communicate a message about who we are, what we like, where we come from, and in what realm our passions lie.
Linda Joan Smith (Smith & Hawken Garden Structures)
Back in Ohio I had figured out the level of formality that fit with our garden and space. I’m still trying to work it out here. While I’d love to have something a little more formal, this place seems to lend itself more towards a relaxed feel. While I’m out working in the garden I spent time imagining what different types of paths I’d like to use, what material I’d like my fencing to be made out of, and what I want my next chicken coop to look like. There certainly is a lot of thinking to do, it’s a good thing I don’t have to decide any time soon!
How would describe your garden: formal, informal, relaxed, etc?
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Gearing Up
I started hardening off my first round of seedlings, gearing up to plant the first round into the soil. Most of them are onions, they’ll be planted out as soon as I can find space for them. The rest are brassicas and they’re just beginning to germinate. They get to stay out all day since they haven’t been softened by living under lights. Hardening off seedlings can be a little bit of a chore. I’ve heard horror stories of gardeners forgetting and leaving things out too long, finding their hard work scalded by the sun. This time of year, the sun still sin’t quite hot enough to do too much damage, at least here in the north, but I still make sure I don’t leave them out all day.
The easiest way to harden off seedlings is to find a spot in your garden that gets morning sun and afternoon shade, that way you don’t have to worry about bringing them in halfway through the day. Then you can do the opposite and give them afternoon sun and morning shade. After a few days of each they should be ready for full sun.
My biggest concern with my seedlings is the chickens. At first I had them on the picnic table, but I spotted the chickens eyeing them longingly. Now they’re in the garden surrounded by a fence. The fence also helps protect all the seeds that I’ve already planted as well. Eventually there will be a permanent fence around this potager, but that will have to wait until it’s expanded. Until then, the electric fence (which isn’t turned on) is working out quite nicely.
Any tips/tricks to share for hardening off seedlings? Have you ever sunburned seedlings?
