First Veg garden How Big to start?

15 years ago

I am starting my very first (pimarily vegetable garden)

I am an old hand at flowers and shrubbery, trees, etc....

1. what are your tidbits of advice to a veggie novice - perrennial old green thumb-hand....

and 2. what would you say is a great size to start-

I have an area of 1/2 acre that will be cleared....I don't intend on the whole thing being gardened, but what do you think????

I know I'd like some corn and tomatoes, green bush beans, peas potatoes and some herbs, zucchini and yellow (and Butternut ) squashes ......

I am anxious to start , but in RI the weather's not right yet........

THANKS~

(can't wait to get a planting!)

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Comments (12)

ruthieg__tx
15 years ago
There are a ton of threads right here on the site about starting a garden. I don't know if the search engine is working or not but you can try that for a wealth of info or just read through the pages that are here.
steelshepherd
15 years ago
Start by rounding up as much free organic material as possible. Leaves, grass clippings, manure, etc. You'll figure out what to do with it later.

You REALLY need to think about the dirt before you think about what you want to grow. Ruth is right - loads of threads already. Newbies are the norm this year.

If you want better answers, try another post telling us in detail about your site, the amount of time you have to take care of it, and how many people you are growing for.
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10 x 10 seems very small, so I would say this would be one of your biggest factors in choosing what to grow. You mean 10 x 10 feet, right? Given your small gardening space, I would say stick with things that really taste much better when they're home grown. A lot of gardenwebbers may disagree with me, but I find a lot of veggies at the supermarket to be sufficient - I can't see how carrots or celery or onions or broccoli etc. could be so much better when home grown (unless you wait for them to sweeten after the first frost, which some vegetables do - you'll learn about that as you read about gardening) On the same note, you could also focus on things that are overpriced at the supermarket compared to how easy they are to grow. Furthermore, you live in a pretty cold part of the country, so you'll be happy to know that there are a few vegetables that laugh heartily in the face father winter. In the taste department, the big ones are tomatoes. Nothing compares to a real ripened garden tomato; the tomatoes at the supermarket are little red lies - they're picked green to be able to ship well and then made red with ethylene (the ripening hormone). Ethylene ripening works well for most (botanic) fruits, but it's pointless if the fruit (the tomato, in this case) hasn't even MATURED yet! Tomatoes are definitely the one thing that all gardeners and even most of the general populace would agree taste so much better when you grow them yourself. I also find that peppers (capsicum) that I grow are much tastier than the supermarket kind. They're much sweeter and more flavorful. But I can get good peppers because it regularly gets pretty hot and humid here in NJ in the summers, and peppers need that to be really tasty. In the price department you've got shallots and leeks. Definitely overpriced at the supermarket. With shallots, you grow them like garlic, plant the "cloves" during very cool whether when the spring is starting and the days are lengthening (alliums are instigated to grow their bulbs by increasing daylengths). With leeks, you'll need to shore up the dirt or provide some kind of cover to blanch the stalks, but otherwise similarly easy to grow like other alliums. And leeks are one of the cold-hardiest crops. You can leave them in the ground throughout the beginning of the winter and harvest as needed. You plant them in the summer to mature in the autumn/winter, just remember they take a long time to mature, about 4 months. And that increasing daylengths rule doesn't apply since the leek is a stalk, not a storage bulb. All aliums have the added benefit that wildlife don't generally eat them. For cole crops/brassicas, I would recommend you start with collards and/or kale. Both these are closer to their wild ancestors and much more pest/disease resistant than their more refined cousins. Kale also laughs in the face of winter. And both these will be sweeter after a frost (by the way, by frost we mean frosty weather, generally when the temp goes below 40). I would also recommend radishes just because they're easy to grow and have such a fast growth rate - they're mature in three to four weeks. I disagree with the previous poster about beans/peas. They're easy enough to grow and save the seed, they're important to the garden because they add nitrogen to the soil, and they're generally well liked by everyone and quite nutritious. Peas can handle a decent amount of cold weather, so they can be planted when it's cold, before the bugs/pests come out. Green beans/snap beans are well liked by most people, but they are somewhat susceptible to garden pests. I would reccomend you try a more unusual, pest-hardy bean, like runner beans, which have the benefit of also being gorgeous. Most beans can be eaten in the "snap" or "green" stage like green beans if you pick them early enough. And like I said, it's easy enough to save the seed - just wait until the pods are dry and collect the dry peas/beans and save until next season. And just remember to soak the seeds/beans/peas in water to speed germination before you plant them next season. You don't need to worry about cross-pollination of different varieties because most legumes (beans/peas) are self-pollinated, ESPECIALLY peas (I just looked at a pea blossom for the first time here the other day in my grandmother's garden - all the flowers parts are protected inside a flower petal shell, so bugs can't ever get to them). Also remember that legumes usually need a support structure to climb up. You might also want to put in some herbs, which are pretty easy to grow. Mints will definitely grow in your area, as will sage, though I think you're at its cold-hardiness limit, and maybe thyme. You can forget keeping rosemary as an outdoor perennial in your bitter cold. I myself love the smell of lemon balm, which I think is hardy to zone 4, but like mint it is a spreader and can become weedy. Lovage is a nice herb that you could grow, though more susceptible to pests than other herbs. And of course the annuals parsley, dill, and cilantro (though parsley is a biennial and I think might survive winters in your are - so you might be able to save seed if you're interested) Above all read up on gardening as much as you can. If you don't understand something, try googling it. Buy some books. I, like you, don't have much room to garden, and have only gardened two seasons, but I read nonstop so I'm pretty well versed on all the how-to's and what-to-do's.
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lantanascape
15 years ago
If you are just now preparing your beds to be planted in the spring, I'd start small. How small would depend on what sort of help and machinery you have available to you. If you have access to a tractor and a heap of composted manure, and your tract of land is on good-quality soil with an irrigation setup, you can probably prepare a fairly large garden your first year.

However, if you are doing all your work by hand, want to put in raised beds, need to truck in your compost and so on, I'd suggest starting with something like two 4x12" beds, plus a hill for the potatoes (since they need soil added on to them as they grow, they are best in a place of their own). Two beds is enough to grow a variety of vegetables, without being overwhelmed, and is probably realistic for most people to get prepared in a season.
marlingardener
15 years ago
Start small--vegetable gardens require a lot more work than flower beds.
1. Get your soil tested so you know what you're working with.
2. Amend the soil as necessary (definitely add compost for tilth)
3. Plan your garden on paper, whether it's in-ground or raised beds.
4. If everything won't fit, consider containers for tomatoes, herbs, and anything appropriate.
5. Get ready to enjoy some of the best vegetables you've ever eaten!
leira
15 years ago
The answer to "how big should I make my first garden" is almost always "smaller than you think you really want." I say this as a classic garden over-achiever!

That being said, don't be daunted by what everyone is saying. You're not a new gardener, you're just a new vegetable gardener. You know part of what it will take, and you know what your soil is like.

Yes, getting a new garden started is a lot of work (you probably already know this!). The first year is always the worst in that regard. Every time I've done it, however, I've always been struck after the fact that once I buckled down and did it, it didn't feel so bad, and it certainly was quite satisfying.

Of the things you listed, the peas could probably go in now, or at least sometime soon. The rest should wait until mid May, or possibly late May. This gives you some time to get your beds in order, if the soil isn't still too wet.

I'd echo everything that others have said about acquiring yourself some organic matter. It will be a huge boon, and it can take a bit of finagling to figure out how to get as much as you need as cheaply as you'd like to get it.

Then, I'd suggest that you start working on prepping beds, but start small. Get one section dug up and amended and ready to go, and if it didn't feel like too much work and it's not planting time yet, tackle another section.

Meanwhile, as others have said, spend some of your indoor time plotting out your garden on paper. Figure out what you can fit if what you have available is your just first section, or if you have two sections, etc.

Meanwhile, even if it gets later than planting time, you can continue to prep additional sections over the course of the Summer, for use next year..or perhaps you could get a few fall crops in this year. Another round of peas, perhaps, or some spinach or lettuce.

I'm taking the "do it in sections" approach in my garden this year, too. So far, I've expanded my garden to about half of the size I'd really like. However, that half is done and ready to plant (the cool season seeds went in last weekend), and I've still got more than a month before the warm season stuff needs to go in, so I haven't totally ruled out additional expansion yet...but if it doesn't happen, I have some space to plant and I know what I can fit in that space.
grandad_2003
15 years ago
IrishEyesAreSmiling, in addition to the above help, you may also want to check out the web. There's a bunch of information/opinions that address your question. I've included a link below for a typical example of what you can find.

Here is a link that might be useful: Home Vegetable Garden
gardenlen
15 years ago
g'day,

bed size of say 1 meter wide(app' 4') and 6 meters long (app' 20') we find are a good dimension.

as for the rest check our pic's see how we do it.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page
gardengal8
15 years ago
Check out this gardening site for beginners. You should find some good starter tips and resources there.

www.homegrownfoodgardening.com

Here is a link that might be useful: Home Grown Food Gardening
tomacco
15 years ago
My first garden is now 2000 sq feet, and I would say go smaller than this. It is really hard work, and you'll kill a lot of stuff if you go too big :)
irisheyesaresmilin
Original Author
15 years ago
WoW - I am so glad I started here- YES!!!!! I love to be in my garden-
Though I have never had a garden specific for veggies..
I think I will start small (as you all advise) and I can always go larger NEXT year-
I have always wanted a garden specific to veggies but have never had the property for it until now.

In addition, the economy is conducive to a garden. I have 1/2 acre almost cleared and am purchasing 6' wire fence and posts (we have MANY MANY deer here)
I was also thinking of a blueberry or two and gosh I am SO excited!
MO DIRT it's a good thing.......this land is an old Apple Orchard. I will pant two apples to replace the ones that were removed (Old Irish legend) and then alsothe3 veggies....
Keep the advice coming - I still have plenty of time to read the articles before I get into the dirt !!!
and Thanks to you all again for the (much needed and appreciated ) advice!
Slainte! (to your Health)
Kate
ninjabut
15 years ago
Be sure to PACE yourself! It's very easy to get all enthused and overdo it! Also, find a good Chiropractor who knows about the gardening bug!
Mine knows he isn't going to keep me out of the garden and even loves to see my pictures, but we've agreed that I work in 15 min increments, then rest and see how I feel. Some days I can go a couple of hours in the garden this way. Work, rest. Othre days I know when it's time to stop!
Happy Gardening!!! Nancy
cheapheap
15 years ago
The search feature does not seem to be working - but if you do a search, click on a result that looks promising, it will then bring up the Whoops! message, then change the url on your browser by inserting a "2" after the first "forums" and then press enter - it will come up.

For example: I searched for "beets" a thread came up with the title "trying beets" that I wanted to look at, I clicked on it and it sends me to "http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cornucop/msg1213174910370.html"; - which is the wrong place because the thread is actually at "http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cornucop/msg1213174910370.html"; - so I inserted the needed 2 and hit enter.

First Veg garden How Big to start?

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ruthieg__tx

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