If you are planning a garden of vegetables and you have clay soil, use clay loving plants for a few seasons to help break up the soil. It’s also worth considering using raised beds, which don’t require walking on the soil. If you have to walk on the soil while you are working it, use boards to spread the weight. This will compact the soil, making it harder to break up. Rather than digging, use a fork to aerate the soil and add organic material such as garden compost and shredded leaves.ĭon’t try to work clay soils when they are very sticky.
So it is important to add materials to aerate the soil to make it less dense and allow it to drain more freely. Very few plants can thrive in heavy clay soil, as the soil nutrients can be difficult to reach. But too much clay will waterlog the soil, and too much sand will drain it too quickly. Both clay and sand-type particles are needed. To understand the soil type you have, it helps to know what sort of particles make up your overall soil.Ĭlay particles are important because they hold water, while sand or silt particles aerate the soil, allowing it to drain freely and be penetrated by roots. Of course, you can add compost and other ingredients to the soil to improve it. The type of soil you have in your garden impacts what can be grown there. Place plants that will stay in the ground during the cold winter months as far away from the house as you can, so they will receive as much light as possible. In a situation like this rotate your crops in strips. Unfortunately, the garden will be in the shadow of the house for most of the day during the winter. In the next example, the house is facing South, ideal for the summer, with the garden on the Northside. The crops can easily be rotated from one quarter of the garden to another. A western-exposure garden will have light all day long both in the summer and winter. In the following vegetable garden design example, the house is facing East and the garden faces West. You may need to provide some protection to your vegetables so they can grow without being blown over. This is especially important during spring and fall when the sun is lower in the sky and the effects of shadows are going to restrict planting and growing.Īlso, take note of the windy parts of the garden. Take some time to discover which part of your proposed garden gets the most light. A northern and easterly exposed garden may have to endure cold winter winds. Western-exposure gardens tend to be battered by warm, wet, windy weather.
While this should not affect summer growing, the garden may be cast in the shade for months during the winter months. North-facing gardens face away from the sun. If you’re not careful, some parts of the garden will not see the sun at all. The position of your home, hedges, fences, outbuildings and large trees can create large shady areas. It faces the sun at the best angle both during the summer and winter. Also, look for the amount of light available.Ī garden on a South-facing slope is the warmest. Before planting your veggies, find out the hot and cold areas of the garden.
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How To Plan A Vegetable Garden – Position This way you can decide what you can grow, and where to grow it, even if you only have a small corner for your garden. Light (i.e., direct sun, indirect sun, shade, etc.)īefore you put pencil to paper to draw a beautiful garden design, let’s have a look at each of these essential elements for growth.To grow a wide variety of vegetables there are a number of essential qualities your garden must have: Anything you grow is always going to be restricted by the space you have. Growing vegetables is not complicated but without nutrients and enough light, it becomes difficult. Things To Consider When Planning A Vegetable Garden how much sun and shade does your garden get.Here are some of the important factors when planning a vegetable garden: Planning a vegetable garden is more than just marking out the vegetable plot.
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