Its that time of year that people get inspired to start their first gardens. With all the information out there where do you even start? Today ill go through the basics in getting your first garden going starting by going through location selection, raised bed construction, garden soil and mulching.
Location location location! It is really important to make sure you place your first garden in a good location.
So how do you figure out where a good location for your garden is?
Although the summer solstice is still a few months away the sun this time of year is going to give you some hints of where to place your garden. This is less of a concern if you have a wide open area but if your in an city like I am there are plenty of things that can obstruct the sun.
on a sunny day take a three or four photos of you yard. This will let you know where the sun is hitting and where it is being shaded. If you dont have an area that in most of the photos is sunny take a look for structures, fences and trees to the south of the are in your yard that is the closest to the North of you property.
If your not sure where North and South are most smart phones have a built in compass.
remember that although structures on the south side of your yard are causing the shadow right now the sun will pass higher in the sky during the summer reducing the extend of the shadowing. So look for an area that is shaded now however when the length of the shadow is reduced in summer may become exposed to sunlight.
Another good indicator if you live in an area that is snow covered through out the winter is where the snow melts first. This is indicative of where the sun is able to concentrate its melting.
In my yard during the winter as the sun crosses the sky quite low and my house shades the garden most of the day however with the sun higher in the sky it gets 12-14 hours of direct sun.
optimally the area you pick should have a minimum of 6-8 hours of direct sunlight. With my short season more is better.
in southern climates closer to the equator you may in fact want to make sure you do get some shade as the summer sun is much more intense. From what I understand its best to select areas that shade part of the afternoon sun.
If at all possible place your garden as near to a entrance on an south facing wall of your home that has limited obstructions. If close to your door you it will be easier to enjoy your garden and the house will reflect heat and protect your plants.
You have now identified an area and your look for a specific spot. When selecting your spot make sure that it optimally has clear access all around it and has a slight slope away to provide drainage. Don’t worry if your yard has a slope like mine. You can still build a raised bed its just going to take a little longer.
if you are in the southern hemisphere make sure to flip the instructions for North vs. South.
Now that you know where to put your garden its time to decide how big of an area you want. I recommend starting with a 4 foot by 8 foot area or 1.2 meters by 2.4 meters raised bed garden. Most people can reach 2 feet or 60 cm and with the easy access on all sides you should be able to reach everywhere in the garden with out having to step on the soil.
Now that you have an area marked out and a size selected its time to figure out how you want to garden. I generally recommend new gardeners start with a raised beds.
I think it is important to have a successful first year in order to inspire you to continue this great hobby. Raise beds have a number of benefits over in ground gardening that just make it a little easier to have a good year. Some of the benefits of raised beds include better control of the soil, the chance for fewer weeds and the potential for fewer soil issues.
I do realize getting started does cost a little more but I personally feel its worth the investment. Moving forward raised bed gardening does not have to cost a lot.
its time to build your garden beds. around the perimeter of my garden area I have selected built them from 2 2×6 or one 2 x 8 or 12. I tried to use as much as possible reclaimed wood so the depth varies. All you really need is 6-8 inches of depth.
Raised beds are fairly easy to put together. here I have used a 4×4 post in the corner to screw the planks too. Again I try to source scrap material as much as possible. wood working corner brackets work fine as well.
in my main beds I used 4×4 and 4×6 posts. These are more expensive however as I dont have access all the way around the garden beds and I needed to be able to walk on the frame. The 4 inch surface instead of the 2 inch surface makes it easer and stronger. The posts are much simpler to attach together. you can simply pre drill and screw them directly to each other.
Greetings! Today I am sharing the benefits of using baking soda in your garden! I think these are fun and helpful tips using a very economical product in the garden as well as in your home and for your health and more!
Enjoy!
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Video Rating: / 5
Thank you so much! This is a concise video with a lot of practical information for an extreme newbie like me! Now I just need to figure out a plan for where to plant all of my different seeds!
awesome video, thank you!
Excellent!!
My father told me I had to visit Simply Love Gardening (search on Google). I learned a lot there.
At the end of the year, do you remove the dirt from the garden bed. Or do you just add oppose to your garden after the first year.
the little dog stole your show :)))
Thanks for the video! I'm just getting started with raised bed gardening and enjoying the challenge.
Thanks
Thankyou, But is a raised bed really worth all the cost ????
Every body has all kinds of ideas for design, materials, size, for raised bed gardening…..But No body tells where to get the planting material (dirt) for a raised bed….
You make no mention of being sure not to use treated wood! The chemicals will leach into your soil!
Raised beds are great for people with limited space, maximum yield in a minimal area and beginners can get excellent results from even a small raised bed.
I like your dog.
I am starting my raised beds this week. What do you recommend horse or cow manure. I can have access to bulk sheep and poultry manure as well.
My existing semi raised beds are shaded along 50' fence (mainly for fenugreek, spinach, kale and lettuce)
The new beds will cover about a 120 sq ft with veggies like okra, bitter mellon, round squash, English cucumbers and egg plants.
I just found your film on YouTube. You really impress me and my wife. Thanks for showing us how to get started and are looing for more info
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Very nice info.
Nice video.
I think some things that stop people from having a garden is that they think it's a lot of work, and it can be, but it doesn't have to be.
On another note…I recently got into a debate in a gardening forum about sheet mulch. You mentioned that you do it, so I take it you're thinking like I do about it's weed suppression and soil improvement. There are some that think it is detrimental to the soil. Barrier to moisture and air movement, etc.
I'm rethinking my general use and probably will only use it when I have a particularly persistent weed problem, but I'm thinking a deep mulch may be enough. Curious to hear your thoughts.
Always love your video. Absolutely helpful. Steven, can i put shredded paper or cartoon for the plastic container at the botom? Or it is only good in the raise bed because touch the ground directly? Thanks for advice.
Video is to see, but here it is lecturering
Video is to see, but here it is lecturering
How to make invitation letters
Too much talking….
Im a fan both of gardening and baking soda and will try low dose on my cabbage worms. But what does this stuff do to plants and the soil in itself? Small doses good, high doses burn? And hey, don't call purslane weed, it's way healthier than cabbage!
I am a scriber on your channel how would I be able to treat a gardenia that the leaves are turning yellow and a apple tree that has black spots on the leaves also the Apple tree has several blooming and I do not know too much about apple trees Should a Appletree have blooms in December thank you for your channel looking forward for your correspondence
Arm and Hammer has Aluminum…not so good. IF your going to consume to kill cancer by adding to a grade 'B' pancake syrup by slightly cooking and then eating, use another type. Its the 'trojan Horse to killing cancer. NO DOUBT!
Awesome video thank you so much and I love the fact that you're anti Monsanto of course organic gardening is just that but I appreciate hearing it. we have to do everything we can to weed out every thing that represents Monsanto thank you again for this great video a lot more of great use his or baking soda I love this product anyway now I love it even more
I agree, use natural – DONT fund/help Monsanto !
You know the picture of the weed you showed (pigweed) is one of the most omega 3 nutrient rich substances in the world? I would be eating it, not killing it.
I have spots on the leaves of my Cleveland Pear trees, Will this help with that????? Please help me!!
thanks for your advice..one question what would the amounts be for the mixture of baking soda and water? im having a peaty much small bug infestation which honestly the only one i can recognize is the ant and something small that seems to be eating my plants..any way just looking for help dont really like to use harsh chemicals..thanks! +Noreen's Garden
So the dish soap won't be poisonous to the Bonsai? Thank you so much Noreen
Hi Noreen, I have a quick question I was wondering if you know how to get rid of spider mites off of a Bonsai tree? My son has a bonsai tree and he said it has spider mites and it now seems all of it's leaves are falling off.
You learn something every day….thnx.
Hi Noreen the baking soda will that also kill the beneficial bugs too..Lady Bugs,Bees etc ?? Love this new channel getting caught up on your videos ..Thanks for sharing :)
I learn so much from you! Love these baking soda tricks – SO much better than the chemical approach.
noreen, does baking soda go bad? I keep finding things I need baking soda for, and trying to prepare, I find I am gonna need a LOT~!!!! suggestions?
Thanks Noreen, You taught me something. Great tips. :)