By Caroline Croland
Caroline Croland is the Fundraising Coordinator at Georgia Organics. To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit www.georgiaorganics.org and follow us on Instagram @GeorgiaOrganics, Twitter @GeorgiaOrganics, and at www.Facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics.
Spring is upon us, and Georgia Organics was lucky enough to ring in the season with a gardening workshop! On March 14, farmer and former Georgia Organics Board Chair Joe Reynolds and co-manager Demetrius Milling of Love is Love Farm at Gaia Gardens shared their green thumb expertise in a live virtual demonstration, demonstrating how to plan and prepare a successful spring garden. Additionally, Laura Diaz-Villaquiran, FoodCorps Service Member, shared some tips and tricks on how to get your little ones in on the gardening fun by demonstrating how to create seed tapes and transplant lavender. This event was free for Georgia Organics members; if you want access to free and discounted events, sign up as a member today!
"We are at a critical time for getting ready for gardening- the days are longer, the sun is shining brighter, the soil is beginning to warm, and our very important planning time is beginning to ebb away," said Joe.
With that in mind, let's dig in! Here's a rundown of a few of the planning tips covered in the webinar.
Photo of Love is Love at Gaia Gardens, courtesy of Jenna Shea Photography.
Having a Game Plan
Step one for starting a garden is creating a game plan. This plan's level of detail will vary from garden to garden, but it all boils down to tracking your planting activities. What are you planting? Where are you planting? When are you doing your planting and harvesting?
The sophistication of your plan is up to you! You can create notes in your phone, keep a journal, a spreadsheet, or sketch it out on a legal pad- the point is to start your gardening journey off with the habit of creating a record of what you did, and ultimately, what did and did not work for you. This will ensure that you can create a more informed gardening plan in the years to come.
Where to Plant?
To ensure healthy plants, be sure to choose a space that gets 8-10 hours of sunlight. If you find yourself tethered to an area that gets less than that, you may need to make some adjustments regarding how many plants or which plants you choose to grow. Herbs, for example, are much more tolerant of low light
Another consideration is your orientation. A southern orientation is going to give you more sunlight.
Water is another essential factor. Are you putting your garden way out in your yard in a place where it will be inconvenient to water?
Once you find that perfect spot and build or mark your perimeter, take your tape measurer and divide that space into a grid divided by the square foot. This grid will help you determine the number of plants you can fit into your space. Once you map out your space, you'll be ready to start thinking about what kind of garden you will plant.
Raised Beds vs. in Ground Planting: What kind of Garden to Construct?
Demetrius Milling demonstrating how to grid off your raised bed. Photo from Spring Forward.
One popular gardening option is to construct a raised bed. To do this, you need to place a tarp over the native soil of your yard. Next, you will create a buffer. In the webinar example, Joe and Demetruis used concrete blocks to construct their bed, but you can use a wooded boundary box, logs, or even stones. Finally, you fill your raised bed with compost.
In addition to compost, you can add peat, which assists with water retention. You could also add perlite or vermiculite to add air content into the soil.
Raised beds can be a great option because they are relatively easy to construct, and there is no need to loosen up the soil. However, there can be added cost to sourcing the materials you need to build these beds.
In contrast, you could plant in the ground, directly into the native soil. The first step here is to mound the soil up so that you have a clear spatial distinction on where the plants go and where you can walk.
If you are in Mid-Georgia we have a lot of clay, and if you're in the south, you're going to be working with a lot of sand. This soil will have to be broken up, which you can do with a pitchfork or broad fork.
The next step will be getting a soil test, which your local extension agent can provide. You would want to check your PH, your phosphorus levels, and your potassium levels. These tests will also give you information about your soil nutrients.
PH is the most important. Vegetables thrive in slightly acidic soil, between the 6 to 6.5 ranges on that 14 point scale. Adding live compost can also be an excellent option when planting directly into the soil, as this adds biological organisms, nutrients and increases water holding capacity.
To further increase the fertility of your soil, you can add organic fertilizer. These options include:
Plant & animal meals to add nitrogen
Alfalfa meal to add nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium
Lime- will change your soil PH
Kelp meal- adds nutrients and it will give a full range of all trace elements to their plants
If you are gardening in a residential area, be sure to get your soil tested for toxic elements such as lead.
Getting in the Weeds
Everyone needs a plan for weed remediation! Weeds not only compete for nutrients with your plants, but they also provide shelter for pests and even carry diseases.
The plan could include pulling the weeds manually with your gloved hand or hand-tools. You can set a time to weed, either once a week or each time you harvest.
Mulch can be a great option for controlling your weeds while helping your soil moisture while also helping keep dirt off your picky plants (looking your way, tomatoes.) You can use plastic or paper mulch, which is available at your local hardware store. Alternatively, you could use good old fashion wood chips or pine straw.
What to plant?
Love is Love starter plants. Photo by Caroline Croland.
The question boils down to a simple determination- what would you like to eat or provide for your neighbors and community? What are your intentions and objectives for your garden? Do you want to grow herbs or edible flowers that you can pick nightly to accentuate your meals? Are you going to be drying and preserving herbs or vegetables? Some crops can grow prolifically in a small space, so having an idea of your objectives will help inform your plan of how much to grow.
Again, utilize your notes here to track your progress so you can adjust your planting plans each year.
Please note that spring in the Atlanta area tends to be relatively short, so some things you plant in spring won't last as long as your summer crops. However, all of these crops do have to be planted at the same time. Make a note when planning your garden that you will be turning the space where you grow spring items over more quickly than your summer crops.
Are you stumped on where to start? Here are some suggestions from Joe:
Cherry tomatoes
Arugula
Radishes
Turnips
Bush beans
Peppers
Edible herbs and flowers
These can be planted directly from seed or by purchasing starter plants from your local farmer. Click here to access Love is Love's plant sale or search the Plant Sale tag on our Good Food Guide to purchase from a farmer near you!
In addition to Joe and Demetrius teaching us to plan our garden, Laura provided a demonstration on how to involve your kids in gardening. Check out this resource from Foodcorps on creating Seed Tape to replicate that activity at home.
Planning a garden can be daunting, but by taking some thoughtful planning steps, you will be well on your way to growing your food.
Happy planting, ya'll!
Visit gfft.georgiaorganics.org/virtual-events to view upcoming GFFT events and register.
Stay connected to Georgia Organics! If you are not yet a member, you can join at membership.georgiaorganics.org/!
Buy your starter plants from local farms by searching the “Plant Sale” tags in our Good Food Guide
Learn more about Love is Love Farm: loveislovefarm.com and check out their plant sale!
Check out Love is Love’s General Growing Guide for additional tips!