Prepping and Planning Our Backyard Garden for Spring
Last year when winter set in and our backyard garden finally died, we were a bit lazy and left all our plants right where they sat. We had good intentions of properly winterizing our garden, but before we knew it, everything was covered in snow and the ground was frozen solid. Well today with the ground thawing and spring setting in, we are going to be prepping our unkempt garden plot and planning our backyard garden for spring planting.
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Prepping Our Garden Plots
I wasn’t kidding when I said our garden was a mess! You can still see the tomato and cucumber vines hanging on like skeletons, and all the dead organic matter covering the old soil.
The first thing we did was pull up all the old plants and toss them into our brush pile. Then, we raked up all the leaves, twigs, and old mulch until we could actually see the soil again.
We found a couple lost carrot stragglers from last year while we raked!
Turning and Amending the Soil
Once the top layer of old mulch and leaves was taken care of, we then used shovels and garden hoes to turn and aerate the soil. We added rich compost from our compost pile and some nutrient-rich organic gardening soil, mixing it well.
Finally, we raked it one more time to make a nice even surface for planting.
We did the same for the ground plot next to the raised bed as well. First, we raked off the dead matter, then we aerated it with a garden hoe and shovel, added compost, and finally re-raked it to make a nice even surface.
Adding Garden Infrastructure
We also made some improvements to our garden infrastructure for this year. Instead of using temporary metal posts for our fencing around the raised bed, we added some permanent fence posts with 2x4s so the fence remains nice and taught. It is also easily removable so we can get in there and work when we need to.
We also added a new raised bed to the backyard which is elevated 3 feet off the ground. This will help keep rabbits and other critters out without having to use more fencing. It will also be easier to work without having to bend over. We made this raised bed 6 inches deep and are planning to use it strictly for leafy greens like spinach and lettuce.
Planning Out Our Backyard Garden
We are going to take our experience from last year and try to improve upon our plan a bit for this year. Since we have limited space to work with in our backyard, efficiency is key.
Ground Plot
Last year we tried to pack corn, squash, peppers, and tomatoes into our ground plot. Though everything grew pretty well, the tomatoes basically exploded and overtook everything. It also became difficult to reach into all the tomato plants to pick them.
So this year, we are going to spread our tomatoes out more and bunch our corn on the end of the ground plot. (Corn should be grouped fairly close together to promote pollination.)
Larger Raised Bed
Last year we attempted to grow tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, peppers, and squash in our raised bed. Once again, this was a bit ambitious.
This year, we are going to simplify things a bit and change our layout. We are going to grow a row of cucumbers, a row of sugar snap peas, and a combination of sweet and hot peppers.
Smaller Raised Bed
Our 2′ x 8′ elevated raised bed is brand new this year. We are going to dedicate this strictly to leafy greens. We are planning to grow spinach and a couple different lettuce blends. It is raised off the ground so hopefully it will be safe from rabbits!
Containers
Finally, we are planning to grow all of our squash and zucchini in 12 inch containers this year. Two years ago, we grew all our squash in containers and they did great. Last year, we grew our squash in our raised bed and ground plot, and we didn’t have great luck with them. So we are going to revert back to our container technique and see how it goes!
Conclusion
So that’s where we’re at as far as prepping and planning for our upcoming backyard gardening season. We’ll post another article soon about getting all of our seedlings transplanted, and we’ll give you updates as the season progresses!
If you have any questions of comments about planning or prepping your garden, reach out in the comments section below!
Happy Gardening,
Cody
Thistle Downs Farm