During WWI Victory Gardens were created when Americans were called to “sow the seeds of victory” by planting their own fruits and vegetables so that more food could be exported to our European allies. Many Americans answered the call planting 3 million new garden plots in 1917 and more than 5.2 million in 1918. Even children were recruited as “soldiers of the soil” as gardens took over every available space — rooftops, fire escapes, empty lots, and backyards. These efforts generated an estimated 1.45 million quarts of canned fruits and vegetables.
Fast forward to today when limiting our exposure to the covid-19 virus requires requires careful planning and limited trips to grocery shop safely. With stores selling out of basics, and unemployment rates rising, gardening may help reduce fears of food scarcity. Pandemic Garden, Doomsday Garden, Stick It to the Virus Garden, call it what you want, but planting a garden during the lockdown is the perfect opportunity to take back some control in our lives. Spending time outside can also help reduce depression, anger and stress which is something we all have a lot of right now. So grab a shovel! The sun is shining. Let’s take charge and start growing.
Part 1 – The Site
The site for the beds should be fairly flat with at least six hours of direct sunlight daily, typically afternoon light. Ideal growing beds are raised, with lumber, above the ground and measure eight feet by four feet. This allows just enough space to reach across for maintenance and weed control. Two feet wide walking paths allow access and separate the beds. The walking paths should be covered with mulch or pebbles over a weed barrier such as landscape fabric. The soil is a 60:30:10 mixture of topsoil, compost and potting soil that will be added to the beds once they are in place. Lastly, if there are deer or other critters around, the garden site will need a fence.
Part II – Building the Beds
Materials Needed:
- Three 2-by-12 boards, each 8 feet long
- Circular saw
- Soil to fill the finished frame
- Screws w/ cordless drill
- Soil (60:30:10 mixture of topsoil, compost and potting soil)
Assembly:
- Cut one of the boards into two four foot long boards. These will be the ends.
- Prop one side and end piece up at a a 90 degree angle and screw the boards in place. Repeat with the remaining side and end pieces.
- Remove grass and/or weeds and loosen the soil in the area where the bed will sit.
- Put the assembled bed in place and fill with soil to within an inch or two of the top.
- Repeat for the number of desired beds.
- Install walkways around and between the beds using landscaping fabric and mulch or pebbles.
Part III The Fence
In order to keep deer out of the garden a six to eight foot fence is required. There are numerous fencing options online. If there are rabbits in the area, the bottom two feet of the fence will need a smaller grid to keep them out. Chicken wire with 1/2- to 1-inch mesh will suffice. To prevent rabbits from burrowing under it, the fencing should extend at least six inches below ground or be secured to the ground to keep the bottom edge tight.
Part IV – The Plants
Tomatoes, zucchini squash, peppers, cabbage, bush beans, lettuce, beets, carrots, chard, and radishes are the typical vegetables planted. What is important is timing when to plant since most vegetables are either cool season or warm season crops. Find out what USDA hardiness zone you will be gardening in. This will allow you to determine the plants that will grow well in your area as well as determine when to plant them. Online sites such as the National Gardening Association provides hardiness zones, spring and fall planting strategies, and planting calendars by zip code.
For example, my zip code resides in zone 6 on the USDA hardiness zone map which means that I can plant cold crops like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce and spinach from seeds as early as the ground can be worked in mid-March. Warm weather vegetable seeds like beans, corn, and squashes are safe to plant around May 1st, once the soil is near 60° F.
Part V – Layout
Once you’ve determine which vegetables you’d like to grow, group them according to their growing season requirements. Use the back of the seed packet to determine spacing and yield of each plant. Draw a diagram of your garden layout. Use companion planting to get the most out of your space. Companion planting puts plants together that use different growing spaces. For example, planting beets between cauliflower and radishes between tomatoes works well because the beets and radishes grow below the ground while the cauliflower and tomatoes grow above the ground. This allows for less spacing between these different plants. If drawing a layout for your garden seems too overwhelming there are some great garden layouts available online.
Resources
There are many online resources, some of them are suspect or promotional. A great resource is your local agricultural college or university. Michigan State University has some great information, useful videos, as well as online webinars for gardeners. The National Gardening Association, listed above, also has a wealth of information. Pinterest is a great place to get ideas for garden layouts and fencing.
Many garden centers, where permitted, are offering curbside service to minimize customer contact. Seeds, tools and supplies are also available from online retailers including: