I know you’ve seen the prices at the grocery store. You know by now what y’all like to eat. And sometimes, if you want something, you just gonna have to grow it. So, let’s get started!

Where to place the garden:

6 hours of sun and protection from the wind. 

I was sure I had the perfect place! The backyard already has a six foot wood fence that would be perfect to keep deer out and would be so convenient for me to get to. I could use the fence as one side of the bed and create a two foot strip all the way up and down the fence. 

One problem…

Cute, ain’t she? She and her visiting friends would wreck havoc on the gardens. And Doug was concerned we’d take up too much space of hers and I was afraid it wouldn’t be enough space for me.

Plan two: the front yard. I can till a gorgeous 35×15 garden bed and grow everything I want.

One (or more) problem…

Cute, ain’t she? She would love nothing more than some fresh lettuce about now. I love wildlife, and I don’t want to dissuade them from being here, I just don’t want them in the garden. Alright, so do you know where you want to put your garden? Let’s talk fencing.

Fencing:

You could splurge on six foot fencing. Dog panels would also be amazing. Next cheapest is field fencing. Okay, so now we already feel broke and pretty tired, what’s the next option? We’re resorting back to our homestead days when this blog began where we had sacrificial pumpkins to know when the deer were coming in. We used six foot T-posts and strung fishing wire every 12 inches from top to bottom as an invisible fence. The deer can’t see it so when they press against it, it spooks them and they go away. (On a side note, we even caught a teenager sneaking in past curfew with this fence.)

Squirrels and ground animals can get through any fence, so we will have to think more localized to protect things like corn and greens. Greens can be covered in a simple hoop house made with rebar and pvc pipes. So, how’s that soil?

Soil:

Poor lady’s soil tester. Fill a canning jar half way with soil. Fill with water. Shake. Let sit and settle down. The bottom layer is clay. The center is silt. The top is sand. You want 2:2:1 but here we are in the real world! I’ve got mostly clay so I can use bagged garden soil, manure, chaff from the coffee roaster, etc. This is still better soil than any I have experienced. I’m pretty excited to grow in good dirt. Worst case scenario, you can always do raised beds.

Slope:

My house is up on a hill with a steep ravine below it. This whole area is pretty hilly (I feel like I am in the mountains!), so a slope is expected. One can use bricks, edging, cinder blocks, rocks, or pieces of wood to help stair step the ridge so that the water doesn’t head promptly south of the garden, taking all your seeds with it. 

Seeds:

If you haven’t got on it, y’all best get to it! Post covid, seeds sell out super fast. If you see them, get ’em. I order from Johnny’s seeds for a few reasons; I know what varietals I like by this point. They are good seeds. They are GMO free. The ones you see at the grocery store and feed store are great too, and cheaper to boot, but you must know that there are less seeds in them! If that doesn’t bother you cause you making a small garden out there, then by all means, save some money. Lord knows you’re going to need it for some other gardening task. (My husband always says that it’s very expensive to live like a peasant.) $300 later, I am ready to start digging. Just need to get my husband to do it. (That’s a whole nother blog post.)

Water:

I come from a place where water is scarce, unless you count hail. I have never lived somewhere where it regularly rains. How odd. I have no idea how often to water here in Alabama.

My first “garden” was when I was nineteen, as the proud new owner of a tiny house in Denver. A strip of baked sand on the south side of the house became my patch. I planted the seeds, and bless me, they never came up because one actually has to water and amend the soil. 

Twenty years later, y’all (slow learner), I figured it out with the help of a friend. Water. Poor lady’s rain gauge, stick your finger into the soil. If it is wet to the second knuckle, stop watering. In Colorado, my husband and I spent an hour and a half on our respective gardens watering every night. Even though I don’t know what to expect, two inches is still the goal. Hopefully Mother Nature will take over that chore.

Now draw out your dream garden so you know where to put everything. I am doing spring crops, summer crops, and fall crops, so I have each set of rows planned out.

Are you planning a garden this year? Is this your first time? Twentieth time? What advice would you give blog readers? Chime in on the comments! It may be January, but spring will be here before you know it!