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Spring is the time for New Beginnings: amending our garden soil

Simply put, amending our soil means improving it in texture and fertility. Soil amendment should be looked at as a long term solution with ongoing continual effort and ongoing continual results. If we’re looking for a quick fix, we’ve chosen the wrong hobby. Even if our soil was great five years ago, its not reasonable to expect it to remain that way without continuing to replenish it. Plants use nutrients; water and winter leach out nutrients – it’s simple math. Making our gardens the BEST that they can be begins with healthy soil, and that means we do what we can to continually replenish what is continually being used or lost.

How do I know if my garden soil is good?

The primary way to understand your soil is to check its texture and structure. Good soil has a healthy balance of organic matter, sand, silt, and clay. It should also be moist but not soggy. To determine the texture of your soil, take a handful of damp garden soil and squeeze it into a ball. If it breaks apart easily our soil is on the sandy side. If it clings together, our soil is more clay. Why does this matter? Proper soil texture is essential to allowing roots to take up moisture and air. Most soils contain a mixture of clay, organic matter and sand. Whatever your soil is currently, the objective it to ‘amend’ it so that it is more humus-y. Humus is the result of a long process of decomposition, the combined efforts of earthworms, bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms and time. It is loose, crumbly and spongy and usually dark brown or black in colour. Good soil could have as much as 25% compost and will hold together loosely if we squeeze it into a ball. Ideal soil for growing vegetables could be as high as 50% compost in the soil. This helps hold the moisture in a way that plants can readily access it. Ultimately, it is our goal.

Let’s talk about Clay first:

Clay is a fine grained mineral made when rocks break down. It acts as a binding agent giving the soil elasticity and allowing the soil particles to stick together. Clay soils can be difficult to till, and will not drain quickly after a heavy rain, often hardening when dry.

I remember a certain area near a creek close to my childhood home. We kids called it the ‘clay pit’, and I have no idea who discovered it, but new kids were constantly introduced to it. In the spring we would walk down with pails and (if I was to be totally honest) our mothers’ serving spoons, to dig some clay. We had to go after a rain when the clay was perfect, other wise it would be like cement and good luck getting any out with a serving spoon. It was heavy so we couldn’t bring a lot home in our little pails, but no matter – we didn’t need a heckuva lot.
We would get more water and knead it in like we were making bread. When it was the texture of plasticine, we formed small bowls out of it and left them to dry in the sun. I don’t recall how long they took to dry, probably a day or two if it was nice and sunny. Then we’d give them to our mothers (who were always so ‘appreciative‘) as gifts. They used them as ashtrays – which in the world in which I grew up, was a valuable household ornament. When I was much older and observed old indigenous pottery in museums, made in areas further south of where I lived, I remembered that clay pit and our rudimentary attempts at using the clay – and I felt one with the world.

I cannot say anything really ‘bad’ about clay lol, because it holds such fond childhood memories for me. But on the other hand, I didn’t have to grow a garden in it. And I sure wouldn’t want to. Dense clay soil compacts easily, restricting the movement of water, nutrients and air throughout, making it inhospitable for your plants. Roots hit a hard clay floor or wall when they try to grow, and the clay retains too much moisture drowning or rotting roots. Sandy soil is the exact opposite.

to amend clay soil –

add organic matter – like compost, dried grass clippings, shredded leaves, aged horse manure, and compost. That’s pretty much it. Sounds simple doesn’t it? Well you’d be surprised at how many problems can be solved by compost. My advice – after some very positive personal experience – is this three layer lasagna recipe.

1. Distribute a nice deep layer of straw (3 to 4 inches is a good start) over the surface of your garden area in the early spring.
2, On top of that, distribute another 3-4 inches of well aged horse manure. Why horse manure? Because it is a beautiful natural fertilizer rich in nitrogen and perfect for earthworms. (tip: horse manure is a good thing to add to your soil frequently, so make friends with a horse owner and plan to add a top layer every year or two). Your leafy green garden vegetables will be very happy.
3. On top of that – like the shredded cheese on your lasagna, broadcast the clippings of the first mowing of your spring lawn – with all the leftover fall leaves and snow mold and all the other things you thought were ugly when the snow finally melted. All organic grass clippings are wonderful, but the first mowing is full of microscopic critters that make the world go ’round. Their job is to break down organic material and they’re very good at it.

I am reminded that many years ago when our kids were young – for a different reason entirely, we layered a few bales of ‘hay’ all over the top of our backyard garden (yes, I mean hay as opposed to straw). Hay is grass, less coarse than straw (which is the dried stocks of grain) so it breaks down easier than straw. I hear all the time that one should avoid hay in a garden because of the amount of ‘seeds’ in it that are obviously going to grow, but I found that not to be a problem at all. The types of seeds you can expect to find in hay are the type of hay it is – perhaps Timothy Hay, perhaps Alfalfa. Those seeds are going to grow so LOOSELY in the hay itself that they’re easy to pull out as you’re walking by. Nothing to worry about. Don’t avoid hay for that reason.

Over the course of that summer the hay created a marvelous mulch for us, while it began the process of breaking down under the surface.
Benefits:
– It kept the weeds down, and those that did grow were rooted in the hay so super easy to pull out.
– It helped keep the moisture from evaporating.
– It was excellent mulch for our potatoes. They literally grew IN the hay, shielded from the sun.
– In many ways that was one of the best gardens we’ve every had, and I was anxious to repeat it.
– By the next growing season the hay was almost completely assimilated into the garden, and I needed more. But we couldn’t find more that year – we live in the city, so don’t have easy access to things like this. We found straw instead however, and while we understood the difference, didn’t fully envision the significance of that difference. While it looked good initially, it didn’t readily break down like the hay had, and after another growing season and winter, when Dan rototilled the garden the following spring, it got all tangled up in the tines of the rototiller – very frustrating for him. I agreed to not use straw anymore. In retrospect however, understanding it so much more now, I could have done things a little differently. We gave up too easily. All these years later, it is interesting to me that we’re returning to a method we had unwitting success with decades ago, but we’re understanding more about why it worked and that is helping. Such is the nature of gardening: one lesson at a time.

Sand:

Unlike clay, sandy soil allows water to drain more easily, but that requires a lot more water to sustain plant growth, and the constant draining washes nutrients away. My 9 year old Zack, once asked “Why doesn’t the ocean drain out?” He had noted that the sand on the beach didn’t hold water. I thought that was a brilliant question but of course I didn’t have a brilliant answer. The good news is that it is a relatively easy remedy in the garden; but again, don’t confuse ‘easy’ for ‘quick’. Looking for a one time fix is far too simplistic.

Amending sandy soil –

is necessary to help create a happy, healthy home for our garden vegetables. Adding organic material to the soil will not only add important nutrients, but will also help maintain them. It will also help with moisture retention. Compost is the best amendment. How ironic that for these two extremes of inhospitable soil, the solution is the same: COMPOST and other organic matter.

The best quality compost is made of many different types of material: garden greens, shredded leaves, dried grass, as well as kitchen waste of all kinds, and everything else that goes into a homemade compost. If you don’t have a good supply of homemade compost at your disposal, start by using city compost, or commercially purchased compost. Then immediately start your own compost so you can supply yourself every year after this. If you live in a place that isn’t conducive to compost, consider donating your kitchen scrapes to your local community garden. At the very least, donate it to your city’s green bin program if you have one.

Peat moss aids in moisture retention, helps increase the acidic soil level, and we can still buy huge bags of it quite affordably. I use it in my many pots and window boxes – pots of flowers, pots with peppers or tomatoes – all traditionally places that I have a hard time keeping moist. I use a wheelbarrow as a big mixing bowl. Equal parts potting soil, peat moss and compost – pretty much following my mother-in-law’s recipe. Then I add a LOT of water. It will absorb more than you think it will, and I constantly work the water in with my hands till the mixture is very moist but not dripping wet. Then I put it into my pots and plant my plants or seeds in it. It is a lot easier to keep peat moss moist than it is to get it wet in the first place – it’s first reaction is to repel the water, before it finally gives up and absorbs it. If you let it dry out, you’ll be starting again with that process.

Aged horse manure is an excellent compostable material to either mix into our compost or layer over top of our garden surface. Again, avoid the temptation to work it in. Have a little faith and give it time to amaze you.

Ultimately – this simple rule applies: the best way to improve soil texture is by adding organic material, such as compost. Decaying organic matter loosens clay-dense soil helping air and water move more freely so that roots can penetrate easily. It also helps sandy soil by holding water and nutrients that would otherwise drain away. In each soil extreme, it encourages beneficial microbial activity and provides nutritional benefits.

All soil requires amending from time to time – if only just to KEEP it good. And of course there are all sorts of other issues like ‘heavy feeders’, and crop rotation which continually benefit the soil. Gardens are living breathing entities and part of the cycle of life. Though we cannot see most of that life – it is there nonetheless, and living in harmony with it makes life a lot gentler.

Testing your soil for specific nutrient issues

You can test your own soil using a basic soil test kit from your local hardware or garden store. Inexpensive, easy and relatively accurate, soil tests provide good insight about what’s going on under your feet, including the levels of pH, calcium, lime, gypsum and potassium. I have only tested my soil once, the year after we took our spruce trees out. And after a year of fussing about this nutrient or that nutrient, the only thing that made a sustainable difference was something as simple as that garden lasagna recipe – which added compostable material in a very big way.

5 easy tips for healthy soil in your garden

  1. continually add organic matter – every year, and throughout the year by incorporating compost and compostables – which increases air, water and nutrients
  2. try to get out of the habit of using a rototiller, especially in smaller gardens where they aren’t necessary. Breaking up all that soil isn’t helping it.
  3. protect your topsoil from sunburn with mulch
  4. don’t use chemicals unless there’s absolutely no alternative
  5. rotate crops so that they are naturally both using up and replacing nutrients

Crop rotation:

The concept of crop rotation is simple: avoid planting the same crops in the same area every year. Different types of plants require different nutrients from the soil, and in return – provide different nutrients. By not planting the same vegetables in the same spot year after year, new plants will benefit from what the former plants leave behind, and we will discourage pests and diseases from building up in the soil. Ideally, we should rotate a vegetable family so that it grows in an area only once every three or four years.

Beans – include all sorts of beans, peas and other legumes. They are easy to grow and don’t require anything specific in the soil – just lots of sun. They’ll replace the nitrogen that high feeders use up.

Greens – include anything green and leafy: lettuces, spinach, swiss chard etc. They are easy to grow and not too demanding, but will benefit from nitrogen and phosphorus. Beans and peas are known for fixing nitrogen in the soil, so follow them with greens.

Roots – are obviously potatoes, carrots, beets, and other vegetables that grow IN the ground.
Phosphorus promotes strong root growth. Bone meal is a good source of it, but don’t over use. 1 Tablespoon mixed into about 2 square feet of soil is a good amount. It’s not fast acting so the sooner you can apply it the better.

Fruits – includes any type of garden produce that produces ‘fruit’ like tomatoes, squash, cucumbers etc. They are heavy eaters so give them lots of attention. Brassicas like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage etc are also high feeders so I’m including them in with fruits. They want phosphorus – and good sources are chicken and horse manure and fish fertilizer (fish emulsion). For several years I have planted a raw broken whole egg with my tomato plants because I had heard that the protein in the egg was beneficial, and I knew that calcium was – which the shelf provides. I had not taken the time to conduct any experiments but I’ve always had good eggs. Last year (2023 I didn’t take the time to use any raw eggs. I noticed at the end of the year that my tomato harvest was disappointing but I didn’t make a connection right away – and who’s to know if there even was one? . . . A good friend of mine conducted an experiment last season with three sets of three tomato plants each. In one set she planted each tomato in a deep hole with a fish head at the bottom (sprinkle a little compost). Same types of tomatoes, everything else the same, but different things ‘planted’ with the tomatoes. She noted that the set of three with the fish heads had considerably more fruit than the others. That is what made me think about my last season’s disappointing harvest.

This year I will be using eggs again – and in half of my tomatoes, I’ll also be including fish remains. I’ll keep track and watch for any changes. Stay tuned.

Gardening is about learning new things Every. Single. Year! So keep your eyes open, listen to others and pay attention.

Personally I avoid growing most vegetables from the brassica family: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, brussels sprouts, radishes, mustard greens, and collards. Not to say I don’t like them, I DO. But I despise the ugly voracious caterpillars that come from the cabbage moths – which always seem to find my plants no matter how well I think I’ve hidden them. I have tried every potential solution I’ve heard or read about but in the end, each success is limited and unsustainable. I finally gave up years ago and I’m at peace with that. However, I have three exceptions to my ‘no-brassica’ rule: kale, radish greens and mustard greens (which I have recently discovered). These I plant dispersed throughout my garden – especially kale, which are planted here a few, there a few in the vegetable garden, herb garden, flower gardens, front yard, back yard, . . . . wherever I can find a spot for one or two plants. I do this because I’ve noticed that the cabbage moth will take the easy path of going down a row laying their eggs. If my kale are not in a row, I have a chance of saving more of them. I am ruthless though – if a plant shows evidence of being eaten, I quickly pull it out and get rid of it – saving its neighbours from a similar fate. I tell them “Sacrificing for the greater good is noble“. I don’t know if that helps them or not lol.

Radishes I plant sprinkled among my lettuce and carrots. I don’t really care for radish roots, but I do like their green tops so its worth it to me.
Mustard greens – I have only recently discovered mustard greens and I really like them. I haven’t developed a routine for them yet however, still working on that.

For years Dan and I have maintained what I (playfully) refer to as the “grass war”. Its a complicated conflict. He loves his grass and I sorta like it too. I love my garden and he sorta likes it too. I would like more garden and less grass. He would like more grass and less garden. The war has never been won; we remain in a tenuous semi-permanent truce, each awaiting the other to weaken or concede on small issues. Maintaining a healthy balance of both, our yard successfully accommodates every demographic in our family: the little kids who need a play area and a yard to run around in, the bigger kids and Grampa who need a trampoline with water and a treehouse, the young adults and Grampa who need space to set up some yard games and roast hot dogs, Gramma who needs a place to grow food for them all, and the Gramma Great who needs a place to sit and watch the whole goings on.

So far mutual respect is the keeping the peace. However, the ‘conflict’ is further complicated by our opposing views on a few major points – like compost. They’re not irreconcilable differences, just differences of basic idealisms. We both believe in composting – me radically, and him conservatively. It is my insistence on keeping grass clipping IN the yard, being lightly distributed as mulch throughout the gardens and adding the rest to our ongoing compost. His position is that we have too much of it, and some of it has to go. Consequently, he’s motivated to mow the lawn when I’m not around to get the bags of a freshly mowed grass out into the alley for pick up, before I notice and go rescue them – hauling them back in and dumping them out in the compost area.

For years, the quiet but simmering conflict came to the surface every spring with the first mowing. My instincts told me that the first mowing was a gold mine of grass clippings, and his instincts told him it was dangerous – full of snow mold and other bad things that had to be eliminated. This remained a stale mate issue since time immemorial UNTIL a mutual friend unwittingly weighed in. Our friend Scott took a stance firmly on my side – stating emphatically that snow mold was a garden’s friend, and that the first mowing was full of hidden treasure. I should state here that Scott and his wife Alana are excellent gardeners with more formal education on the subject than either Dan or myself. It was Scott who prescribed our garden lasagna recipe above, and we both respected his opinion. The success of that ‘experiment’ has become the stuff of legend in our garden. But that’s perhaps a story for another time. Suffice it to say, that since that supreme success, we have agreed on the issue of the first mowing. Score one point for Cindy (not that I’m keeping track of course lol).

Back to the lasagna recipe –
I understand that it is tempting to want to “work in” all that additional material you just put on your garden. I admit I was sorely tempted the first time we did this too. My opinion was influenced by many years of tradition – as no doubt, is your’s. But DON’T DO IT! In fact, you will actually do damage to the very thing you’re trying to nurture. The natural state of a soil’s structure is alive and loaded with organic material – bacteria, nutrients, worms and other creatures, and microorganisms all working together in the great cycle of life. As we rototill or dig that wonderful material in, attempting to distribute it, we are actually disrupting and destroying instead of repairing. All those channels that worms and other critters create when they chew through the soil, help to bring oxygen and water into the ground below, making it easier for our plants to develop healthy root systems and find the nutrients they need. With our shovel, fork or (heaven forbid) our rototiller, we will break all that up – destroying colonies and disrupting harmony. Let nature do what she does best, and leave well enough alone.

Let the rain do its job of washing the nutrients from the top layer down into the layers below. If we’re having a dry spring, maybe we can help it out a little by watering from time to time. Yes, I know the wind will blow some of the straw around. Calm down. Just mow it up when you mow your grass and sprinkle it over the top again. In a matter of only a few weeks it will all settle in and make itself at home. We can trust the natural process beneath the surface; leave this part up to God and all his little critters.

If we intend to plant this area right away, we may be obliged to work some of this material in with a shovel or fork. We must do what we must do, but be cautious. In the past, I’ve marked my rows and gently moved the straw mixture away from the row line – to plant my seeds or seedlings, gently pushing it back around the seedlings when they come up. For potatoes, I keep the straw in place. Potatoes are tough; they’re gonna grow through it all, but I’m not as confident about more delicate seedlings, so I baby them a little.

Yes, our garden will be several inches higher than it used to be, but over the season the straw will break down, the aged manure will be distributed into it and and the top layer will become indistinguishable. It will remain a fantastic mulch. By the next year we won’t see any evidence of it – testimony to all that subterranean community effort that went on undisturbed and unseen from the surface.

~

In the process of amending our soil, we may be tempted from time to time by the lure of a ‘quick fix’. This can sometimes look like synthetic fertilizers, which can be relatively cheap and promise to act quickly. (To be fair, I am not opposed to fertilizers but take care in their selection). Fertilizers don’t amend the soil, they feed the plants. A synthetic fertilizer might help us within a couple of weeks, but its usually a single use result, needing reapplication. Organic fertilizers on the other hand, release their nutrients over a period of time. We won’t get the instant fix, but we will get a longer, sustained feeding. Several years ago we had a problem area in our garden, caused by three 40 year old spruce trees that we had removed the previous year. Whatever we were doing to help the shrubs and other plants we planted in their place wasn’t working; it became clear we had a soil problem. We went to a few local nurseries to ask for advice and suggestions for soil amendment, but the best we received were recommendations of fertilizers to help specific plants in our problem area. This was not helpful, as the foundational issue remained ‘poor SOIL’; the plants were just falling victim to it. That is when Scott and I discussed our problem, and he prescribed our lasagna recipe above – which in a single season, transformed our dead zone into a rain forest.

disclaimer:
While I believe there is a place for natural fertilizers AFTER the soil has been improved, and I use them from time to time, I don’t pretend to be an expert on the subject. This is primarily a discussion on soil amendment.

Tips for ongoing success

  1. Adding compost or another organic material like horse manure, chicken scratchings, grass clippings, or straw or . . . . any other number of sources, is the easiest way to continually nourish your soil. An annual application of spring compost and an occasional top dressing of aged horse manure should in most cases, eliminate the need for any other form of amendment.
  2. The least expensive soil amendment is your own home produced compost using kitchen scraps and yard waste.
  3. While fertilizers temporarily add nutrients directly to the area, amendments improve the nature and characteristics of the soil while additionally adding nutrients.
  4. Don’t expect a quick fix. Soils cannot be changed in a single gardening season; it will take years of continually adding organic material to prevent your garden from returning to its former heavy clay state. The action of compost and garden plant matter breaking down and working its way into the soil is a process not an event.
  5. When clearing out your garden in the fall, consider allowing leaves and other plant material to decay naturally becoming part of the ongoing ecosystem. In the spring, you can rake out what you need to, mow it up and add it back in as mulch once you’ve planted your rows.

I’d love to hear your tips for a healthier garden.
Feel free to comment below.

Warmly,

Cindy Suelzle

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Gardening 101 – How to Begin

“By Failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin

At the risk of being too cliche, Benjamin’s counsel about planning is absolutely true. It may be tempting to skim through the planning stage of your garden, or even to skip if altogether, but if you do, I promise you will regret it in the not-to-distant-future. I have been gardening in the same garden for over two decades, but there is not a single year that I don’t plan it out again BEFORE I plant. There is never a time when the garden is the same as it was the year before. I am always wanting to try new things in new places, and as the sun/shade ratio in my backyard (due to tree growth etc) has evolved over the years, it has changed how things grow and flourish (or not) in certain areas. Where am I going to put the potatoes? What can I do to get the carrots more sun? What can I do to amend my soil in this bed? What is going to separate the potatoes and tomatoes? (they hate each other bytheway) It is no exaggeration to say that this is the most important step in growing a garden.

Start at the beginning, with a PLAN. Map out your garden – keeping friends together, bad neighbours apart and considering sun and shade

WHERE:

Choosing WHERE to plant your garden is not to be taken lightly. You can’t just plunk it in an available patch of ground. There are important things you must look for, that will determine the type of garden you can grow. If you’re growing flowers there is a lot of flexibility, but if you’re growing vegetables you need . . .

SUN: You can do without a lot of things in a vegetable garden, but you cannot do without SUN

Get to know your yard and garden.   Go out into your yard at different times of the day.   Find the spot with the most sun you can afford to convert into garden space.   Six good full hours of sun is considered FULL SUN, and that is what you’re looking for.  Don’t discount using pots in sunny areas.  Don’t discount the front yard either. Who said that gardens must be in the back yard. Some of the best and most beautiful vegetable gardens I have seen are in front yards, so open your mind.

To begin with, pay attention to the light patterns in your yard every couple of hours. Note how they’re different in the spring, summer and fall. Get outside in the spring, and assess where the shadows fall and for how long. Record your findings. Either use marking stakes to indicate light and shadow in your yard, or draw a map, sketching in where the shade in two hour increments. Start about 7 AM and stop about dusk. Use a pencil to mark shady sections of the yard. Note the sun and shade pockets throughout the day. Vegetables need at least six full hours but many flowers will do beautifully with less.

Remember that light patterns change. The position of buildings may not change but many other things do. When we moved into our current house the yard was bordered with trees, especially along the west side, many of them evergreens. They provided a sense of privacy and necessary shade in the hot dinner hours when we chose to eat outside, and we appreciated them. As time went on we noticed that we needed our sun umbrella less, and one day I was shocked to note that by 4:00 in the afternoon, our shade stretched all the way to the trampoline, a good 100 feet! Clearly that shade had been gradually increasing but I had never paid a whole lot of attention to it, other than to notice that our table wasn’t as hot at dinner time as it used to be. Once I did start paying attention however, I noticed how that shade had changed the growing patterns of a huge chunk of our yard. Dan had been wanting to cut those trees down for a few years because of the shade, but I wasn’t convinced till my big discovery. Trees grow. Big trees become bigger trees. It happens so gradually that until we are prepared to open our eyes and seriously take NOTE of the sun vs shade situation in our yards, it simply escapes us. But regardless of whether we’re taking note, it is affecting the growing conditions of everything it touches.

We live in a neighbourhood that is about 40-50 years old. That’s a lot of evergreen trees that 1st graders1 received at the end of their school year, planted with not much forethought in bare yards. Those “Arbor Day” trees grew up. Many of them are now almost half a century old! Driving in neighbourhoods the age of ours, one sees MANY evergreen trees planted too close together, or in unsuitable spots. They grew so gradually at first that it was easy to ignore what was bound to happen. . . .

No one likes to cut down trees, but sometimes it just has to be done, and I knew for a long time the day would come that our two big spruce trees would have to go. They had grown to a whopping estimated 35-40 feet tall, and in their ideal environment, were only gonna grow taller. Dan had been trying to talk me into removing them for years, but I liked that I couldn’t see other houses from our yard, they gave the illusion that the houses weren’t there. We had noticed for a long time that growing patterns in our yard were changing, but I remember well the fateful day that I finally agreed. I was standing in the middle of the yard about 3 or 4:00 in the afternoon when I noticed I was totally in shade. As I looked around me taking in all the shade, I was surprised at how I hadn’t noticed it before. Yes okay, I had noticed less sun in an area that used to grow great vegetables; I noticed that we could eat dinner on the patio without an umbrella anymore; I noticed that the black currants stopped growing a long time ago. But it wasn’t till that afternoon that I put it all together and realized Dan was right – those trees had become bullies, and worn out their welcome. We needed sun. Don’t get all huffy on me; I appreciate trees and we have plenty others around the yard. But these ones (on the west side of our backyard) were restricting too much sun, making it difficult to grow other things that were also important to us.

When you’re tracking your sunlight, keep in mind that in the spring bare branched trees are not giving as much shade as they will in the summer; once they leaf out, the former illusion of filtered sunlight morphs into full shade. Be frank in your assessment, it doesn’t do you any good to be sentimental about trees. If they work they work, if they don’t they don’t. You’re the boss. You can replace a tree that’s grown too big with another smaller, more suitable-to-the-space tree. Perhaps a fruit tree.

Ideally, for your vegetable garden you’d like to find a nice sizable patch of ground that receives 8 hours of full sun a day, unobstructed by tree shade or building shade. But if your yard is mature, that may not be possible without removing or at least pruning a tree or two. Removing the lower branches of a tree can allow filtered sun to shine through where full shade once dominated, and for flower gardens that might suffice, but vegetables need more than filtered sun.

Our sunniest spot was over on the north east corner – where the previous owners had parked their RV and a couple dead cars, so it was packed gravel, and possibly contaminated with oil. We didn’t have the resources to dig it all out and replace it with good soil, so we opted to put in raised beds, bricking in the pathways. Over the years, fruit trees have been planted in the yard and other trees have had to go – mostly because of shade in the wrong spots. The point is that sometimes you can MAKE sunny spots, or at least REMOVE sun impediments.

Your best spot might be in an area where all you have to do is remove grass. Lucky you. Your best spot might be shaded by some nice trees. You can always prune lower branches to open up sunlight, or you might have to remove one or two trees. Remember, you can always plant another tree in another area where it can be a better neighbour.
Your best spot might be in an area with poor soil or as in our case, no soil. In that case, raised beds might be your best option. Your best spot might be on your patio, in which case you may be obliged to grow in containers. If you live in an apartment, your best spot might be a balcony. Sun will determine your best spot. Every other condition is manageable.

I believe that for the most part, gardening directly IN the soil bed is the easiest and usually the best. But raised beds are a great alternative with a whole list of benefits.  
Container gardening IF the container is big enough and is watered frequently, is ideal for spaces where soil space is poor or not available like a patio or balcony. Remember however, that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. There is no reason you can’t employ more than one method depending on what your yard or space provides. I have several flower gardens throughout my yard, all IN ground. My tomato garden is IN ground. My vegetable garden is in raised beds. I use containers throughout my yard, especially on my patio to extend my growing area. In-ground, raised beds and containers can all have a place in the same yard depending on space and exposure.

Sun is serious business, and I have a philosophy about where plants reside in my yard. If you are a plant that tolerates shade or partial shade, you will get it. There are too many plants that MUST have full sun, to be wasting it on any that are agreeable to less sun. So we have a very segregated neighbourhood in our yard: separated by their need for sun, full sun, less sun, partial sun/partial shade, mostly shade, full shade. Each area is populated by those who do best in it.

Sunny areas can be very HOT and will need special attention, and watering is very important.  Not watering often enough or giving too little water at a time stresses plants and makes them susceptible to disease.

Flowering plants like tomatoes and cucumbers love the sun. The sunnier the better. They will ripen better in the sun, and will in general do better in every way.

Leafy plants will bolt in hot sunny areas, so they could use a more filtered area. Partially sunny areas like east or west exposures offer a balance that is suitable for many plants including leafy plants.

SOIL – Preparing your soil and maintaining its best health

Soil is more than just ‘where your garden lives’, it is also ‘what it eats’, so pay attention to what’s in it.  Most garden soils, without regenerative organic additives will be depleted within just a few growing seasons.  To improve depleted soil or maintain good soil to a rich healthy plant-supporting environment requires a simple plan of adding organic material such as aged manure and compost.  Whether you buy compost or make your own, along with manure it is the best organic additive to your soil.

Getting to know your soil: sandy-clay-loam, acidic or alkaline

SANDY Soil is very loose, letting both moisture and nutrients drain away.  Working in organic matter like garden compost acts like a slow-release fertilizer helping restore nutrients, as well as providing absorbing material so important in moisture retention.  Preventing water from leaching through so quickly with also retain nutrients. 

CLAY is made up of very fine particles that stick together making it difficult to drain.  Working in nutrient rich organic matter like compost and well rotted manure (emphasis on WELL ROTTED), physically breaks up the clay improving drainage and acts as a slow-release fertilizer.   It also makes the soil easier to work in, and less compacted after rain. 

LOAM is a rich soil containing a well balanced amount of sand and sediment and other rich organic matter with a smaller proportion of clay. It is what we’re striving for in the perfect garden soil.

Replenishing your Soil

Even the best of soils must be constantly replenished with nutrient rich additives to keep them fertile.  Without replenishing, the soil becomes nutrient poor, no longer attractive to worms and not a good source of food for plants.  This results in weak plants with stunted growth, that are susceptible to pests and disease.  The answer is not fertilizer – vitamins, the answer is good organic material – FOOD.  I am not anti-vitamins for people or for gardens, but it cannot replace good food.  As with people, good nutrition is key.  Vitamins come afterward, if needed. 

Well rotted organic material and woodchip mulch is an excellent way of nourishing your soil, increasing soil moisture and adding loam to both sandy or clay soil. 

The best time to bring in manure is late fall or early spring, before planting or after the season’s growth is completed.  If you live in a rural area it might be easier to find, but hey, that’s what google and social media are for.  Do a little searching, ask a few people – you’ll find good sources.  The emphasis is always on “OLD” when talking about manure, especially if you’re going to use it in the spring.  How old is old?  There are many factors that contribute to breaking down manures so its not as simple as saying “3 years old is best”.  Manure that has decomposed adequately will be brown and crumbly.  It will have a fresh earthy smell, not the yucky fresh manure smell.  That could be as soon as second year, or take as long as three or four years – depending on sun and moisture.

Applying manure to your garden beds:
It’s all about your purpose. You may be adding manure for a number of reasons. If you are doing a big over haul of your soil in the spring or winter, you’ll be adding a lot.  Remember the older the better. Whether adding in the spring or fall, go ahead and layer it over the top. In the spring you should be able to plant as usual.  If adding in the fall, it will further break down over the course of the winter. If you’re applying old manure as a mulch mid season around flowers, spread one to three inches deep.  This will help conserve soil moisture, and will break down slowly over the season.  Leaving the manure in the top layer will slowly release its nutrition over the course of a season’s watering, letting it soak through with the moisture. You’ll get many years of ‘fertilizer benefit’ from this, as well as improving the texture of the soil.

Applying compost to your garden beds:
I generally apply last year’s compost to my beds in the spring as I prepare the soil for planting.  If I was buying it, I would do the same thing – in the spring. How much?  Since I make my own compost, I use whatever I happen to have.  If I was to buy a truckload, I’d apply it like horse manure – everywhere, and then either spread it on top or work it into the top layer. As with manure, if you need the material to break up the soil as with clay and sand, work it into it.  If your soil is already good texture, and you’re just adding it for nutrition, leaving the manure or compost in the top layer of your soil, will slowly release its nutrition over the course of a season’s rain.    

Burying Food Scraps in the Garden:
In the early spring I am anxious to start composting, but often times my existing compost is not quite ready for me to add my kitchen scraps.  In fact, most of the time it is still not quite thawed.  What to do?  The ground is generally thawed a lot sooner, so I dig a hole in a spot where I will NOT be planting root vegetables like carrots or beets, and bury my kitchen scraps.  By the time I am ready to plant seeds in that spot (making it impossible to bury more food scraps there), the compost pile is ready for the new season’s offerings. 

PH balance:  Soil PH is an indication of the acidity or alkalinity of soil and is measured in PH units.  The PH scale goes from 0 to 14 with PH 7 as the neutral point.   From 7 down to 0 the soil is increasingly more acidic.   From 7 up to 14 the soil is increasingly more alkaline or base. 
Why is this important?  Plant nutrients become available or unavailable according to the soil’s PH level.  Most vegetables thrive in slightly acidic soil, because that PH affords them good access to all nutrients, a good range being between 6 and 7. Its not possible to ensure your soil is exactly the right ph for each individual vegetable, but in general terms you can focus on certain ranges. Below is a good estimate.                                                                                                                      
Extremely acid: < 4.5
Very strongly acid: 4.5-5
Strongly acid: 5.1-5.5
moderately acid: 5.6-6
slightly acid: 6.1-6.5
neutral: 6.6-7.3
slightly alkaline: 7.4-7.9
moderately alkaline: 7.9-8.4
Strongly alkaline: 8.5-9
very strongly alkaline: >9

It is easy to test with a simple garden soil test kit using dyes, available at hardware or gardening stores, but don’t expect extreme accuracy with ‘numbers’, more just ranges with these kinds of tests.  You will however, get a good idea if your soil is strongly acidic, strongly alkaline or neutral.  Amending your soil is not difficult to do, and you can do it organically, but the sooner in the season you know what you are dealing with, the sooner you can start amending.  In addition to adding manure and compost there are things you could be adding to increase or decrease over all acidity. For instance, peat moss is an excellent soil amendment for acid-loving plants and is easy to incorporate. Simply spread two or three inches to the top and work it into the upper layer of soil. For soil that is too acidic, try adding agricultural limestone to it. Work it into the upper layer of soil. Do your research, and ask around for suggestions. These are two very different things bytheway. Asking your neighbour for his opinion is not research, but both are valuable. In this day when google can be your neighbour, you’ve got the best of both worlds at your fingertips. WHAT:

What vegetables?   What variety of those vegetables?  Where do you buy your seeds or seedlings?   

Plan to maximize your harvest by drawing a map.   Perfection and accuracy isn’t necessary, just be reasonable and close to realistic.   Planting rows north and south is always best, its just not always possible depending on your yard configuration.   If you have to plant east and west, watch that the bigger plants are in the back of the garden (north) so they don’t shade the shorter ones.   Do the best you can with what you’ve got, that’s really all you have to do. 

Best choice of vegetables to grow is entirely related to what is suitable for your area, your climate, your spot, and your sun availability, and of course your preferences.   Yes, you want to be adventurous, and Yes, you’d like to try new things, but remember this whole adventure is ‘NEW’, so maybe don’t get too exotic in your first year or two. Yes, you want to think outside the box – but you want also want to give your plants the RIGHT conditions where they can be their best selves.   Your first few years are important to your confidence as a new gardener.   Set yourself up for success by selecting varieties that others in your area are finding success with.   Ask around for best suggestions of what vegetables to grow, and what is suitable for your area.   Ask neighbouring gardeners.  Ask on gardening facebook groups.  Gardeners are always happy to share what they’ve gleaned and learned from others.  You want to give your plants the RIGHT conditions where they can be their best selves.

Not all plants do well in all conditions, or even in all areas of your yard.  For instance, I don’t grow carrots worth a hoot in my yard, but my friend a few blocks over grows the best carrots I’ve ever seen. I suspect its a sun issue for me, so I’ve tried different areas of my garden, but still I have yet to have a great carrot experience since living in this house. There may be some conditions that are simply not suitable, so I focus on what I grow best.

buying seed

There are no shortages of places to buy seed: local hardware or garden supply stores, dedicated seed stores, even grocery stores.  Many people order their seeds from seed companies.  Last year was the first year in a very long time that I ordered from a seed company on line, and I did that because with all the Covid weirdness that was manifesting itself in the stores (like the shocking TP shortage) in the spring of 2020, I wasn’t at all confident that I’d find seed in the usual spots.  It is my habit, and has been for most of my gardening years, to buy seeds one year ahead.  Every year I buy seeds for NEXT year, and this year I plant the seeds I purchased LAST year.  This way I am never worried about my prospective garden being at risk because I cannot find seed, or perhaps I might not be able to afford seed in any given year.  There have been years like that for us, and seeds are not cheap.  Planning ahead is part of my philosophy for being self reliant.  Of course, I may pick up an extra package of something to use this year, but by and large the pattern is to buy ahead.

while there are others I add from time to time, the basic vegetables I grow that I think are pretty universal are these:

BEANS: bush or pole; green, yellow, purple; all are tender and must be planted well after last frost; assorted varieties.  You may already have your favourites.  If not, ask around for recommendations.   For most years I have planted bush beans because they I’ve never really had places for pole beans to climb.  But last year we added some vertical trellises and an arbour to our garden in the hopes that by reaching UP, we might increase our productivity in the ground space we have, so, now pole beans are my preference.   Taste wise, my personal favourite type of bean is purple beans.  I like them for a number of reasons, but mostly taste.  They grow purple so they are easy to pick, but don’t worry, when you steam them they turn a gorgeous bright green.  They have a somewhat ‘nutty’ taste which I love.

BEETS: red, yellow; round, cylinder.   My personal favourite is the traditional gorgeous round red beets.   Detroit or Ruby Red are my choices.  Detroits also produce nice tender greens which is a big plus in my books. 

CARROTS: orange, red, white, yellow; long, short; varieties: Nante Coreless are my go tos but I am still open to suggestions and could be persuaded by seed company claims of traditional sweet tasting carrots.

CORN: best suited in large gardens with LOTS of sun.  Best to plant in groupings as they cross pollinate each other.  There are some years we’ve grown corn even in our city raised bed garden and had beautiful corn, there are other years the summer simply wasn’t long enough and it turned out we wasted the space.  You takes-yer-chances with Corn up here.  A favourite among the people I polled is Extra Early Super Sweet.

CUCUMBERS:   I haven’t had a lot of luck with cucumbers in my present garden.  I am looking for suggestions myself.  I am very motivated to have them grow UP on my trellises.

dill growing with poppies in strawberry patch

DILL:  This is a garden must for me, and I buy the seed in bigger bags of 250+ grams.  I broadcast the dill among my other plants as they grow straight up and don’t compete with their shorter neighbours. I realize dill is not a vegetable, its an herb – but it lives in my vegetable garden and I replant every year. For more references to dill in other posts, just search the key word.

GARLIC:  I plant bulbs in the fall to harvest the next late summer.  Grown in amongst potatoes, said to deter potato beetles.

KALE:  For years I have avoided everything from the cabbage family simply because I got tired of trying to outsmart the cabbage moth that is responsible for the thousands of ugly worms in cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and brussels sprouts.  I tried everything I ever heard about or read about, and in the end I gave up and decided those would things I bought from the grocery store.   So when ‘kale’ became popular, I didn’t even consider it.  Last year I bought 6 kale plants quite by accident, thinking I was buying flowering kale for my flower pots.   When I realized my mistake I decided to plant two of them in three different spots in my garden to see if there was a favoured spot.  I was pleasantly surprised that they grew well and we ate kale almost daily for most of the summer.  By late summer, the two that were furthest into the garden, and so less in my sight line, got quite eaten by some kind of rude bug – but the others seemed fine.  Lesson learned, this year I’ll be planting kale on purpose, and probably double what I planted last year.   *hint: they need sun of course, and water often. 

I have fallen in love with kale in the garden. It is ready to use from June to freeze up, always happy and healthy – just a little more ‘mature’ toward the end, like the rest of us.

LETTUCE: leaf, romaine, butter, head; I plant a pretty generic leaf lettuce that I buy in bigger bags of at least 250 grams.  I plant in the early spring, then replant about three weeks later to have some variety in readiness.  You could be picking baby spinach for a mixed green salad by mid June and will be picking right up till freeze.   Green garden salads almost every day. 

ONIONS: green onions or bulb onions, and every thing in between.  I didn’t grow onions for years, cannot recall my reason for stopping.  But last year I planted several green onion bulbs, to be pleasantly surprise with the results.  I think we’ll be good friends for many years to come as I plan to do the same thing from now on.  They grew well and quickly.  I planted them among radishes and leaf lettuce and harvested as needed ALL summer long.  They were wonderful to have on hand and we used the entire plant from bulb to the top green tip.

PEAS:  Peas are a great cold weather crop, so best to plant them early when they ground is finally ready to be prepared.  They like cold feet so don’t worry about a little cold.   For years I did not grow them because they took up more room than I felt I could spare, but now with my emphasis on growing UP, I suddenly am much more interested in planting some.   They’ll be done by the end of July, especially if you planted them really early.  So you can plan for them to make room for something that might need the sun later in the summer, perhaps zucchini?    
Stupid cutworms were a problem for me last year.  I’ve gotta come up with a better plan to combat those enemies this coming year.

potatoes in garbage bags with leaf mulch 2020

POTATOES: red, white, yellow, purple; varieties like Netted Gems, Red Norlands, Yukon Golds, Banana, Purple, etc. I love all kinds of homegrown potatoes.  Since we’re in raised beds, room for potatoes has been a problem for years but I generally plant a few plants every year anyway.  My very best experience with potatoes was many years ago when we planted about six potato plants in straw.  Everything about it was great but sadly, for one reason or the other we never repeated it.   Soon we moved from that house and the spot was different, getting straw was sometimes more difficult than others, . . . This coming year, I am committed to repeating the experience with some barley straw. 

RADISHES:  I am not particularly a fan of the taste of radishes, and a handful in a salad once or twice a year is usually sufficient for me.  However, for some inexplicable reason I bought two packages of radish seed last year and decided to throw one package in amongst my spinach, green onions and lettuce seed.   As expected, they grew quite quickly and were up and happy in good time.  In thinning some spots out, I tasted a few and loved the fresh, slight peppery flavour of the tender greens.  Always scouting for young greens to add to spring salads, I began adding the radish greens.  Terrific!  I found a recipe for radish green pesto so I made a batch.  BEST pesto Ever!  I made a great discovery that season that will pay off for the rest of my life.  Me and radish greens will be friends from now on.

SPINACH:  plant as early as possible, they like it cold and will bolt in the summer heat.  By the beginning of July, they’re done. 

SQUASH:  bush like zucchini, trailing like acorn, butternut, spaghetti.  My fave squash is butternut

SWISS CHARD:  This is a standard in my garden, I couldn’t have a garden without it.  One of my favourite summer dishes is SPANAKOPITA which I grow swiss chard especially for.  Its almost the only thing I do with it actually, other than a dish of steams greens here and there – but I am THAT serious about Spanakopita.

tomatoes along the west side of the house, climbing on a trellis to provide airflow along the bottom. Companioned with chives, basil, feverfew and marigold, with a healthy kale plant along for the ride just for fun.

TOMATOES: small tomatoes in pots, larger tomatoes in garden; determinate – fixed size which are usually caged; indeterminate which will continue to grow and grow and grow as long as the season allows, producing tomatoes all along the way.  In another climate, an indeterminate tomato could grow for years, trailing the ground and establishing rootings frequently.  
I have come across my favourite tomato ever in the last few years, first introduced to us by my sister who was given a tomato gift from a gardening acquaintance.  The story goes that the seed for the tomato came from Romania, so the type and name are a mystery.  My sister collected the seed and the following year grew her own plants.  She gave me some, we loved the tomatoes and collected our own seed which we started in the house last March.  At this point, I am convinced I may never grow another tomato variety again.   They are indeterminate.  They are hearty and healthy plants.   The fruits are delicious and sweet, and HUGE, as in huge-like-a-dinner-plate. 
I call them ROMANIAN GIANTS and I have seed to sell. 

when planting seeds, always defer to the instructions on the packets for specifics

TURNIPS:  I am a newly converted fan of turnips since I started roasting them (like sweet potato fries), so this coming summer will be my first attempt at turnips for at least two decades.  A perfect example of how one should never discount learning new favourites to grow in the garden.  Here’s hoping for a good experience. 

CABBAGE:  All members of the cabbage family with the exception of kale, are of NO interest to me in the garden.  I love them all, and use them in my daily meal planning, but I will not grow them. See above. 

I’d love to hear your garden experiences.

Warmly,

Cindy Suelzle

  1. The Arbor Day tradition in Edmonton began in 1893 with school children planting trees. In the early 1950s, the City of Edmonton started providing seedlings to grade one students. The Government of Alberta soon took on this unique initiative and the City created a day of learning for grade one students.
    https://www.edmonton.ca/programs_services/for_schools_students_teachers/arbor-day#:~:text=The%20Arbor%20Day%20tradition%20in,learning%20for%20grade%20one%20students ↩︎