The Making of a Garden
One of the first decisions you have to take before you start designing a garden is the location or spot where you can make your dream come true. If you do not have much choice in the matter and have to make do with whatever little space you have, then settle for a box garden – after all, something is better than nothing at all.
Let us take a hypothetical situation where you are allowed to choose a space to make your garden. Which one would you go for and why? The best sight for a garden is where there is plenty of sunlight. Consider sunlight to be the single most important factor while selecting a site for your garden. No one in his right mind would choose a northern corner for his garden, unless there is come kind of compulsion. While the north corner is good for growing ferns, certain wild flowers, and begonias, it is hardly the place to grow a proper garden.
The idea spot would be one with an exposure to the south. The land here basks in the glow of the sun all through the day. Once you have finalized the site, remember to plant the rows of vegetables and flowers which run from the north to the south., this way, they get the eastern sunlight during the morning hours and the evenings are aglow with the setting sun of the west. No lopsided plants are recommended with such an arrangement.
In case the site which you have chosen faces the southeast, you have to plant the rows which run from northwest to southeast as the western sun is out of the problem.
The whole idea is not only to get the sunlight as evenly distributed, but also for the longest period of time. If you have seen the poor growth patterns of window plants, you can imagine the effect of poor sunlight on plants. So if you wish one side of your plants to receive sunlight for a part of the day and the other side to receive during the balance of the day, you can actually juggle with the design for your garden. The southern exposure for the garden is perfect as sun would then provide sunlight to half the garden during some hours and the other half till it sets. The northern exposure on the other hand is bad for the garden as it then hardly gets any sunlight. Northeastern and southwestern corners invite only part of sunlight and can not evenly distribute the sunlight, however much you plan out your garden.
It is a good idea to draw out a garden on paper. This paper planning is a great help when buying seeds for plantation and arranging for their growth and development.
You can expect any new garden site in either of the two conditions: ploughed with turf or with rubbish. When it is a large garden, the soil is ploughed with the sod turned under; but with smaller gardens you have to remove the sod. To remove sod, follow this simple procedure: stake and line the garden periphery. This will give you a straight line to follow. The edges can be cut off with spade. In case the space is smaller, four feet by 18 or 20 feet, then your job is simpler. You could mark off this narrow strip like a checker board and cut off the sod with spade. Divide the strip of land in two narrow strips and cut off the sod along the length. When the turf is cut, roll it up much like a carpet.
In case the plot of land is large, then divide the space in narrow strips which are about 2 feet broad and carry on with the sod removal procedure as discussed above. What should you do with the sod thus gathered? Never throw them away, as they are rich in nutrients, though not quite in a manageable state. Pile one square of sod on top of another and leave it to rot. Rotten sod makes an excellent fertilizer. This is also called a compost pile. Through out summer you may add old green vegetable matter to this pile; similarly in fall put the autumn leaves. You have a ready pile of good nutrients for the garden.
Even if you have a large piece of land, I personally prefer picking out the large pieces of sod rather than plough the land to turn them under. You could pick up the pieces of sod from a ploughed space and stack them on to the compost heap.
Spading alone can not help you to plough the land, as it is still full of lumps. Break the lumps into fine pieces. The ground is not yet ready for planting. The soil has to be very fine for planting to start. The fine soil allows fine and tiny roots of plants to penetrate, whereas big lumps leave enough empty places in the soil which no delicate root can enter. Thus the seed is left stranded amid large chunks of soil. The space is incapable of pulverizing the soil; for this you need a rake. Though rake can break up the soil and get rid of large lumps, you will need a hoe to break down really large lumps, which a rake also can not handle.
Not many people know how to handle a hoe. The main function of a hoe is to free the soil of weeds and stir the top surface. In summer people use hoe to form mulch of dust, essential for retaining moisture. Hoeing is not really a vigorous exercise but you could use the hoe very gently too. On the other hand, spading is hard labor, but not hoeing and raking.
After all the big and small lumps are broken, then the soil can be raked for making the soil bed find and smooth. This completes the task of preparing the soil.
Darren Williger is a tea drinking, guitar playing, meditating, wine making sales maker who writes for MiniGarden.com, RoseMaven.com, and HomemadeWine.com.
