Week Three - Starting from Scratch: The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Gardening

Week Three

Which way is North: Layout and soil preparation for a new deck vegetable garden

Did anyone else get winter blues when the snow storm hit this past weekend? I was at a conference in Denver enjoying 70 degree days with full sun and green grass on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. It. Was. Glorious. I sat outside after the sessions and drank a refreshing gin and tonic and let the sun warm my face (wearing sun screen of course). 

On Friday it took a turn for the worse. By 1pm we were driving back into the mountains and I could have sworn that it was the middle of January. How could it be so beautiful in Denver and then less than three hours away get a foot of snow over night. sigh. Kyle did say it made for the best snowboarding day off his life on Sunday. At least one of us had fun. I looked longingly at my snow covered garden and wished for summer. 

OK, enough of a snow pity party! 

Container Garden Prep! 

This is what I have to work with. If I can make this tiny deck into a small vegetable garden, so can you!

Timeline: This step starts as soon as the night time temperature of the deck is above 28 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step One:

Make a Plan: Where to Place Planters

Our deck faces North West. That means we are going to get afternoon sun and no morning sun. As you can see in my super high tech and artistic graphic below (insert awkward cough), plants need to be arranged from most sun to least sun. Tomatoes and peppers need much more sun than greens, so they go where the most sun will hit them. 

The  amount of sun and the space of your deck will dictate what you can plant. I am using 5 gallon buckets  for the tomatoes, peppers and beans. That way I can still put a trellis of some kind up for them. I will also be using this awesome box that I bought for $4 at the dump salvage yard (Panting it will come later) for squash and zucchini.

Sunshine

Most vegetables require at least 6 hours of sunshine. If your deck has less sunshine, consider planting salad greens and herbs.

Step Two:

Soil (a fancy word for dirt)

Unlike plot gardening, containers need a lighter soil mix to do well. Buying a container mix usually does the trick. The container mix does not compress like normal top soil, which is a big advantage in pots.  

Get your containers ready to plant. Put Styrofoam (or cans or old milk jugs)  in the bottom of your buckets to make them lighter and to make sure they have good drainage. I found these for free at the local dump. 

These are ready to receive a transplant and be moved to the deck. It is still a little too cold for them to go outside, so I am going to hold off on transplanting for a few weeks. 

Hint: put your planters where you want them to be permanently so you don’t get stuck lugging around heavy pots of soil around your house.

Step Three:

Water

Small containers dry out more quickly and will need daily watering. 

Vegetables need consistent watering to do the best. If you know you will forget, try a self-watering system. Kyle had the foresight to think about laying plastic down before placing the plants. So our down stairs neighbors would not get their lawn furniture soaked with mud every time I watered. I will post pictures of the set up in the next few weeks. 

Step Four:

Fertilizer

I have never used much in the way of fertilizer other than some organic fish emulsion. However, in my research on urban deck gardens I have learned that containerized pants get much less nutrients from the soil then regular pot gardens. Every time you water your plant, you wash away some of the nutrients. More on this when we cover transplants next week!


Let me know if you have any questions! Up next week: Transplant basics 

I post a new blog every Tuesday!