Start small, start close
A kitchen garden is a vegetable and herb garden close to the house, for daily eating. The closer it is, the more often you visit. The more often you visit, the better it grows.
A common first-year mistake is too much garden. Weeds, watering and harvest all grow with area. A few well-kept beds usually beat a big plot that gets away from you in July.
Extension gardeners advise beginners to start small. A rough first-year size is 100 to 300 sq ft (about 10 to 30 m²), or a few beds. Grow from there once you know your soil, pests and time.
Choosing the spot
Most vegetables need full sun: at least 6 hours of direct sun a day, and more is better (Iowa State Extension). Leafy greens can manage with a little less. Fruiting crops like tomatoes, peppers and squash need the most.
Look for:
- Sun through the growing season, away from the shade and roots of big trees.
- Water within reach of a hose or rain tank. Carrying water gets old fast.
- Drainage: soil that does not stay soggy after rain.
- Protection from strong wind, and from deer, rabbits and chickens, if you have them.
Your site notes from lesson 4 help here.
Text description
A plan view, seen from above, with north at the top. The house is at the top, with the kitchen door on its south side. A short path leads from the door through a gate into a fenced garden. Inside are four raised beds, each 4 by 8 feet (1.2 by 2.4 meters), with 3-foot paths between them, for about 128 square feet (12 square meters) of beds, inside the 100 to 300 square foot first-year range. A rain tank by the house corner and a hose reach the beds. The fence keeps out deer, rabbits and hens. The garden is open to the south for at least 6 hours of direct sun. A large tree stands well away to the northeast so its shade and roots stay clear of the beds.
Soil comes first
Healthy soil grows healthy plants. The best first step is a soil test through your county extension office. It tells you your pH, which is how acidic or alkaline the soil is, along with nutrient levels and what to add. Most vegetables do well in slightly acidic to neutral soil.
The USDA Web Soil Survey shows the general soil type mapped on your land. A test from your own garden is still the real answer.
Organic matter, like compost and leaf mulch, improves almost every soil. It helps sandy soil hold water and helps clay soil drain.
Raised beds are beds built up above the ground, with or without sides. They warm faster in spring and drain well. They also cost more to build and can dry out faster in hot climates.
Frost dates set the calendar
Your last spring frost date and first fall frost date are the average dates of the last and first frosts in your area. The days between them are your frost-free season. Local extension offices publish these dates, often based on NOAA climate data.
- Cool-season crops, like lettuce, peas, spinach, kale and radishes, handle light frost. Plant them in early spring and again in late summer.
- Warm-season crops, like tomatoes, beans, squash, peppers and corn, are killed by frost. Plant them after the last frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map shows average winter low temperatures. It matters most for perennials. For vegetables, frost dates and season length matter more.
Text description
A timeline from early spring to fall, with two marked dates: the last spring frost and the first fall frost. The frost-free season lies between them. Cool-season crops, such as lettuce, peas, spinach, kale and radishes, are planted a few weeks before the last frost and grow into early summer, then are planted again in late summer and grow past the first fall frost, since they handle light frost. Warm-season crops, such as tomatoes, beans, squash, peppers and corn, are planted after the last frost and are killed by the first fall frost. A succession row shows small sowings of lettuce every two to three weeks from early spring to fall, for a steady supply. A season extension row shows row cover, cold frames or a tunnel stretching the season a few weeks earlier in spring and later in fall.
Succession and spacing
Succession planting means planting a little at a time, or following one crop with another in the same bed. Sow lettuce every two to three weeks, instead of all at once, and you get a steady supply instead of a glut. Follow spring peas with fall carrots.
Interplanting puts fast and slow crops together. Radishes come up and are harvested before the carrots beside them need the room.
Dense planting in good soil shades out weeds and holds moisture. Crowding too much invites disease and small harvests. Seed packets and extension guides give spacing for each crop.
Plan a garden year
Put a first garden year in a sensible order.
- Re-sow quick crops every few weeks through summer
- Plant warm-season crops after the last frost
- Sow cool-season crops a few weeks before the last frost
- Look up your local frost dates and make a planting calendar
- Build or prepare the beds and add compost
- Watch the sun on the site, and get a soil test
- Plant fall crops and cover the beds with mulch or a cover crop
Stretching the season
Season extension means protecting plants so you can grow earlier in spring and later in fall.
- Row cover is a light fabric laid over plants. It can protect them from a few degrees of frost and keeps out some insects.
- A cold frame is a bottomless box with a clear lid. It traps the sun’s heat over a small bed.
- A low tunnel is plastic over hoops, about knee to waist high.
- A high tunnel, or hoop house, is a walk-in, unheated plastic-covered structure. It can add weeks or months to the season.
Check
Your last spring frost date is May 10. When should you plant tomato transplants outside?
Summary
- Start with a small garden close to the kitchen, in full sun, near water.
- Get a soil test and add organic matter.
- Plan around your frost dates: cool crops early, warm crops after the last frost.
- Succession planting and season extension spread the harvest over more of the year.
Next, you will look at perennials: plants you plant once and harvest for years.
Go deeper: water needs and mulch
Many extension guides use about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water per week as a starting rule for vegetables, from rain and watering combined (University of Minnesota Extension). Sandy soil may need it split into two waterings a week. Hot, windy sites need more. Watering deeply and less often grows deeper roots than light daily watering. A few inches of mulch, such as straw or shredded leaves, slows evaporation, cools the soil and smothers weeds. Your water budget from lesson 20 should include the garden, especially in dry summers.