What would I change if I was starting all over? In this video I share what I’d do differently in the garden if I were starting a garden today.
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Home Garden Soil Health Assessment: https://www.permaculturenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Home-Garden-Soil-Health-Assessment.pdf
How I Improved My Clay Soil: https://youtu.be/QS7qQVOzK7g
My Full Clay Soil Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4zzslvkscX0uuXNvj6qJJzFG5iQvreQE
00:00 Intro
00:39 Start Small- Keep it Manageable
01:34 I Don’t Have to Do it All!
04:41 Plant Perennials First
05:38 Fencing First- animal protection
08:29 Consider Garden Layout
09:44 Start with Soil Health
#zone6gardening #ohiogardening
29 Comments
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I went with a 6 ft. Chicken wire fence after being told by my local farm supply I was wasting my time that the deer would jump over anything less than 8’ I have had it for 14 years now and I can probably get at least 20 years out of it. Not bad for the cost but knowing now I wish I had went with heavier guage like yours. Later an older man told me he had tried a 4’ and they would jump over and then switched to a 5’ and never had any problem with them jumping over it. No more deer and rabbits but still have occasional coons and ground hogs.
I'm in the preble county area. Rabbits are my arch nemesis.
I have a back porch is about 6/10 not wide I have small greenhouse on what temperature should be . I’m trying I ask if had some seeds you didn’t use I’m willing pay a little flowers is what I’m looking judywright
Jenna! A lot of valuable information I can really appreciate! I'm a Newby gardener and began two years ago as a result of covid. I've never been happier in my LIFE! 😊 I live in zone 6 in a residential area but near the Mississippi River and critters roam through the neighborhood all the time – groundhogs, raccoons, otters… So I began with an elevated raised garden bed. Last year, year two, I ended up with three pre-fab elevated raised beds, a custom built 8×3 cedar veg bed, a three foot tall 9×3 carrot bed and a 6×3 squash bed. It's true what you said, less is more so I have to limit myself and manage the varieties of fruits and veggies I'm growing because it can be overwhelming if not checked.
I began small and am growing at a comfortable pace. I make my own compost, cover my soils when not in use and try to keep landscaping around the garden and my floating deck simple to decrease maintenance and workload with that situation.
I understand the importance of soil health and was showing off my beautiful rich black soil to my gardener friend just the other, however, you were again correct about pH levels being careful not to overfertilize, etc. Finding that balance and maintaining soil health can be challenging….
Well thank you jenna,
I really enjoyed your video, thx for sharing!
Great content. Nicely done.
Thanks this is a really helpful video
Differently? A lot of this is "If I'd known then what I know (or feel) now…." I'd try to find a bit larger parcel with fewer, smaller trees. If I already knew that I wanted to end up growing vegetables I wouldn't plant holly bushes along one boundary because it's almost impossible to get rid of them unless I want to devote a good while of my time, i.e., life, to digging them out and then having to go after all their up-shoots emerging in the lawn or other vegetable beds (from the old roots) when the parent plants are taken away or clear-cut to the ground.
I'd have had a fence in place from the outset before having done any planting, not because deer are a big problem but other two-footed garden marauders are (or, were. Fence is in place now.) And, I'd have timed the installation of the fence so we weren't doing that work on the two hottest and most humid weekends of that summer, which was plenty hot all by itself.
I've had two varieties of table grapes, White Niagara and Blue Concord, but they're not trellised properly. That was one of those "…before the end of this season since the grapes are already planted" tasks [time goes by] "Well, by the beginning of next season" [more time goes by] "Really, we've got to get some kind of structure built to manage this thing—-" If I were really on the ball and really diligent and responsible, I'd have done all the set-up before I bought the grapevines. And then, I might have purchased a different variety because I wanted these for the leaves: I so enjoy stuffed grape leaves! Concords and Niagaras aren't considered the first choice for leaves for eating.
I would have planted a pear tree, most likely a Kieffer, and I'd have it espaliered on two sides of one quadrant of my little suburban garden. This is on the "under consideration" list because I'm willing to do the work but if this theoretical espaliered pear tree (and it's said that there ought to be two of them!) is going to become all that dense and will cast deep shade over a relatively small area as the shadows shift, then, No.
I would have established a clear system of rotation of crops. The garden's in four quadrants, so at least in theory it should be easy to rotate what's planted and companion-planted right around the compass or the clock face, with all the companions in any given bed being the same, just located differently each year.
However! I'm also wanting an asparagus bed, and a space for artichokes, and why this idea is holding on so stubbornly I don't know because while we like both, we don't eat either all that often and we can just as easily buy these foods. But I still want to have an asparagus bed and a place for a few artichoke plants.
There is rhubarb, too: one plant in the south-east quadrant and one in the northwest quadrant.
Identifying quadrants by compass direction must make this sound like acres and acres, but it's not meant to: we're working with just a little bit less than one-thousand square feet for this garden, and some of that is pathways. To ID them, we've numbered them going anti-clockwise so that if you're immediately inside the gate, by your right foot is Quadrant #1, and going around the clock-face backward we have #'s 2, 3. and 4. Sometimes it feels as if we ought to have named them (Huey, Dewey and Louie, and Fred, I imagine)
I'll stick with the numbering system, though. It works for us.
If Deer are your only or primary garden predator then a simple electric fence will work. You can get solar controls for around $100.00 that will last many years or if your close to elctric a plug in controller is best. Wire and step in post are not expensive. It can be taken down easily or modified easily. We are rural and I realize this may not be a good fit for smaller lots, but when you have acerage it's great. Now it won't do a thing for the smaller critters, but the deer will learn to avoild it. You can even string trim under it. I put up two strands, one at approx. 18" and one at 36" and that works for us. Be sure and ground it well. We protect two 1/4 acre gardens (one flowers and one large veggies ) with it every year. Our raised bed complex (16 beds and 1/8 acre ) however has a 7' high chicken wire fence around it. For raccoons and small varmits we live trap. Raccoons will climb any fence. I also like Kaolin clay. It seems to deter the critters, big and tiny.
WRT planting all your perennials in the beginning, That only works if you know what perennials you will be planting and make a garden plan as to where to plant them.
One would also need more money if s/he is going to put them in as transplants.
I'd recommend putting in a few perennials every year while getting the benefit of the annual plants. That way it will feel you just put plants there and, almost ignored them until the year comes that they start producing.
Put perennials in as soon as possible, but a garden is an evolving thing. If you put them in all at once, you might find you put some where they shouldn't be.
Mrs. J – many good tips here. I will add one. When I bought my house over 35 years ago, I was not a gardener even though my father grew up on a farm. Both of us worked, the kids were, well, kids, and there was no time for it. So, when I bought my house, it was in a subdivision, and the yard was not flat and covered in trees. If you are young, even if you don't think you like gardening, buy a nice piece of land and see to it that it is flat! As you get older, you will want the space and if you age well – you will want to garden eventually <G> I plan my beds and garden area with the idea that I need to get my lawn mower in there and a wheelbarrow. Your point on the progression of what you plant at the beginning is right on. Many of us jump in willy-nilly. Out of all your points, knowing your soil was the best for me. I have struggled mightily with my soil composition and amendments. I have progressed to raise beds filled with a product called SOIL3 – an organic soil from Canada. This has worked very well in the raised beds. For my in-ground areas, I am still amending and experimenting, with some success of late. I have planted comfrey and nettles recently and am excited about these additions. Carry on, Northern Elf…your videos are much appreciated!
Thanks again for great information. My northwest Ohio sticky clay soil had me concentrating on soil health from the start. I am trying to have enough planting space that 1/3 of my garden can be cover cropped only every year.
Great information. We are looking to move so I can have more space. I’ll keep this video saved. Your garden is amazing and your parents garden is wow!
What’s that garden cultivator called at the end of your video please?
Last year the critters really escalated their assault on my backyard beds. The low wire fence I put around the main bed was doing nothing to deter our local groundhog, and my carrots and bush beans were constantly being munched. So my first item of business when the weather is warm enough to work outside will be to put in a real fence around everything. Unfortunately, my layout is a bit odd because it has grown piecemeal over the years in one corner of the yard, wrapping around my tool shed. But I think I have a plan worked out for fencing.
I love learning from you. I watched another youtuber and they said to find someone in your zone. Thatś how I found you.
You lost me at the butchering of you chickens….no way I want to listen to a killer…
Jenna = The best 👍
I got rid of a groundhog by walling off just the slicing tomatoes and he ate like 12+ green cherry tomatoes, whole. Never came back, and I know where he (still) lives lol.
One of the things I love about your channel…besides the fact that you’re in the same state/region as me, so that the weather you deal with is the same as mine….is that I love how you approach gardening as science. It’s fascinating. I teach my kids that everything comes back to math and science, even things like cooking and literature. Your videos always speak my language. This will be year 3 for my garden. And I got a canner for Christmas. I’m going to start small. Grandma canned strawberry jam, which I miss. So going to just start there. I don’t have the room in the house to store and preserve ALL the things.
"start small" haha no thanks 🤪
Hey Jenna, I'm about to put a 5-6 ft chain link fence around my back yard. I'm thinking if my garden is inside it, I wouldn't have to also fence around it. Would love your thoughts!
Such helpful information – thank you! I agree with your list completely. I have often been guilty in the past of setting myself up for failure with unrealistic expectations – starting way more seeds than my little garden can support! This year I'm thinking about going backwards somewhat – moving my garden boxes so that they get more sun and are more accessible for my gorilla cart. Great tips!
Welp, I have the same new garden year resolution every year, which obviously means I've never yet gotten it right. It's to mark and map what I've planted. I plant seeds, things come up. About 10% of them are the things I planted. Now if I could just remember what that was, I could find out what the seedlings are supposed to look like . . .
Love your videos and this is a great one. I've been gardening for a couple of years but want to get more serious with my setup. Will be fencing in an area as soon as I can (I'm in central Ohio) Have an area that I started last year that I'm going to expand. Going to be starting with soil health for sure! Had planned for some of these but not all. Thank you!
After over 30 years, (zone 6a), should have:
• Adopted no-till practices earlier. Cover pathways with cardboard and woodchips and drastically reduce weeding. Plus there is no more tracking mud into the house.
• Build / buy a greenhouse. Not only will you extend your season and have a place to start seeds (exposing them to full sun from the start), but you can also have an excellent place to putter around on a cold sunny day. On a windy 10 degree day, it can easily be 75 in the greenhouse when the sun is out!
As for problem #4 , I installed two Siberian Huskies. Works great!
Amendment to #1: Start a compost pile first
I'd make my pathways wider, and even if meant eating beans from a can or ages I'd splurge the money to pour the pathways with concrete if I had to start my garden over. Also I'd have tilled the entire garden, I only tilled one side of it. The side I did not have tilled is much harder to pull weeds from, start seeds, and the water runs off instead of soaking in as quickly. I regret not doing that.