To begin, decide where the small garden could possibly be located. You might come to your porch or patio filled with ideas, but in reality, many of the ideas might be incompatible with the site.
The key to a successful garden is creating what the 18th century architects called “the genius of the place.”
In a condominium or apartment complex, you might be working with the restrictions of space and light.
On a backyard patio, space might not be much of an issue, but you still have to work within the confines of the assigned area and always consider the sun and shade.
ANALYZE YOUR SITE
Fall is the perfect time to plan a backyard garden for next season. Analyze your patio, balcony or back porch for the amount of light available. Stand on your site at different times of the day — for example, 7 a.m., noon and 5 p.m.— to be certain there will be at least eight hours of sun in the summer months. Look for buildings or fences that might cause shade.
Although it seems obvious, make sure you are near a source of water. In a condo or apartment building, this might take some investigation.
A PERFECT PATIO
Fellow gardener Reegan Lessie, co-owner of Baba Coffee House in Carlsbad, and partner Rob Pastor have transformed a small 10-by-15-foot cement patio into a fruit and vegetable wonderland.
Using whiskey barrels and rectangular wooden planters from Armstrong Gardens, she has created the perfect mini vegetable patch.
Two varieties of figs festoon the whiskey barrels, Sugar Pie pumpkins hang precariously on homemade lattice and brilliant striped multi-color zinnias greet the visitor upon arrival. San Marzano tomatoes planted with Italian basil will become tomato sauce.
While sharing his photograph of their Black Mission figs, Rob said, “I had black figs for breakfast, and I’ve never tasted one as sweet as those fresh from the garden.”
Reegan also chose a Tiger Panache fig to fill a large whiskey barrel, and its odd-striped fruit is an eye-catcher.
“We love our fig trees because they get larger each year, but still stay a manageable size for the patio. I would certainly recommend growing figs for the newbie gardener who would like something unusual and tasty.”
Barrels filled with assorted varieties of basil help ward off the insects but, Reegan says, “We still have problems with grasshoppers. They eat the pumpkin leaves faster than we can catch them. Last night Rob chased one across the garden, but he escaped. We don’t use pesticide so it is a bit of a wild goose chase!”
Reegan recommends starting small, with three or four barrels of your favorite vegetables, fruit and flowers, adding more each year as you become familiar with your location.
SEARCH FOR THE UNUSUAL CONTAINER
English countryside gardens often are designed with a kitchen garden close to the back door. When the cook is planning dinner, they simply open the door and snip herbs, greens or fresh peas to supplement the main course.
Here, in North County, we can emulate the kitchen garden by planting with a small raised bed on legs or a large terra cotta container next to our patio door.
A fellow horticulturist, Jennifer Wardell from Upstate New York, created a large version of the kitchen garden using a metal horse trough. These silver beauties are usually 8 by 2 feet and can be up to 3 feet in depth, and can be found in local feed stores.
Setting up the trough garden is a two-person job since holes must be drilled on the bottom of the container, later to be filled with a combination of soil and garden compost.
Jennifer said, “I used a combination of garden of organic materials, wood, compost and topsoil so as not to make it too heavy. When you lay the garden materials on the bottom and then add top soil, you won’t need as much water. The process, called “hugelkultur,” was started in Europe over one hundred years ago, and we are just catching on!” More on this process can be found here.
Whichever container you choose for your kitchen garden, try to fill it with the herbs and greens you will use on a daily basis. Chose a variety of basil, parsley, lettuce, thyme and nasturtiums to start and expand from there!
Jano Nightingale is a horticulturist and Master Gardener who teaches at the Carlsbad Senior Center Community Garden. Contact her at [email protected] for upcoming classes.
