Garden preparation

Garden preparation

Relative location.• The best location for a

garden is in a sheltered spot where it can get at least 6 hours sunlight per day.

• Close to the house and garden shed

• Near a water source• With your compost, liquid

fertiliser and worm bins

Good soils take time to develop.

• Manure and seaweed added in autumn and left to break down over winter.

• This will be dug into the soil just prior to spring.

Good soils take time to develop.

• Building your soil can be achieved by regular additions of organic materials like manures, vermicast and green crops directly to your bed, or

• By composting your garden wastes and incorporating this into the soil by forking it in.

What a good soil looks like

• Garden soil needs to be rich in organic matter, as indicated by the dark black colour.

• Friable, breaks up easily into small crumbs

• and at least 60cm deep

Compost

• Compost is an ideal soil conditioner it provides

• Structure so your soil can hold more water and improves soil drainage

• nutrients which are in a plant available form and microorganisms which help your plants grow.

Bed preparation

• Add your compost or manure to the surface of the garden bed

• Fork this organic matter into the bed so that it is well mixed (incorporated) into the existing soil.

Bed preparation

• composted material should be incorporated into the bed using a spade or garden fork.

• Soil should be worked or dug over until it is friable, this will ensure good aeration, drainage and root penetration.

Garden preparation.

• After the compost is incorporated the garden should be left

• Raked smooth and level• Weed free

Planning your garden layout

• The bed can be divided into grids to make your plant layout easier to visualise.

• This can be done on paper or out in the garden like here.

• These grids are 30cm square.

Planning your garden layout

• The most efficient planting layout is a triangular pattern.

• You can make up templates of different sizes to help you achieve the correct plant spacing and arrangement

Planning your garden layout • The size of the triangle

template is based upon the a spacing between plants where leaves of the plant will be just touching when they are mature size.

• A peg is placed at each corner of the triangle to mark where plants will be planted.

Planning your garden layout

• Completed bed, starting from near end the plants are

• Garlic and Spinach• Lettuce and Alyssum • Celery and Calendula• Broccoli and Coriander• Beetroot and spring

onion • Garlic and strawberry

Planning your garden layout

• This bed was planted on the 18th of July.

• Water and weed as required.

• Liquid feed with worm juice at 14 day intervals

• Protect from frost by covering with a cloche as required.

Planning your garden layout• The bed on 16 of September.

Eating , coriander , spinach and lettuce.

• Spinach and lettuce ready

• Beans and corn to follow lettuce. Tomatoes and Basil to follow Broccoli