Planning Your Victory Garden

The days are getting longer and in the Midwest, we are getting warm days of sunshine followed by cold rain, and snow! It’s only fitting that the day I plan to write about garden planning we wake up to almost 3 fresh inches of snow and more keeps on falling! But with the snow comes some extra time for planning as many of our outdoor plans have been halted.

There are many different ideas and methods for planning a garden. I wanted to outline them and provide you with some references that have helped us in the past. But don’t overthink things! Just plant, the best learning comes from getting your hands dirty.

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*Please note, most of the garden photos are from last year’s garden. If you’re in the Midwest, it’s most likely too soon to plant what you see directly in the garden yet!*

Square Foot Gardening

This method of gardening focuses on planting with a grid system. The garden is broken down in to square feet, with a designated amount of plants per square foot (12″x12″ or 30cm x 30cm). This is a great system for raised beds or smaller beds that still provides a bountiful harvest and efficient use of space. Because of its high plant density, your garden will need watered more often to support the root systems. Once leaf growth is well under way, they aid in minimizing weed growth by blocking sunlight from reaching the soil. This also helps keep the soil from losing precious moisture from evaporation.

Let’s all be honest, the least amount of required weeding is always a good thing!

As you are planning the grid, each plant will take up a set amount of squares depending on the space requirements for each.

For example:

• Tomatoes require 1 square foot per plant.
• Beets can have 9 plants in 1 square foot.
• Onions can have 16 plants in 1 square foot.

Vertical Gardening

Another great tool with square foot gardening is utilizing vertical space with trellises, arches, and layering! I love my stackable pots for strawberries, herbs, and lettuce. Mine are similar to this model, unfortunately mine are not as well made and will most likely not last more than a season or two. I will hopefully invest in a set like this next year!

This cloth option is made from eco friendly, non-toxic material that utilizes vertical space and provides a living wall with enough room for 36 plants. (My gears are turning for where I could put one, it’s so neat!)

Two great books to help with planning are, “Vertical Gardening” by Derek Fell and, “All New Square Foot Gardening” by Mel Bartholomew.

Companion Planting

Companion planting is pairing certain flowers, herbs, and vegetables together that will enhance each other’s growth. Some of these enhancements include repelling unwanted insects or animals and attracting beneficials in the case of pollinators and predatory insects. When you’re companion planting, this also allows for better utilization of space as certain plants can be planted in between rows or plants to use up any wasted space.

A good resource for companion planting would be Louise Riotte’s, “Carrots Love Tomatoes” and her newer version, “Roses Love Garlic“. Her newest version includes garden designs, and creative uses for flowers.

Some examples of good companions are:

• Marigolds paired with cabbage and beans for insect repellant. There’s an old wive’s tale that marigolds will repel rabbits. As someone who raises meat rabbits, this is far from the truth. Rabbits LOVE marigolds, and cabbage!
• Basil and tomatoes are also a nice pairing in the garden bed and on the table! I’ve read from various sources they have a symbiotic relationship with what one puts into the soil. Basil is also supposed to repel insects, and once flowered it will attract pollinators!

• Dill helps attract beneficial parasitic insects for caterpillars that will attack your tomatoes and brassicas.
• Chives at the base of apple trees are supposed to ward off Japanese beetles from attacking your trees.
• Sunflowers attract pollinators, can serve as vertical support for pole beans, and provide shade for more tender plants.
• Carrots require a long time for germination and growth, while radish are usually 21-28 days to harvest! Planting them together helps to maximize your space as the radish will be harvested in time to provide the needed space for the carrots to occupy. Removing the radishes will also aerate the soil, allowing carrots to grown larger since the plant doesn’t have to compete with highly compacted soils for root depth.
• Comfrey has a long tap root that will bring minerals up closer to the soil surface that the tree roots wouldn’t otherwise have easy access to. You can chop the leaves off several times throughout the growing season to make compost tea, use for mulch around the base of your trees, or allow them to flower and attract pollinators.

Some examples of plants detrimental to each other are:

• Onions and legumes (peas, beans, clover) will stunt the growth of each other.
• Planting beans or peppers behind tomatoes will block the sunlight from these plants and not allow them to flourish.
• Black Walnut trees produce juglone, a toxin that interferes with certain garden plants in the nightshade varieties of tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers.

Three Sister’s Garden

This is one of the most well known (and oldest) examples of companion planting. This was a Native American technique for gardening that maximized space while allowing the plants to nurture and care for each other. The three sisters include corn, squash, and beans.

• Corn – Provides a structure for the beans to climb.
• Squash – Provides coverage for the soil and helps manage weeds.
• Beans – Provides much needed nitrogen for the corn.

This is a super basic overview, but the legend and history behind this is fascinating! Robin Wall Kimmerer talks more on this (and so much more) in her book, “Braiding Sweetgrass“. It’s a wonderful read that I definitely recommend.

Permaculture: Food Forest

THIS. This is what speaks to my soul.

The chaotic growth of a natural forest with life flourishing from underground all the way to the tops of the trees. A perfectly designed symphony of greens and browns, life and death. Each layer serving its own purpose to create a harmony that sustains the others.

To an outsider, a Food Forest garden may look unkept, over grown, and in desperate need of weeding. But upon further investigation, you see an intricately designed, biodiverse layout utilizing specific planning to maximize growth, volume, animal husbandry, and soil health.

Investing in perennial trees, bushes, and vegetables may take several years to produce enough harvest to sustain the family but the purpose is not instant gratification, but long term harvests for the family and future generations to enjoy. A Food Forest is an investment of love, heart ache, and memories that you will leave as a legacy for your grandchildren’s children to enjoy.

Yes, you can incorporate annual produce.

Yes, you can incorporate some square foot gardening.

Yes, you can start a Food Forest now with what you’re able to and grow many annual plants that will mature quickly.

A Food Forest is starting with what you have and constantly seeking ways to improve, redesign, and work with nature to better suite the needs of your family.

You can find several books on Permaculture and sustainable agriculture in my post, “Gardening and Homesteading Must Reads“.

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What resonates best with you?

Gardening, farming and homesteading is an art. YOU get to decide how to use your canvas. No matter how you choose to plan out your garden, you will pour out a piece of yourself into it. None of these gardening theories have to be done separately, you can pick and choose what works best for you and experiment differently as the years go on!