Budget Garden Design

Cross Christian Fellowship

 

 

What type of Garden?

Container, raised bed, keyhole, strawbale, lasagna, in-ground, Back to Eden, Permaculture Food Forest

 

How will you manage the garden?

Square foot style, Till or no till (Dig or no dig), simple or intensive

SITE SELECTION

South Facing (If possible). As much sunlight throughout the day as possible The best sun is the morning sun. Protect plants from the afternoon sun. Try to find a mostly level surface

 

MATERIALS

• Cardboard (optional) – Should be with the least amount of printing as possible. Remove all labels and tape. Should not have slick sides. Have enough to overlap the cardboard. The point is to exclude light from the soil. Cardboard breaks down in about three to six months.
• Compost – Mostly decaying plant matter. May also contain manure. Great compost has plenty of good bacteria, protozoa, micro-arthropods and fungi. These are what breakdown the plant matter and what feed your plants. (It is not clay, loam, sand, gravel or topsoil) You need enough to fill your beds with four to six inches.

 

You do not need to fertilize your garden. I highly recommend that you do not use fertilizers. Fertilizers are made from synthetic materials that cause a lot of damage to your body and to all good soil organisms in your garden.

 

But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”         Matthew 13:8-9 (NKJV)

 

• Mulch – Mulches act as a covering for the soil, help feed the soil, protect the soil from being scorched and causing evaporation. This is absolutely necessary in dry climates like ours. There are many materials that can be used as mulch such as: grass clippings, leaves, straw, compost, woodchips, etc. Mulching your paths is a great idea for saving water as well as feeding the soil underneath your path. Composted woodchips (1 year or more, but they can be fresh as well) make the best mulch for paths
• Shovel
• Wheelbarrow
• Wooden boards – This is optional and is used to make the sides of your garden beds straight and clean

 

 

 

SETUP

Lay down the cardboard, make sure the cardboard overlaps the next so that no light makes it through to the surface. If you have heavy weed pressure lay down multiple layers. Set up borders if desired. Spread compost over the cardboard: four-to-six-inch depth. Water the Compost down thoroughly. Walk on the compost to firm it down. This does not hurt the compost. Place mulch material in the pathways.

 

MAINTENANCE

This system of gardening is very simple and requires little maintenance. You do not need to till anything into the soil. Every year in late Fall to early Winter (late October to Early December) add one inch of new compost to the top of your garden beds. This will feed your garden for another year.

 

GARDEN PLANNING

 

Know your plants

Learn what seasons the plants you want to grow thrive in. Read the seed packages, search the internet, ask seasoned Gardeners. Try to plan your garden in the Winter and then start as early as possible. There are strategies for planting in late Winter, early Spring as well as gardening overwinter. Read, read, read.

 

To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven.  Ecclesiastes 3:1

 

Sketch out a design

Does not need to be professional. Start with writing out what you want to grow. Then sketch your garden area. Divide it up into plants of similar families and watering amounts.

Add sowing dates – When are you going to?

Add transplanting dates – When you should plant them?

Add harvest dates – When will you harvest them and for how long?

 

A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.  Proverbs 16:9 (NKJV)

 

Adapt to changes

Be observant. Keep notes or a journal. Things most likely will not work out perfectly. Try to always have plants growing to replace failed plantings or early harvests. Do not be afraid to make mistakes. Learn from your mistakes. Pray that the Lord will teach you.

 

This also comes from the Lord of hosts, Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.  Isaiah 28:29 (NKJV)

 

 

THE PLANTING PROCESS

 

Sowing

Direct Sowing is placing the seed straight into the soil where you will grow the plant. Module Sowing is placing the seed into soil/compost inside of a tray where it can be monitored closely until it is transplanted into your garden.

 

Make sure the potting soil is airy. Do not overwater – Water by weight. Take advantage of space and warmth of your home. Multi-sow seeds to make the most of your space.

 

But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.  2 Corinthians 9:6 (NKJV)

 

Transplanting

Spacing is key. Spacing depends on what you want to produce. Closer spacing gives smaller harvests of mostly leaves. This is not always bad; in fact, it could be great if you are intensively growing lettuces. Proper spacing gives larger harvest of larger produce. This is learned in time, but as you are starting read the seed packages for recommended spacings.

 

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. Psalm 1:3 (NKJV)

 

Weeding

Every plant has a job and a place. Weeds can tell you a lot about your soil. Weeds will compete for water and nutrients. Make sure to weed when they are little and often.

 

And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.      Matthew 13:7 (NKJV)

 

Watering

Most beginning Gardeners overwater. Plants handle not enough water better than too much. Hand watering is best, but automatic systems can work well when you don’t have time to water by hand. This is not an excuse to stop being attentive to your plants. They need the Gardener present. Be Observant.

 

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

1 Corinthians  3:6-8 (NKJV)

 

Harvesting

Harvests can be taken at varying times. Root vegetables can be harvested at any stage. Some vegetables must be harvested in a short window, such as broccoli flowers. Reference seed packets and other resources

 

Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler, Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest.

Proverbs 6:6-8 (NKJV)

 

Resources

Compost

Soilutions

9008 Bates Rd SE, Albuquerque, NM 87105

(505) 877-0220

https://soilutions.net/

 

Gro-Well

9000 Bates Rd SE, Albuquerque, NM 87105

(505) 877-8672

https://www.gro-well.com/

 

AHL Garden Supply

1051 San Mateo Blvd SE. Albuquerque, NM 87108

(505) 255-3677

https://www.ahlgrows.com/product-page/roots-organics-soil

 

Lowes and Home Depot can ship you compost as well

 

Books

 Charles Dowding’s No Dig Gardening, Course 1

From Weeds to Vegetables Easily and Quickly  By Charles Dowding

Chelsea Green Publishing Company

 

Charles Dowding’s Skills for Growing  By Charles Dowding

Chealsea Green Publishing Company

 

The Market Gardener: A Successful Grower's Handbook for Small-Scale Organic Farming By Jean-Martin Fortier

New Society Publisher

 

The New Organic Grower

A Master's Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener By Eliot Coleman

Chealsea Green Publishing Company

 

Four-Season Harvest

Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Long, 2nd Edition By Eliot Coleman

Chealsea Green Publishing Company

 

Videos

How to set up a No Dig Garden

 Charles Dowding  https://youtu.be/0LH6-w57Slw

 The Dutch Gardener  https://youtu.be/TVoruCmpfUI

 Back to Eden Garden Gardening Documentary Film – YouTube

 The Gardening Channel with James Prigioni – YouTube Channel

 Living Life 11:28 Home & Garden – YouTube Channel

 Charles Dowding – YouTube Channel

 Biggest Little Farm – Online Sources