When setting out seedlings, I will place a 6 – 8 inch section of the black plastic drainage tile around the plant, pushing it down an inch or two into the dirt. This will protect your plant from the birds and the bunnies who want to munch on your new plants. You can buy the 4 inch drainage tile at the home improvement stores in 10 foot or longer lengths. It’s flexible so you can bend it to get it in your trunk and it is easily cut with a sharp utility knife.

In the fall once all the vegetation, posts, and fence is removed, spread a layer of leaves on top of your garden. Then I spade the old grass clippings and the leaves into the soil using a potato fork. You may end up with some big "chunks" of dirt, but don’t worry, over the winter the snow and the rain will soften them up. In the spring, all I do is take my garden rake and level the dirt before installing my cages, posts and fence panels.

Fertilizing is important as your plants need food for their growth. I’ll use a little granular fertilizer designed for gardens in the spring. Later, after the plants are well established, I will mix some of the powder designed to aid plant growth with water in my sprinkling can and place at the base of the plants. You can do this at regular intervals – consult the directions on the product you are using. This year I am purchasing one of the little battery powered soil testers (about $20.) so I will be more scientific in fertilizing and providing nutrients for my plants.

Weather conditions and the type of soil will dictate the watering of your garden. Plants don’t grow in dry soil, so you want to keep the soil moist. Don’t over water as that will make your root system decay if the plants are continually in saturated soil. Water during the day so the plants have a chance to dry before evening as this will help to reduce disease. When watering, it is better to water more heavily and less frequently as this will force the roots to grow deeper into the soil. If you are gardening in clay or some type of dense soil, I just came across a product which alleviates the natural water repellency of dense or compacted soils. It allows the soil to absorb more water which reduces the amount of watering you need to do. I will be especially happy to use it on my lawn to cut down on the watering.

I’m also a fan of fencing my garden space to keep the kids and their dogs out of the garden – with a fenced yard, for me it’s not a problem. I have a chain link fence around my yard and with a corner garden spot, two of the sides are automatically covered. The shed in the backyard takes care of most of the third side. I use chicken wire on the front side of the garden to discourage the bunnies in my yard – and sometimes they do come through the chain link just to make sure all my plants are doing well…..

My "big" garden spot consists of 225 square feet - 55 square feet is walkway. In this space I will have 5-6 tomato plants, 2 groupings of cucumbers of about 7-8 plants each planted at two different times, 1 grouping of muskmelon of 4-6 plants, enough space allocated to plant one or two of the bags of 100 onion sets, 8-12 pepper plants, and one grouping of 7-9 butternut squash plants. I’ll scatter radish seeds under the tomato plants early in the season as they grow quickly. If you are planting seeds, always plant extras and thin once they have a good start.

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