After you have chosen a site and a garden style, you can start thinking about how you want to build your garden. Perhaps you have already decided how it will grow—you want an informal container garden or a traditional in-ground plot, for example—based on your reflections so far. Or perhaps you are not sure what you need. In either case, read on. This chapter details the best methods of creating growing space, from no-till sheet mulching, to building raised beds and choosing containers.
Unless you have inherited a ready-to-plant bed or garden, you must create your own. Chalk up another plus for community gardens—often, the construction is complete or is accomplished as a team.
Planter feet can be simple and inconspicuous or ornate and decorative.
When gardening on a rooftop, balcony, or other similar place lacking in soil, your only option is to bring in containers. Luckily, you can find a nearly endless variety of container styles—from rustic, to modern and everything in between. And you can grow almost anything in a container, even fruit trees, if the container you choose is large enough to accommodate it.
When you are choosing containers, keep a few considerations in mind.
Containers are water hogs. The smaller they are, the more often they need water. Buy a size or two bigger than you need, and you will be grateful come the summer heat wave. Or look for self-watering containers; they can be expensive, but will greatly reduce your number of trips to the tap. Mulching will help reduce evaporation—and refills of the watering can.
Bad drainage rots roots. If your container does not drain properly, your plants will suffer. Skip the saucers, because they trap water. Use container “feet” that raise your pots an inch or so off the ground if you are concerned about stains on your patio. And always use a container with a drainage hole.
Container size limits plant size. If you have your heart set on growing a large plant such as a shrub or tree, be kind and give it the room it needs to thrive.
Not all containers are created equal. That cute little pot might look like a bargain, but will it survive the winter? Unless you live in an area that never requires you to put away your flip-flops, you should make sure that the containers you choose can withstand cold winter temperatures—or be prepared to bring them inside to live with you all winter. Similarly, resin, fiberglass, and plastic containers are available in a range of qualities, from cheaply made to commercial grade. If you want a pot that will last more than one season, invest in high quality containers.
‘Ichiban’ eggplants, chives, Cuban oregano, and ‘Red Russian’ kale thrive in containers on a sunny patio.
PREPARING A CONTAINER FOR PLANTING
Step one: clean. When planting in used or recycled containers, you should clean and sterilize them before adding the soil and seed or plant. Mold, disease, and fungi can lurk in used containers, which can then infect your healthy new plants. Sterilization is critical for pots in which you intend to start seeds, because seedlings are susceptible to a fungal disease known as damping-off, which can be transferred through contaminated pots.
To clean a pot, first remove any dirt or plant debris. Rinse the container, and then soak it overnight in a solution of water and hydrogen peroxide or bleach. (About one part hydrogen peroxide or bleach to nine parts water ought to do the trick.) Scrub the pot with a stiff brush if necessary, rinsing thoroughly to remove any traces of cleaning agents, and then set it aside to dry.
Step two: provide drainage. Providing good drainage is important to healthy container crops. Unfortunately, the containers we fall in love with don’t always come with drainage holes. Rather than pass them by—or use them sans drainage hole—you can drill a hole yourself. (Good shops will offer to do this for you.) This is pretty simple to do once you get your hands on the appropriate tools.
Turn the container upside down. Using a high-speed electric drill fitted with a 1/2 to 5/8 in. (12 to 16 mm) drill bit, drill a hole in the center of each small container, or drill three or more holes in each large container. Press gently as you drill; too much force could crack the container. Choose a masonry or ceramic drill bit for terracotta or ceramic pots; plastic and metal containers can be tackled with a standard bit.
Many gardening books and magazines recommend adding a layer of so-called drainage material to the bottom of containers before planting. Shards of broken pots, sand, gravel, and even foam packing peanuts have been cited as good materials for promoting drainage in containers. Recently, however, this practice has been slammed, with some arguing that it actually inhibits water movement. The jury is still out on this one, but I favor skipping the added layer and focusing on providing soil that promotes good drainage.
Finally—and this is optional—place a coffee filter or piece of screen over the drainage hole to prevent soil loss.
Step three: position your container. Trust me; you do not want to lift the pot once it is full of soil. Place it as near to its final position as possible.
Step four: choose the best soil and add it to the container. Look for a premium organic potting soil or container mix (or make your own). Specially blended potting mixtures are lighter than standard garden soil and are designed to promote good air circulation and drainage.
Step five: plant. Plant some seeds or seedlings.
Step six: water and mulch. Water in your newly planted seeds or plants. This will help settle the soil, which can sometimes take weeks to compress fully. Keep extra potting soil on hand to top off your containers. I like to top off my containers with an inch or two (2.5 to 5 cm) of rich, black, top-quality bagged soil (minus the perlite, which speckles the soil with white particles) or finished (completely broken down) compost. Not only does this provide nutrients and conserve moisture, but it also makes plants pop.
With their vivid hues, glazed ceramic containers become focal points in the garden.
Almost anything that can hold soil can be a home to a plant. Think beyond the garden center when looking for containers—you may find some brilliant planters that complement your style. An old metal wash bucket can go nicely with a cottage garden theme, or a lime green, straight-sided trashcan will punch up a’ 60s mod-style patio.
Fiberglass. Fiberglass is a relative newcomer to the container game. Lightweight and fairly durable, fiberglass planters are usually designed to mimic stone, terracotta, or other types of containers—not always well. When done right, however, fiberglass can be a decent and affordable option. As with all planters, quality matters: cheap fiberglass can buckle, lose its shape, or actually melt.
Glazed ceramic. A huge range of color and style options are available in glazed ceramics. Designs range from simple to intricate, and colors tend to be deeply hued, lending richness to the garden. What’s not to love? Their weight, for one thing. Filled with soil, ceramic pots (and terracotta, for that matter) can be quite heavy. Depending on the temperature at which it was fired, a ceramic container may or may not survive a cold winter freeze; ask before you buy. That said, Vietnamese-made ceramics can usually handle extremely cold weather.
Metal. From chic stainless steel to lightweight zinc, metal planters come in a wide variety of materials and styles. Although they usually look fabulous and last for years, metal containers absorb heat, causing soil to dry out quickly and potentially burning plants’ roots. Because of this, metal planters are unsuitable as a container choice for sunny spots—unless they can be modified. Place a thick layer of insulating material, such as bubble wrap, sheets of cardboard, or something similar, between the container and soil to keep the soil from getting too hot and damaging sensitive roots. Alternatively, nest a slightly smaller plastic pot inside the metal container. Zinc containers, often the cheapest of the bunch, will rust over time and should be treated with rust paint if you want them to last. Because they are so lightweight they can buckle or tip easily.
Plastic and resin. Although plastic has become unfashionable these days, it does have its uses in the garden. Plastic is the cheapest, most lightweight container material, which is definitely a selling feature, especially for balcony gardens with weight restrictions. Resin and polyethylene are often used to make some decent-looking (if pricey) containers, which are said to resist fading resulting from sun exposure, unlike most plastics. Plastic, polyethylene, and resin all stand up to cold weather.
Terracotta. These classic clay pots are popular for a reason: they are inexpensive, good-looking, and widely available. Terracotta wicks water away from the soil, which is great for Mediterranean herbs and other plants that tolerate dry conditions. It’s not so great, however, for plants that like evenly moist soil, and a hot deck or sunny position can exacerbate this drying effect—you sign up for double water duty if you choose this route. One last thing about terracotta: because of its porosity, it absorbs water, which can cause it to crack in below-freezing temperatures. These pots should not remain outside year-round in areas with cold winters.
Wood. Infinitely customizable, wood can be styled to suit any garden. Although mass-produced wooden planter boxes all tend to have a similar look, wood can swing many ways. Use rough, reclaimed timbers for affordable, sustainable, rustic style, or use smooth-sanded and oiled slats for a container worthy of any craftsperson.
When building your own planter box, choose a naturally rot-resistant wood such as cedar. Applying tung or linseed oil will help protect wood from moisture. Or you can coat the wood with an eco-stain for longer lasting effects. Never use treated wood; it contains toxic chemicals that can leach into soil.
A simple raised bed can be built with scrap wood.
A raised bed, which is simply an elevated gardening bed, can be built using wood, stone, or concrete frames. Technically, an outer frame isn’t necessary in a raised bed, but frames do help define the space and prevent soil from washing away.
Why go to the trouble of building a raised bed if you can simply garden in the ground? Raised beds have a number of advantages over old-school in-ground gardening.
If your native soil is polluted, compacted, or otherwise problematic, you can build a raised bed and bring in fertile soil customized for your specific needs. You can even build a raised bed in areas with no soil, such as on top of driveways and patios. (It is best to stick with regular containers for rooftops, decks, and other areas where direct soil contact might cause drainage or rot issues.)
In addition, the soil in raised beds warms up quicker in the spring, allowing you to get an early jump on the planting season. Since you do not walk in raised beds, you don’t compact the soil and thus reduce its ability to absorb water and support the development of roots. Raised beds also mean good drainage, assuming you use the appropriate soil—good news for those with boggy native conditions.
Finally, because they are elevated, raised beds are great for gardeners with mobility and back issues. They can even be designed so that you can access them while seated.
A raised bed can be fairly simple to make. Our bed is 3 by 6 ft. (90 by 180 cm) and 1 ft. (30 cm) deep, but if these dimensions don’t meet your needs, they can be easily adjusted.
Most raised beds are a maximum of 4 ft. (1.2 m) wide to allow gardeners to reach into the center easily. A good minimum depth for leafy veggies and herbs is 6 in. (15 cm), but if you plan to grow root vegetables, build your bed at least 12 in. (30 cm) deep. If you want to build a frame of only 6 in. (15 cm) in height, and the underlying soil is decent, you can till or loosen the soil and gain a few additional inches of depth.
Options include oiling or eco-staining the wood to extend its life, lining the bottom of the bed with mesh hardware cloth to keep out burrowing animals such as moles and gophers, fitting copper strips inside the top edge of the bed to deter slugs, and installing PVC hoops to support row covers. You can add one, two, or all four of these options depending on your enthusiasm and situation.
Finished beds are ready to be filled with soil. Photo by Ben Garfinkel.
Attach two, 3 ft.-long, 2-by-6 boards to the 4-by-4 corner posts. Photo by Andrea Bellamy.
Assemble the frame by attaching the longer 2-by-6s to the short ends. Photo by Andrea Bellamy.
You can attach the PVC pipes, two for each long side, with metal strapping or brackets. Photo by Andrea Bellamy.
Untreated cedar wood is recommended.
Four 6 ft. (1.8 m) 2-by-6 (38-by-140 mm) boards
Four 3 ft. (1 m) 2-by-6 (38-by-140 mm) boards
One 4 ft. (1.2 m) 4-by-4 (89-by-89 mm) board, cut into four, 11 in. (28 cm) lengths
Thirty-two 31/2 in. (88.9 mm) #14 (6.15 mm) wood screws (deck screws are ideal)
Linseed oil, tung oil, or eco-stain
Hardware cloth, 3 by 6 ft. (1 by 1.8 m), cut to fit the bottom of the bed
One 18 ft. (5.5 m) length of copper stripping
One 10 ft. (3 m) length of 1 in. (25 mm) diameter PVC pipe, cut to four 11 in. (28 cm) lengths
Two 9 ft. (2.7 m) 1/2 in. (12.5 mm) diameter PVC pipes
Eight 1 in. (25 mm) galvanized semicircular brackets, or metal strapping to fit
Sixteen 1/2 in. (12.7 mm) #8 (4.17 mm) wood screws
Now you can attach the copper strips along the inside top edge of the bed to deter slugs from crawling in, line the bottom with hardware cloth if desired, or attach the PVC piping that will support row covers or shade cloth.
To make row cover supports, attach two, 11 in.-long (28 cm) pieces of the 1 in. diameter PVC pipe to the inside of each long side of the bed. Space the pipes 1 to 2 ft. (30 to 60 cm) from each end, and secure them with 1/2 in. screws and semicircular brackets. These tubes will serve as the holders for the ends of the hoops you will insert if row covers are needed. To make hoops, bend the thinner, 1/2 in. diameter PVC pipes into semicircles, inserting the ends into the larger, permanent pipes (you could also use flexible young branches for this purpose).
Fill the bed with quality organic soil. For a less expensive option, use the sheet mulching method.
Raised beds are not for everyone and every garden style. They would not suit a naturalistic edible landscape, for example, or you may have existing in-ground beds you want to revitalize. Getting the materials to build the frame can be challenging if cost or transportation is an issue. And for gardeners with access to great soil, in-ground gardening is a quick and inexpensive way to get started.
If gardening in the ground sounds like your thing, you have a couple of options for preparing the soil, and they boil down to this: dig it, or don’t.
Although cultivating the soil is a time-honored method of preparing a bed for planting, this is not the only way to create a new garden. In fact, you can build a garden bed without digging. Really. Also known as lasagna gardening, no-till gardening, and sheet composting, the sheet mulching method of gardening eliminates the need to dig down by building up. With sheet mulching, you layer various types of organic materials (anything you would put in a compost bin) over the garden area—be it a raised bed, on top of existing soil, or on top of concrete. You can even use sheet mulching to convert an area of lawn to a veggie garden without enduring the painful task of ripping up sod. The layers eventually break down to create rich garden soil—essentially, this is composting in place.
Sheet mulching is a good method for creating new beds, because it eliminates the need to bring in costly soil; you can make your own incredibly fertile soil using stuff that would otherwise be considered trash. The major drawback to this technique is the time it takes for the layers to break down—sometimes more than a year. However, you can get around this hurdle by topping off your decomposing layers with several inches of quality soil and planting shallow-rooted crops. Another potential drawback is that sheet mulching raises the level of the soil, which may not suit your needs or taste.
Step one: prepare the site. If the soil in the garden is not compacted, begin by cutting back any existing lawn or vegetation and marking the outline of your future garden. If your soil is compacted, begin by loosening it.
Step two: construct a frame (optional). A frame isn’t necessary, but it will help prevent soil loss through erosion. Place the frame in its final position.
Step three: lay down cardboard. This is the first layer, upon which you will build your soil. This bottom layer should be plain (uncolored) cardboard with any tape and staples removed, or you can use multiple (ten or more) sheets of newspaper (choose sheets preferably without color ink). This layer will smother the grass or weeds below, so make sure you overlap the edges by at least 6 in. (15 cm) to prevent weeds from sneaking through. Water down this layer.
Step four: add a layer of carbon-rich organic matter. Good sources of carbon tend to be brown, dry, or dead, such as straw, dry leaves, or wood chips. This layer should be about 6 in. (15 cm) deep.
Step five: add a layer of nitrogen-rich organic matter. Nitrogen sources, such as unfinished compost, non-animal kitchen scraps, grass clippings, coffee grounds, and manure, tend to be green or wet. Add a thin layer, 2 to 3 in. (5 to 8 cm) deep.
Step six: repeat steps four and five. Alternate layers of carbon-rich materials with layers of nitrogen-rich organic matter until your bed is about twice the desired height, ending with a layer of carbon.
Step seven: water. Water the entire bed well to start the decomposition process. Keeping the bed moist over the coming months will also help the layers break down quickly. After watering and a few weeks of decomposition, the bed will have shrunk in height considerably.
Step eight: add soil. Top the bed with a thick layer of compost or topsoil, about 4 in. (10 cm) deep.
Step nine: plant. Ideally, you will build your sheet-mulched bed a year before you intend to plant, giving the materials ample time to break down. If you need to plant immediately, however, your best bet is to choose shallow-rooted plants such as lettuce greens and brassicas—at least for the first year.
Got dirt? You’ve got options. And not all of them involve a shovel.
Dry leaves make an excellent—and free—source of carbon for sheet mulching and composting.
Although some gardeners almost never dig—because turning the soil can kill helpful microorganisms and damage soil structure—digging in organic matter is a good way to begin to repair soils that are compacted or otherwise lacking.
Next to sheet mulching, the simplest way to prepare a garden bed is to loosen your soil to a depth of about 6 to 10 in. (15 to 25 cm), incorporating compost or manure as you go. Or you could try a method of extreme soil preparation called double-digging, which is exactly that: double the digging. Sounds crazy—and it is a lot of work—but this technique is great for creating loose, deep, fertile soil that supports intensively planted crops.
The gist of double-digging is that you dig a trench about a foot (30 cm) deep, setting the displaced soil aside. Then dig down another foot, loosening that soil and amending it with organic matter. Dig another trench next to the first, piling the soil removed from it into the first trench (and again amending it with organic matter). Keep digging and amending, moving soil from trench to trench, breaking a mean sweat until your plot is well and truly aerated, fertilized, and loosened. The results last for years.
Removing sod (that is, grass or lawn) is also a bit of an ordeal. I am not advocating keeping your lawn, however—far from it. Just think about sheet mulching on top of your lawn instead of digging in, unless you’re a big fan of blisters.
If you do need to remove sod, use a long-handled spade with a flat, sharp edge to cut the sod into sections. Then, using the spade like a pie lifter, jam it under a section of sod, slicing off the roots with the spade’s sharp edge. Lift the sod away. Repeat with the other sections.
For removing large sections of lawn, consider renting a sod-cutting machine. Sod-cutters make quick work of this difficult job, and, if you don’t mind building your bed up about 6 in. (15 cm), you can flip over the cut turf, spread a layer of compost on top, and plant into that. On the downside, the weight and vibrations of the sod-cutter in action will increase soil compaction (and, like all gas-powered machinery, contribute to air pollution), so be mindful of this when deciding whether to use one.
