... I really hate it when people assume what works for them will work for everyone ...
Gardening on a tight budget and in a small space presents it's fair set of challenges. Few things drive me crazier than when well-intentioned folks on social networks and "green" forums crow about the ease and economy of putting in a garden. Apparently they all live south of the 40th parallel. I've been watching my neighbors learn the "hard way" all summer. They thought that it would be a simple effort to put in a hobby garden -- just remove the sod and plant the seeds.
First, they tore up approximately a 3 meter square plot of the lawn and were shocked to discover there was more rock than soil under the densely-matted root system. They hauled out buckets of smoothed stones for a solid week. She finally commented to me out loud her consternation of where all the rocks came from in the middle of a rainforest?
Rule #1, folks: Do your biome research. Your home may look lush and green, but what happened during the ice age can and will affect your gardening efforts! For instance, most of Western Washington was part of a giant glacier trail. Lots of rocks. LOTS of rocks.
And that's just the soil. Here the NW, we need short-season, long-day varieties. Meanwhile, in southern California, you'll want the opposite: long season, so-called "short-day" varieties of plants.
My neighbor's solution was to create makeshift raised rows and fill them with composted manure from the equestrian school next door. Not an entirely bad idea, depending on what they wanted to grow. But see, therein lies the catch. Composted manure makes for very heavy, highly acidic soil. Not good for root crops unless you want them to look like they're products of Chernobyl. However, the nutrient content will give you quite lush cole and lettuce crops.
Rule #2: Match your plant selections to the soil you are prepared to provide. For instance, most root crops like loose, light soil that's been hoed to about 18" deep and lightly fertilized.
Ok, enough picking on my neighbors. They're sweet people and I applaud their efforts. Like most new farmers, they're experiencing the highs and lows of trial-and-error gardening.
When I was little, my dad (who is a Master Gardener) put in a 0.25 acre garden every year. Even with all his expertise, he knew that the turnover rate in our climate was lower than average (about 60%). So of course, each year he planted twice as much as he thought we needed. This meant that during good years, my poor mother was up to her elbows in produce and spent 16-hours a day putting up food, 6 days a week for about a month and a half.
Rule #3: when determining your garden size, balance how much you need with your ability to keep up with it!
This entry is getting too long so I better wrap it up. Gardening is truly a labor of love -- in some areas, more laborious than others. Don't jump in blind! I've often told people who cloth diaper, "It's a lot like switching to cloth: the start-up costs can be horrendous; there is definitely a trial period involved as you decide the system that works best for you; and there is a lot of work involved. However, once you find your stride, it becomes second nature and the rewards (yes, including overall financial savings) are substantial!"
Tune in for upcoming entries on my personal gardening efforts over the past six years.
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