What are you planting? The first step in setting up a garden in your backyard is to figure out what you are going to grow. There is nothing like growing your delicious edible food from your garden. There are so many options to choose from; Herbs, Fruits, or Vegetables. No matter what you choose, you will need to think about the location, structure of the soil, watering and fertilizing schedule, and how long the plant takes to grow.
Location
It is important to identify your plant, so you can select the right location, with enough light or enough shade. The last thing you want to do is to select an area where your plant will not flourish. None of us have time and resources to waste on a doomed project. Search online for plants that do well in sunny areas and plants that do well in shaded areas. Once you figure out what you are going to grow and the right location for that plant, measure out an area that you want to start designating as your garden.
Structure
I chose an area in my yard (near the back of the house) that is more on the shady side. It’s shaded from the sun by trees most of the day. Towards the early afternoon, there is direct sunlight, but that is for about 2-3 hours. Instead of measuring out with a ruler, I picked up some wood from the hardware store that was already 8 feet long. I grabbed three pieces, and cut the third piece in half to make a 4×8 ft garden area. I did use a gas-powered tiller attachment to loosen up the soil. Then I also added some topsoil and compost from the landfill to make sure I had some good growing medium. The natural soil in this yard is mostly clay and contains lots of rocks.
I then laid out some smaller sticks across the garden area to create sections. This way the various items I plan can appear to be in some organization. This is not necessary if you are already planting plants that come in pots. However, if you are planting seeds, this will help to identify where you planted the seeds. If you are new to gardening, I suggest using labels in the areas you place the place, so you can remember what you planted.
Watering
Once you have your plants in the ground, you will need to figure out the watering schedule. This will vary based on the type of plant you have and the stage of growth. If you have a way to collect rainwater, that would be the best choice when it comes to watering the plant (unless you have filtered water). Many city/town water pipes contain other minerals that can be harmful to plants or slow down their growth. Rainwater seems to do very well for plants (notice how plants respond after it rains).
Fertilizer
Consider also, if you will be adding any fertilzer to the plants. This could be chemical fertilizer or a natural and free fertilzer that you can make using compost. With either option, you have to schedule out when you will add that to your plants. This could be once a week or once a month, it depends on the needs of the plant.
Time
Be patient with the growing process. Everything takes time and sometimes, the longer it takes the better the outcome. Try to take note of how long a seed is supposed to take to grow to fruit. If the plant is taking longer than it is supposed to, you may have something that is slowing down the growing process. You will not notice this if you are not paying attention and taking notes on the progress from start to finish. After a few seasons, when you are a pro, you will not need notes or a schedule. You will just feel the plants and know what they need and when.
Happy Gardening.