4 Things to Consider Before Growing an Organic Vegetable Garden
So many people reach out to us because they love the idea of growing vegetables in their own backyard. While our mission is to help you grow your own food, you can waste a lot of time and money if you’re not careful.
Before you invest in a backyard garden, consider the Time, Cost, Location and Materials that are required. In this post, we’ll walk you through important considerations for each of these.
1. TIME
How much time do you have to invest in your garden? The initial build and design will require more time upfront, and maintaining your garden takes time too.
A garden requires time to:
Design + Build
Decide + Purchase plants and supplies
Plant your seeds and seedlings
Scout and treat bugs daily
Harvest your vegetables
Prepare/store your harvest
Learn all of the new things you’ll need to be successful
Gardening is one of the best hobbies you can ever develop. It has many benefits to your physical and mental health, as well as providing a great opportunity to connect with your neighbors. Who could ever eat all of that squash?
But gardening does take time to learn. If your first baby plants succumb to disease and pests, you can feel so discouraged that you may even give up.
So let’s break down the time involved.
GARDEN DESIGN
First, you’ll need to plan your garden design: its size and location.
Depending on your knowledge you may need to research first to help you make some decisions.
If you’re a member of our Garden Growers Club, you can access the class recording “Garden Planning + Design” inside your content library. In the 1 hour and 40 minute class, I walk you through all the decisions you’ll need to make.
If you don’t have access to this class or one like it, I would allow at least double the time to search google or read a few books.
GARDEN BUILD
Our crew can install a 4X8 raised bed garden box in about 3-4 hours. We’ve been doing it for years and have the process quite streamlined. Add extra time if you’re a novice and if you have more than one box.
PLANT SELECTION + PURCHASE
Now it’s time to select your plants. This part can be quite tricky because of the Lowcountry’s heat and humidity. Our planting calendar is quite different from other parts of the country or even the Upstate of South Carolina. In fact, we notice differences from Summerville to Wadmalaw. If you’re not experienced with growing in the Lowcountry this part could take many hours.
One of the advantages of purchasing your plants and supplies from Rita’s Roots is we’ve done all of the research for you. We’ve been growing in the Lowcountry for more than 10 years, and we have done lots of experimenting to determine what works best.
When you buy from us — either in-person or online — you can be certain it is seasonally appropriate to plant at that time. Our garden gurus are on-hand during sales to help you with planting and harvesting tips.
(You may need to add in time for enjoying a beer at Tradesman Brew because our shop is conveniently located in their parking lot.)
PLANTING
Now for the fun part! Time to get your hands in the dirt. Amend your beautiful soil with compost, add some fertilizer and get all those baby plants in the ground.
When our garden gurus visit client gardens for planting, they usually spend between 1 and 3 hours depending on the size of the garden. They bring all the supplies you need on site: compost, fertilizer, plants, sprays, tools.
If you’re a novice doing it by yourself, you’ll want to allow for more time for both gathering all the supplies and planting.
GARDEN MAINTENANCE
I like to say a garden is not a fix it and forget it activity. We recommend that you visit your garden daily.
I love to go out in the evening with my girls. While they play, I scout for bugs, turning over the leaves to look at the undersides. I remove any debris and check to see whether the soil is dry or wet, making adjustments as necessary.
In gardening, like life, it’s important to attend to the little things so that they don’t become big things. Particularly in the Lowcountry, pests and disease can destroy a garden in just a few days. This daily habit is nourishing to me, but it does take time.
At Rita’s Roots we offer everything from gardening alongside you in your own backyard or even gardening for you if you are really tight on time.
For people who do want to do it themselves but don’t want to spend time Googling for answers we also have a Garden Growers Club, where you receive a checklist every two weeks and access to an online learning community. There you’ll find how-to videos, veggie studies and a Facebook group with garden gurus ready to answer your questions.
2. COST
Growing your own food, over time, saves money in grocery bills (and a lot of waste). But you will spend money upfront to get everything started.
Where will your plants grow?
At Rita’s Roots we recommend a raised bed garden. Our Lowcountry soil is too sandy, and a raised bed allows you to fill it with the best organic soil, which helps your fruits and vegetables grow abundantly.
A raised bed also creates a border that offers protection from dogs and other critters that may want to sample your harvest.
Our standard garden box is made from cedar and is 4’x8’x12”. We install it in your yard with Organic Soil for $875.
You may want to hire one of our garden gurus to come to your yard and help you decide where to place the bed so that you have the greatest chance of success. During our on-site consultation, we bring a special tool called a Solar Pathfinder. This tool helps us find the best spot in your yard for optimal sunlight throughout all 12 months of the year. The consultation costs $175.
Now for the fun part: the plants! The cost of your plants will certainly vary based on how many plants you choose. The average person at our plant sales last year spent $78.
In the Lowcountry, we have two main planting periods where you would be purchasing plants to fill your garden — the Fall and the Spring. You may be supplementing and filling in with some vegetables throughout the year, but it’s really twice a year that your garden is turning over in terms of restocking it with plants.
THE LEARNING
This cost will vary a lot based on your level of experience and whether you prefer to invest your time or your money in the learning process.
If you’re a Do-It-Yourself gardener and have lots of time to spend learning, you may be able to find some great resources online or at the local library. You’ll likely want to purchase a few reference books to have on hand.
If you’d like to invest some money to fast-track your learning, consider joining our Garden Growers Club.
You’ll receive access to our garden gurus who can answer your specific questions and keep you on track with the Lowcountry Planting Calendar. Membership includes an entire year of support in your garden with access to online course materials, how-to videos and vegetable studies. Annual club membership costs $349.
We have other ways to support you in the garden. Sometimes that looks like working 1:1 to teach you and your families. We come to your garden once or twice a month and work with you.
Some of our clients don’t have time to tend, but they want that spectacular produce that’s grown in their own yard, so we tend their gardens for them.
Our services range anywhere between $175 and $490 plus materials used (such as soils, sprays, amendments, seeds and plants that we bring and plant for you, etc,) per month depending on how frequently you require a garden visit.
We also do garden walks for DIY gardeners that just need some troubleshooting advice.
3. LOCATION
SUN
Just like in real estate, location determines everything when it comes to gardening. A garden requires at least 6 hours of full direct sunlight each day. When grown in less than 6 hours, the plants get stressed out and attract bugs and don’t produce very well.
We have a tool called a Solar Pathfinder that helps you determine the best spot. We can stand in any location in your yard and this device will tell us exactly how much sun you have in that space throughout the entire year. It is so handy for finding those little tiny pockets that might work.
PROXIMITY TO WATER + HOUSE
Ideally your garden will be near the hose so that the watering part will be easy. You want to be able to pick it up and water the garden quickly without having a hose across the driveway all the time.
It’s best if your garden is as close to your house as you can get it. Out of sight is out of mind. You want to see that garden all the time so that you check on it regularly. When the bugs and disease come in, they can wreak havoc quickly. The best garden spots are close to your house and where you walk regularly.
SPACE
You may want to consider if you have space to grow enough food to be satisfying for your family’s needs.
A standard garden 4’X8’X12” box works for one to three people, depending on how many fruits and vegetables you eat.
If you want to supply most of the fruits and vegetables you’re eating for a family of four, you probably would want to move either to a larger box or two of the smaller boxes.
For many people, once they start growing, they are constantly wanting to add more space in the garden. A great solution is adding grow bags for the overflow.
They provide a wonderful, affordable option for garden expansion and can even be washed at the end of the season.
4. MATERIALS
At Rita’s Roots, we’ve done a lot of experimenting with all different kinds of wood, and we really recommend cedar wood for your raised garden beds.
The wooden raised beds are our go-tos. Some benefits include:
Good drainage
Keeps critters out
Less weeding
Instant fertile soil
Various heights
Our standard garden box is a 4’x8’x12″ Cedar Garden Box, but we also build them 4X6, 4X12 or custom to fit your space.
One of the nice options is that you can build them as high as you want to make it easier to access. But keep in mind that will drive up your lumber costs.
In the Lowcountry, we have sandy, nutrient-poor soil, so we do not recommend gardening in the ground.
To save on lumber costs, you could build free-standing beds. The process would be similar to creating a wooden raised bed, but without the wood. You would define it with cardboard and build the soil up and out.
With a free-standing bed you can only get it about 8 to 12 inches deep. And there’s no border for dogs or critters.