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Planning and Preparing Your Garden

For John Coykendall, master gardener for Blackberry Farm, January and February are all about planning and preparing the garden. He shares his detailed guide for getting started in you garden.

With the joy of the holiday season over and the first blooms yet to appear, we find ourselves in bleak midwinter. The months of January and February are marked by a barren quiet with only the sound of crunching frosted leaves underfoot. It’s also marked by one’s general avoidance of having anything to do with the outdoors. Spending hours in the garden hardly comes to mind. But Blackberry Farm’s head gardener John Coykendall sees it differently. These frigid months are the perfect moment for dreaming, a time to imagine the full potential of the garden and what could be. In John’s estimation, this dreaming must be met with planning and preparation in order to make good use of these months and to be ready for that first spot of sunshine. 

From spending his life with his hands in the dirt, John Coykendall harbors a wealth of knowledge that he’s itching to share with FLOWER readers. This year, he leads readers through a seasonal guidebook to make the most out of the year whether the garden’s in full bloom or the thermostat’s reading under freezing. In this chapter of John’s Almanac, John discusses seed and plant selection, soil preparation, winter weeding, and more. Dip into John’s treasure trove of tips to find the tools you need to create your perfectly imperfect garden and to become the best version of a backyard garden you can be. Keep in mind, the main tools needed for any successful garden are patience, hard work, and optimism.

Two hands holding kernels.

Photo by Artisanal Aperture

An advocate for saving and sharing heirloom seeds, John authored a book on the subject titled PRESERVING OUR ROOTS (LSU Press, 2019).

Tools Needed

  • Shovel
  • Hoe
  • Hard-tooth rake
  • Fork hoe
  • Trowel
  • Gardening gloves

Location

Look for a space that drains well and has a nice amount of sunlight. For most fruits and vegetables, you’ll want a location that has full sun or mostly sun throughout the day. Pay attention to the course of the sun to determine your bed path for that season. Also, be sure to check for proper drainage of the soil. Look for standing water after a good rain. Most plants don’t like to go to bed with their feet (roots) wet.

Plotting

Create a map of your garden, and lay out plants according to the sun’s warmth in the morning and afternoon. Hang on to your garden plans from year to year so you can keep up with rotating your crops or plants. The soil needs to have minerals replenished, and no matter how small or large the plot, it’s best done through crop rotation.

“There is that feeling of satisfaction you get when you see those first crooks emerge to the surface. From the first sprout to plants maturing enough to be set out in the garden, I look forward to the process every year.”

—JOHN COYKENDALL

Seed and Plant Selection

Depending on your region, plan for each season. Here at Blackberry, we plan for three outdoor growing seasons: spring, summer, and fall. If you wish to plant heirloom or unusual varieties, the best option is to order seeds. Read seed packets carefully to determine which varieties may be directly sown into the soil and which need to be started indoors earlier. Order now in time to begin in the early spring. Starting your own seeds also saves money. My favorite sources are Seed Savers Exchange, Bakers Creek Heirloom Seeds, and Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. You can also pick up plants from local growers and plant them directly into the ground once it is warm enough in your zone, but you’ll find the best selection from starting your own seeds.

Little sprouts coming out of the ground.

Photo by beall + thomas photography

Soil Preparation

If you have a garden tiller, break up the ground at least one foot in depth. Cut out any large roots and remove all large rocks from the soil. Then put a lot of compost in and work it into the soil. It’s important to use good compost material. If you have any beds at rest that may not be used that year, put wood chips on top of the soil to help keep weeds from coming up and to prevent erosion.

Irrigation

Locate the water source and begin to determine if watering from above with a sprinkler system or below with a drip hose might be best for your garden. Watering above is good for any area where you have grass, flowers, or greens. For most vegetables, tomatoes especially, you want to do drip irrigation because watering from above can create mildew.

Weed Control

Weeding is very important in winter, not just in growing seasons. Keeping weeds under control from the beginning of the season creates a healthier garden and a nice appearance.

Seed Starting

You’ll need plastic seed-starter trays, cell packs, or plastic pots from your local garden center. Use a sterile seed-starter mix to ensure seedlings are free from soil-borne diseases. It’s important to maintain temperatures around 75-80 degrees until the seeds begin to germi- nate. Once most of the seeds have sprouted, 70 degrees is ideal for contin- ued plant growth. Introduce new plants to the outdoors before planting. Harden them off by moving plants outside in partial shade a few days prior to planting them into the ground.

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