A Garden Planning Consideration for 2022 By Steve Upson
The 2022 gardening season is only a few weeks
surface drainage. If you are experiencing soil erosion in your garden or if an excessively sloped site is all away. Whether you have an existing garden or are new that is available for your use, consider the following. to gardening, proper planning is key to being success- The most common practice involves installing a series ful. While my comments focus more on the needs of of level benches or growing pads. The sloped areas the home or hobby gardener, the small market garbetween the benches should be covered with a perendener will also find this information helpful. nial ground cover such a bermudagrass. On extremely While there are many things to consider when sloped sites, retaining walls may need to be installed. planning a garden the following considerations are Used railroad ties are commonly used to construct key to this process. retaining walls. Standard tillage practices can be used Site evaluation - A thorough site evaluaon the newly formed benches or if desired, raised tion includes consideration of the soil, slope, exposure beds can be installed. and existing vegetation. Not all properties are created Often gardens are not capable of producing at their equal. This is especially true when considering the soil full potential due to excessive shading and wind. In resource. Deep, well drained loamy soils are typically an urban setting where trees are plentiful, vegetable the exception and not the rule in Oklahoma. Many plants cannot flourish due to excessive shading. This prairie soils have a loamy surface layer underlain is especially true with fruit bearing vegetables such as with a clay subsoil or compacted plow layer causing squash and tomato. Most experts recommend a minithem to be poorly drained. The natural inclination is mum of six hours of sunlight for summer gardento incorporate massive amounts ing. In Oklahoma, due to high Gen 1:29 of sand, gypsum and compost temperature induced stress, late 29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearin order to improve internal afternoon shading can be benefiing plant on the face of the whole earth and drainage. While this approach cial. Consequently, when posevery tree that has fruit with seed in it. They can be effective if a sufficient will be yours for food. sible, gardens should be located amendment volume is used, the on the east side of a building or improvement in drainage is achieved not so much a tree row. Removing crowded trees, thinning branches result of the incorporation process but from increasand/or removing low hanging limbs can also reduce ing the elevation of the garden. Because elevation is shading. Trees not only compete with the vegetable the key to increasing drainage in poorly drained soils, garden for sunlight but also for nutrients and water. a better choice would be to construct raised beds. Trees and vegetable gardens can coexist as neighbors If your garden site is blessed with several inches of but a good relationship can only be maintained with loamy top soil, use a shovel or a tiller equipped with adequate spacing. a hiller/furrower or bed making attachment to form If Chicago is the “Windy City”, Oklahoma is the temporary beds. If your garden soil has a high clay “Windy State.” Strong winds accompanying thundercontent save yourself a lot of frustration by construct- storms and alternating warm and cold fronts during ing permanent raised beds. You will need to locate a late winter and spring are common occurrences. If source of loamy topsoil to fill the beds. While the cost wind damage to your garden is a common occurrence of constructing permanent raised beds is an issue, the or if you plan on establishing a garden on an exposed advantages they provide far exceed the disadvantages site, consider installing a windbreak. Planting a shelover the long term. For more information on the terbelt is a long-term option. Fencing can be installed construction and use of raised beds in gardening go to for immediate results. When installing a windbreak, raised-bed-gardening-hla-6033.pdf (okstate.edu). the objective is not to eliminate air movement but Garden plots installed on sloped sites are susceptible to reduce it to a level that is not stressful on plants. to erosion. This is especially true on sandy sites. In Moderate air movement in the garden reduces plant actuality a slight slope is beneficial as it can aid in disease pressure and improves working conditions. 22
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GPL Spring 2022
