The village of Leavenworth lies along the Cascade Mountains' eastern slopes, straddling a fine line between soaring alpine peaks to the west, and vast expanses of prairie to the east stretching for hundreds of miles-- all the way to the Rocky Mountains. Here, in Washington's high country, winter seems to stretch on and on, until quite abruptly feigning summer sometime in late-April or early May. Longtime residents of the upper Wenatchee Valley have become quite accustomed to this annual charade. As springtime storms roll inland out of the northern Pacific Ocean, dousing the western side of the state with an unseasonably cool rain, cold air bottles up over the North Cascades and pours down into the many snaking valleys that dot the east side of the mountains. This cold air can lead to a bizarre array of spring weather ranging from accumulating snow to downspouts, hail and thunderstorms.
As a Leavenworth gardener's rule of thumb, old-timers of the upper-valley profess that it's unsuitable to plant outdoors until winter's snows have receded off of Wedge Mountain. The pyramid shaped peak lies a couple of miles south of town and rises to an elevation of nearly 7000 feet-- though the false peak actually seen from town barely challenges 6000. Regardless, the snow melts off sometime in May, dependent on the climatology of a given year.
STEP ONE: Timing. Before you even start planning your backyard gardening project, you first need to know a few things about where you live. Talk to a more experienced gardener, or an employee at your local garden center. Figure out when your area generally experiences it's last frost/freeze cycle. A hard freeze, or a fresh blanket of snow, would almost assuredly be a death-nail for your fragile, young plants.
Whether or not a spring freeze can be an issue where you live, the angle of the sun and soil temperature most definitely are. Generally, once you notice your neighbor's flowerbeds spring to life, or see that the weeds are beginning to repopulate the back alleyway, there is sufficient sunlight for outdoor planting. Speaking to soil-temperature, some gardeners make a very big deal about this. However, once you've had a few consecutive days where high temperatures reach into the 70's and there is no longer the risk of an overnight freeze, you're safe to plant most domestic crops-- with a couple exceptions that we'll cover later.
STEP TWO: Location.
Unless you're able to commit a large portion of your existing yard to the sole purpose of a garden, try and find an spot that serves little purpose. Maybe it's difficult to mow, or it's a side yard out of site. Whatever your reasoning, figure out an area that currently lacks utility and start thinking about what could be done with it. Two factors you should keep in mind while working through this process are: Does the location receive ample sunlight? If grass is growing, it probably does. And secondly, how is the soil? This is not a determining factor, but if you've already got decent topsoil in place, it'll save you a bit of time and money later on.
STEP THREE: Starting Indoors. There are a few vegetables that take a while to mature from seedlings to garden-dwellers. IF you're feeling industrious and would like to grow tomatoes or peppers from seed, they need to be started inside, six to eight weeks before you intend on planting. Most-- if not all-- garden-centers offer affordably-priced tomato and pepper starts that can go right in the ground with the rest of your garden. However, if you are interested in starting your own peppers and tomatoes, here's a helpful "how-to."
STEP FOUR: Floor Plan. Like any home-improvement project, it's important to have a plan before you start. As far as your garden, there's no need to have every detail decided at this point, but you should have a pretty solid "rough-draft." First, have a good idea of what you're going to be planting, and how much of each crop you'd like to plant. Having this in mind will help you to determine the perimeter dimensions of your garden. If you'd like to construct raised beds, flower beds, or any other aesthetic improvements, this is the time to weigh your options within the constraints of the site you've chosen. Plan as lavishly as you'd like, but keep in mind-- unless you're hiring out-- that you're the one that's going to be doing the work. Plan realistically.
STEP FIVE: Supplies. Referring back to your plan, make a list of everything you'll need; both raw supplies, and the right tools to complete the job. Think it through-- you're trying to make just one trip to the hardware store. Moving dirt? You'll need a shovel and a wheel-a-barrel. Building beds? Lumber and nails/screws-- and a hammer/screwdriver. Building a fence? You could need anything from 2x4 fencing brackets, to 60' x 8' of chicken-wire-- it depends on the details and unique' of your specific project. Weed-cloth, garden tools, bricks, rocks, stepping-stones... The list goes on and on, just try and think it through. This could save you a trip, or multiple trips, back to the hardware store. If you're looking to trim costs, try recycling building materials from around the house. Leftovers from a past project? Dilapidated, out-of-use flowerbeds? If there's a way to re-utilize something from a prior occupant, or that you see as an eye-sore-- why not give it a whirl?
STEP SIX: Get to Work!
You've got a plan, and now you've got the tools and supplies to make it happen. The next step is the hardest part of any project-- getting started. From the time that you take that first shovel full of dirt out of your yard, everything gets much easier. As you're removing sod from your garden site, don't just throw everything away; keep as much of that top soil as you can. This native soil is rich in nutrients and often loaded with earthworms. Both will be healthy additions to your garden. Heck, as long as you're being thrifty-- maybe you could even use some of that sod elsewhere on your property? Once in motion, each shovel full of dirt, each patch of grass removed, brings you just that much closer to your finished garden. Progress is exciting, but don't burn yourself out. Rome wasn't built over night, and your garden doesn't need to be either.
STEP SEVEN: Work in Order.
While completing individual pieces of the puzzle is fulfilling, keep in mind the ultimate design of your garden. Make sure that you're completing each undertaking in an order that won't disrupt the overall scheme of things. A couple examples of said disruption would be completing a bed and filling it with soil, yet still having to walk through it to finish a project on the other side, or, building a bed on top of un-pulled sod... If you've chosen to utilize weed-cloth, cover your entire project before you start on anything else. Just think things through; work from left to right, or from the middle out. If you take a step back, and use a grain of common sense, you'll see a clear, natural order to things.
STEP EIGHT: Soil. Once you've completed your primary vegetable bed(s), it's time to talk dirt; unless your garden site already happens to be blessed with perfect soil. However, even if this is the case, if you've built raised beds, you'll likely need more soil than you have available in order to fill them. This is where you'll mix in fertilizer, preferably steer or chicken manure, with the topsoil you salvaged while removing sod. A couple of bags per each bed should do the trick. If you feel that your soil mixture is still missing something, feel free to add a bag of dredged topsoil-- or compost product-- as well. Make sure you thoroughly mix everything you use to fill your planting beds, taking care to break up any large clumps in the process. If your garden will ultimately include vanity beds holding flowers or herbs, you could save a bit of fertilizer, though this isn't really necessary; herbs and flowers tend to be sold in a potting mixture that will support them through a transplant and until they reach maturity.
STEP NINE: Aesthetics.
This is your garden; give it a personal touch. Flowerbeds are always a good idea. Flowers attract the right kinds of bees and insects to aid in pollination-- not to mention adding a bit of color while the rest of your garden comes to fruition. Paths, rocks, fountains, birdbaths and statuettes; all would seem perfectly at home in the serene setting of a garden. If you live somewhere that wildlife could potentially become an issue, you might think about a fence. Remembering back to your initial planning, you would have considered this option, and planned accordingly. A fence can protect your fledgling garden not only from grazing wildlife, but from curious pets or children as well. You've put a lot of work into this. Do something special to make it unique.
STEP TEN: Planting and Beyond. This is it, your garden which started as an unused patch of yard, is now all but complete. There's just one thing left to do: It's time to plant! Now remember, you already know what you're planting, you've designed this garden with certain crops in mind, as well as a general idea of the quantity. You've built the garden in area that receives sufficient sunlight, and are now confident that you've seen the last freeze until autumn. If you started peppers and tomatoes inside, they're now-- or soon will be-- ready for transplant. Think about growing some herbs too. There really is something to be said to growing and drying your own garlic, basil or rosemary. Consider spearmint and parsley as well, they replenish fast and are always good for a quick bite in passing or while watering.
A few things to keep in mind when planting: Certain crops can be very sensitive to soil temperature, particularly corn and pepper plants. For this reason, plant corn seed, and transplant your pepper starts on a day over 80 degrees, with direct sunlight on the garden-- the soil temperature must be at least 65 -70 degrees for corn seed to germinate properly. Corn planted on a cooler day won't necessarily rot, but the odds of this occurring become much higher.
Be sure to plant in such an order that your taller crops-- like corn or sunflowers-- aren't blocking sunlight from smaller ones. There are whole books written about garden plant placement, but as long as you read the directions on the seed packaging pertaining to spacing and depth, and plant in such a way that all your vegetables receive ample light, you've got little to worry about. Water consistently, but don't over water-- another common-sense topic some go on and on about. Make a solid effort to water your garden daily, but if you miss a day, it's not the end of the world-- just don't make a habit of it. Some people talk to their plants; you could always try apologizing. Most importantly: Never forget that this is your garden. You built it, planted it, and you're sure as heck going to eat it.
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