For example, in the summer, leafy greens do better if they are partially shaded. If you do have shaded areas, you can use them to your advantage. If you need to make a choice, morning light is more important than afternoon light, because the early-morning sun dries the leaves of the plants, and reduces the chance for fungal diseases to take hold. Ideally, your garden will be north-facing (for gardens in the southern hemisphere south-facing for the northern hemisphere), with only minor shaded areas throughout the year. Although leafy greens can grow well in low-light conditions (as little as three to five hours a day), most vegetables require eight or more hours of direct sunlight to thrive. If you have an already established garden, we hope this information will help you notice some positives about your garden’s location, and perhaps you will find you can tweak a few things to help your plants thrive even more.ĭirect sunlight is the power supply for your garden. Don’t be discouraged on the contrary, you are learning to pay attention to your garden, and this habit will set you up for success throughout your gardening life.
The perfect garden location is hard to find, so most of us will need to make some compromises. So, make yourself a cup of tea and spend some time observing your garden. Taking some time at this point for observation will lead to a better garden design. Where you choose to establish your garden is going to determine its success and ease of maintenance. As the saying goes, writing is the opposite of forgetting.ĭetermining the location of your garden is probably the most significant decision you will need to make. It is also a useful place to record weather data, such as the first and last frosts, which can help you plan next season’s planting schedule. It is especially useful when trying something new, when something unusual happens, when recording your experiments and to keep track of where your main crops have been planted for crop-rotation purposes. It can be a physical notebook or an electronic folder on your computer with various documents in it.Ī garden diary is the place to record any gardening activities you have undertaken during the season. The better job you do at this, the happier you will be with the results.īefore we start, we’d like to recommend keeping a garden diary to record as much information as you can about your gardening journey. Identifying your core values and designing your garden around them will make sure the garden meets your needs. The process of designing your garden, in a way that reflects your needs and desires, includes examining what makes you tick. Every garden is unique, because each garden is the coming together of a special landscape of people, land, history, microclimate and resources.Ī regenerative gardening approach is holistic, and considers the long-term consequences of gardening on the soil and the garden’s ecosystem, aiming to improve soil biodiversity and the use of resources.