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Now Try It At Home!
In the mid-Atlantic area, we can grow food year long—including winter. While late
September is too late to start a successful fall/winter garden, there is a lot we can do
between now and February 2010 to establish an early spring garden, plant leafy greens
in March and enjoy really local, truly fresh food! Here’s how to get started.

Identify a lawn area that receives at least six hours of direct sun at any time of the year,
about 10 feet by 17 feet, with the 10-foot dimension facing south if possible.

Cover the area with plain cardboard or newspapers (remove the slick inserts), five or
six sheets thick. Overlap all edges.

Obtain source materials (buy new or use recycled) to make growing raised beds. Avoid
pressure-treated wood, which contains heavy metals or poisonous substances. You may
even buy raised-bed kits online.

Eight-foot-long beds take advantage of standard 8-foot-long lumber. Twelve inches
high is sufficient for most crops. Build the beds (on top of the cardboard/newspaper)
no wider than 4 feet; 3 feet is even easier to handle so you do not step on the beds when
weeding or harvesting. Leave enough room (3 feet is good, 2 feet is okay) between the
beds for access. A 10-foot by 17-foot plot has room for three 8-foot by 3-foot beds
yielding 72 square feet of growing space, with plenty of access space.

Fill the inside of the beds with a 6- to 8-inch layer of shredded leaves; leave it alone
until late February, giving the leaves time to decompose and earthworms time to work.

Cover the paths with landscape fabric, and then mulch—do this throughout the winter
as time allows.

Meanwhile, start a compost pile. There are many resources to help you, such as the article
from the Virginia Extension Service.

In late February, fill your beds as much as you can with finished compost and good
quality top-soil (on top of the shredded leaves). It’s better to fill them completely, but
it’s okay if you can’t. Just fill them as much as you can, adding additional compost
throughout the year around your plants.

In mid-March, sow peas (provide a trellis), spinach, arugula, kale and hardy lettuce
directly in your new bed. Continue to plant lettuces throughout the spring, just a
little at time, to spread out the harvest. What else? Plant what you like to eat: radishes,
carrots and beets throughout May. Transplant Swiss chard, more lettuce, some herbs.

Plant seeds of squash, beans, melons and okra, but don’t transplant tomatoes, peppers,
basil, sweet potatoes and other heat-lovers until May, when the soil and weather have
had a chance to warm up.

Don’t forget to water. Our springs can be dry: it’s important to water seeds and new
transplants until nicely established.

Find someone who can answer your questions and give you practical advice for your
locality — ask a gardening friend or neighbor, join a garden club, take a kitchen
gardening class, talk to a gardening coach. And share the joy of food gardening.

Sylvie Rowand, Owner, Laughing Duck Gardens & Cookery

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