With some planning, a first garden can provide years of enjoyment and fresh home-grown produce. Gardeners should focus on two basics: how to build the garden and which vegetables they enjoy eating.

Creating a new vegetable garden takes thought and planning. Some things to consider when building your garden are:

• Six to eight hours of daily sun for warm-season crops such as tomatoes, peppers, corn, melons, cucumbers and beans 

• Four to six hours of daily sun for cool-season crops such as lettuce, spinach, radishes, kale, and peas 

• Protection from strong winds that can break or sand blast your plants

• Convenient access to a reliable water source for regular watering 

• Available space for one large garden bed that can be accessed without walking on it or several smaller beds

• A drawn-to-scale plan on paper that includes buildings, fences, trees (or other permanent items that may cast shade). Mark out the garden with a rope

• Path widths that allow comfortable planting and weeding 

• Raised beds for gardeners with mobility issues and/or for improved spring drainage and warmer soil, in contrast to ground-level beds that maintain moisture and keep roots cooler 

In the past gardeners used a shovel to dig out weeds and grass. Today gardeners are encouraged to disturb the soil as little as possible to avoid damaging soil structure and the organisms found in the top several inches of soil. To create your garden:

• Cut vegetation low and apply a thick layer of organic mulch such as arborist wood chips or sterilized straw — 7.5 to 10 cm for wood chips and 10 to 15 cm for straw

• Allow several weeks for the grass and weeds to die back before planting — six weeks for sterilized straw and twelve weeks for arborist wood chips 

• Create and mulch pathways with wood chips, straw or leaves; add an annual layer of compost to the garden bed

The first year of gardening might feel overwhelming. It can be simplified by direct-seeding some vegetables and buying some ready-to-go transplants. Things to consider as you start:

• Draw up a plan showing which vegetables, and how many of each, will be grown

• Direct-seed short rows or blocks of vegetables weekly to extend the harvest period

• Hotter and drier conditions make vegetable variety selection more important than ever

• When reading seed packages look for words such as drought tolerant, heat loving and slow-to-bolt; locally-grown seed is better acclimatized to this area and often performs well; local seed sellers can be found at Seedy Saturday events

• Seed packages provide information on sowing time and method, days to germination and harvest

• The Kamloops area has a wide range of gardening zones; 3 (coldest) to 6 (mildest). The City of Kamloops’ website hosts a plant hardiness zone map that identifies local climate conditions that influence frost risk and the timing of planting and harvesting

• Cool season vegetables are planted in the spring, followed by warm season vegetables in early summer. Mulch the garden bed with well-composted wood chips after planting to suppress weeds and conserve water.

• Label rows with the vegetable name, variety and planting date

• Keep a journal with the same information, noting harvest results and any problems; photos help track what performed well

• Regular watering is required; a general rule is one inch of water per week, with more frequent watering during hot weather, in sandier soils and for transplants and seedlings

• Leave plant roots in the ground at the end of the season to maintain soil structure

• Shade cloth can help protect plants during extreme heat

• Local information sources include garden clubs, neighbours and community gardens

When a cactus grows in your garden without any help, listen to what it has to say.

Upcoming Gardening Events in the Thompson Shuswap

• Kamloops Naturalist Club “Loving the Grasslands” fundraiser – Feb 5

• Cache Creek Seedy Saturday – Feb 7

• Kamloops Community Garden plot applications are now being accepted. Contact Mount Paul Food Centre

Valerie Boyda is a Master Gardener with the Thompson Shuswap Master Gardeners. She lives west of Kamloops with her husband and two cats on the north shore of the Thompson River. She loves gardening, photography and fishing and has a keen interest in regenerative landscaping with native plants and trees