This class is for people who may be brand-new to food gardening, returning to it from an extended absence, or starting over in a new climate. It introduces the garden calendar for this region and offers guidelines for what you will need to do and when in order to be an effective grower in the Portland area.

1. January 2012
© Independence Gardens LLC
Download the
handout that goes
along with this
slideshow!
h p://bit.ly/y0lYQv
Edible Gardening 101
Independence Gardens
Portland, OR
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

2. What We’ll Cover Today
Intro
we are Independence Gardens
• We build raised beds, chicken coops,
& other garden infrastructure
• Help with garden planning, prep, and
installation
• Teach edible gardening classes
• & make Doo Tees!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

3. What We’ll Cover Today
Preview
Topics We’ll Cover Got Questions?
• Edible gardening vs. other gardening
Please ask as we go along.
• Edible for whom? (your garden
friends & theirs)
• PNW opportunities
• KISS (modi ed)
• Planning & participant-observation
• Quick & long-term soil prep
• Planting & plant care
• Harvesting & reinvesting
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

4. Gardening vs. edible gardening
Gardening = a verb, either way!
Planting an edible garden usually means a
focus on the end product (edible-for-you)
But broadening the de nition helps...
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

5. Edible…for whom?
• For the birds
– Domestic and wild
• For the bees
– & other pollinators
• For the “bugs”
– Bene cial insects
• For the soil
– Actually, for microorganisms in the soil
• For you!
– And other people
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

6. Some of your friends
Ground beetle
Lacewing
“Ladybug”
Hover ies
Wasp
Praying mantis
Pirate bug Rove beetle
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

7. Some of their friends
Amaranth
Dill (& fennel, too) Alyssum
Yarrow Sun ower
ink Parsley
Lemon balm Apiaceae &
Asteraceae
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

8. ank goodness…
• Some of their friends are also your friends
• Because gardening can be stressful especially when
you’re trying to grow your own food
– Unpredictable weather
– (In)appropriate timing
– Pests and disease
– Uncertainty/lack of con dence
• And we gardeners can use all the friends we can get!
• Also, ensuring that your garden is edible for other-than-you
is a backup plan for a garden gone wild...it helps us relax
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

9. Here in the PNW
• Everything grows here...almost
all the time
– You have lots of options
– You can garden according to your
personal needs & preferences
– But always remember to take care of
your garden space so it will continue
to take care of you
– And keep it managed! USDA Zone 8
• De ned by minimum temps
Sunset Zone 6
• De ned by range of temps and
moisture
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

10. Our advice: KISS
• Keep
• It
• Small &
• Simple
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

11. Planning your garden
• Timing • Tools
– Always! (as in, you’re always – Camera
planning) – Paper and pen(cil)
– Focus on the “off-season” so
– Whiteboard
you can focus on doing
during the “on-season” – Graph paper
• Techniques – Excel spreadsheets
– Observation – Computer so ware
– Documentation – Talking to other people
– Mapping
Main gardening season:
– Calendaring
– Goal-se ing
April 15-Oct. 24
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

12. Participant-observation
• Start with this...
and keep it up!
– Winter is a good time to slow
down and start watching
• Include info-gathering
– First & last frost dates
– General gardening calendar
– Characteristics of your garden
space
– Picking other gardeners’ brains
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

13. Preparing the soil
• Year-round
– Cover cropping
– Lasagna gardening
• TODAY
– Double-digging
• Remove sod
• Dig trench along one end & move
soil to other end of garden bed
• Fill rst trench with compost &
incorporate soil from next one over
• At the end of the bed, incorporate
soil from rst trench with compost
• Smooth surface into planting bed
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

14. Planting
• Gather information about the plants you’re planting
– Plant tags are a good resource
– Local nurseries
– Extension Service publications
• Plant plants that you will interact with frequently near
where you spend most of your time
• Plant plants that need similar things near each other
• Plant tall plants on the north side of your garden
(‘cause the sun comes from the south)
• Utilize existing infrastructure, or build new
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

15. Plant care
• Spend time in your garden
• Keep observing
• Use the right tools &
techniques (including
weeding, thinning, and
irrigation)
• Use weed-suppression
techniques like mulching
– Weed non-obsessively (or
get someone else to help
you out )
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

16. Plant care
• Spend time in your garden
• Keep observing
• Use the right tools &
techniques (including
weeding, thinning, and
irrigation)
• Use weed-suppression
techniques like mulching
– Weed non-obsessively (or
get someone else to help
you out )
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

17. Harvesting
• Some plants you will
harvest all at once
– Determinate tomatoes
– Bush beans
• Some, you can continue
to use
– Annuals
– Perennials
– Succession planting
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

18. Always reinvesting
• e garden should give you a
great harvest and much
satisfaction
– It may also disappoint...
• Celebrate successes
• Compost your scraps and your
“failures” (turn them into
learning experiences!)
• And continue to learn and
support yourself and your
loved ones
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

19. Next steps for you!
• Take a deep breath...go home
(whew!)...and tell someone about
what you just learned
• Write down what you want to
grow, then nd the seeds in a local
seed catalogue
• Get the seeds and start them
indoors (if possible)
• Prep the soil where you will plant
• Find/make a garden calendar
• As soon as it’s time, start
planting...then keep it up!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

20. Questions?
Before A er
Tuesday, January 31, 2012