Building a Garden - Where to begin?

If you've taken the first step, and decided that you would like to start a garden, the next step is to decide on a location. A few things to consider in this regard: If you live in a place with four seasons, you will want to consider the amount of sun during your growing season. You should choose a location that gets sunlight but I wouldn't worry about too much sun (more than 5 hours a day) initially, too little sun is a greater concern because without sun we can't grow anything. Too much sun can scorch our plants, but this can be mitigated and we'll talk about that later. A location that gets about 4 hours sun per day is ideal. Morning sun is good, late morning to mid-day sun is even better.

If you are in a location with basically two seasons, spring and summer, then you should look for a location that can offer some shade during those long hot summer days. Mid-afternoon sun in places like this can be very hard on plants, but there are ways to work around this. However, if you have full sun all day, you have a bit more work to do to protect the plants from being scorched. We'll get into those options later. For now, consider the amount of sun as well as the location of the sun. During the non-summer season, keep in mind that the sun is quite low and the days are short, so the location you choose should be suitable during both summer and non-summer months.

Avoid trees or buildings that might create too much shade or block most or all daylight from reaching the garden bed during those short non-summer days. Don't be discouraged from building your garden knowing that you may not get enough sun in the non-summer months due to your surroundings. Build it, build it, build it. You will still find things to grow.

Once you've found a location that will work based on your geographic location and surroundings, you will want to choose between raised or flat beds. Raised garden beds are very popular but you should first consider your space before commencing. If you have a space that is used as living space for entertaining etc. then by all means build a raised bed. This will keep the yard looking tidy and will keep people from accidentally stepping on your hard work. However, if you have an abundance of space, then raised beds are not as necessary to build and, thus, to maintain. If you are living in an apartment and will be growing food in pots and in a vertical garden, then disregard the entire issue of raised beds or non-raised beds.

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