Backyard Organic

Vegetable Gardening Max Apton

Farm Manager, Amawalk Farm

Owner, The Farmer’s Garden

About the Gardener

• I am a Westchester native

• I have a background in organic

vegetable farming

• Former field manager at Stone Barns

Center in Tarrytown

• Current farm manager at Amawalk

Farm in Katonah

• Owner of a home edible landscaping

business, The Farmer’s Garden

• Weekly garden columnist for The

Journal News

Today’s Class

• Picking garden placement in

your yard

• Preparing soil for planting

• What and when to plant

• Gardening with kids

Location, Location, Location! Picking the right spot for your garden.

Garden Placement

• There are many things to consider before turning

over your soil:

• Direct sun exposure (southern facing, trees,

houses, etc).

• Soil conditions

• Terrain (slope, ponds, rocks, forest)

• Proximity to water source, kitchen

How Much Space Do I

Need?

• Well, it depends on what you

grow.

• A 15’ x 20’ can offer lots of

greens, roots and some fruits

(ie. tomatoes and peppers) for

a family of four.

• Biting off plenty to chew

Preparing your soil

• Pick your sunniest spot

• Collect a soil sample

• Add compost and other organic, mineral amendments

• Till the sod under or cut away the sod

• Work soil deeply

• Create raised beds

Breaking Ground

• Gather your amendments

• Access to machinery

• Sod removal vs. tilling sod

• Spreading compost and

amendments, working deeply

• Allowing time for breakdown

and settling

Preparing Raised Beds

• Raised beds without all the

fuss

• Friable soil, good tilth, clod-free

and smooth

• Wide rows, deep soil, paths for

foot traffic and wheelbarrows

• Preparing seed beds

Crop Seed or TP Plant outside Harvest

Carrots,

spinach and

beets

Seed March-May,

July-August June-October

Lettuce heads

(romaine,

butter, etc)

TP March-May,

July-September

May-July, Late-

August to

October

Radishes and

peas Seed

March-May,

August-October

June,

September-

November

Onions and

potatoes TP April June-August

Kale, cabbage,

broccoli TP April, May, July May-December

Tomatoes,

peppers,

eggplant

TP May Late-July to first

frost

When to plant and harvest popular garden veggies

Vegetable Sunlight Box Planter Container

Leafy greens At least 4-6

hours

Lettuce, arugula,

baby kale/chard Yes

Herbs At least 4 hours Yes Yes

Tomatoes,

eggplant,

peppers

At least 8 hours No Yes

Potatoes,

zucchini,

squash

At least 8 hours No Yes, though not

preferable

Carrots, beets

and roots At least 6 hours No No

Strawberries At least 8 hours No Yes

Sunlight and Space Needs of Common Garden Plants

Inviting Kids to Garden • Gardening should be a family

activity!

• Kid-friendly activities:

• seeding large-seeded crops

like peas and beans

• watering the garden

• tuber treasure hunt!

• root vegetables

• snacking!

Advanced Activities for Kids

and Teens

• For the older children:

• Measuring the garden beds and calculating plants

and seeds required

• Harvesting greens and fruits

• Cooking with the harvest

• Weeding the garden

Fertility Simplified

• Above all else: Add compost and organic matter

• Ocean products: kelp meal, fish fertilizer, greensand

• Cover cropping, straw mulch. Not leaving soil bare.

Nutrient What It Does Fast-release

Sources

Slow-release

Sources

Nitrogen

Responsible for

plant vigor,

foliage and

protein synthesis

Alfalfa meal, fish

fertilizer,

blood/crab/feath

er meal

Legumes, green

manures and

compost

Phosphorous Flower and fruit.

Photosynthesis.

Soft-rock

phosphate, bone

meal

Animal manure,

compost,

Potassium Roots, plant

immunity

Wood ash, Sul-

po-mag

Greensand,

azomite, granite

Calcium Flavor and

overall strength

Pulverized

limestone

Compost,

gypsum

Magnesium

Photosynthesis

and healthy

growth

Dolomitic lime,

Sul-po-mag

Compost, kelp

meal, greensand

Sulfur Protein/enzyme

production

Elemental sulfur,

sul-po-mag Gypsum

Macronutrients