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