HO-32
YARD AND GARDEN
HORTICULTURE DEPARTMENT • COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE • PURDUE UNIVERSITY • WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA 47007
HOME GARDENER’S GUIDE
John A. Wott, Extension home environment horticulturist

About this booklet
This booklet is designed for the home gardener, whether a beginner or an old hand. We hope new gardeners will find it basic enough and that experienced gardeners will find new ideas and solutions to some of their old problems.
Included also is information for both vegetable and fruit gardens. The section on vegetables covers planning, planting, and care. In addition, there is an up-to-date garden plan and a planting guide showing the distance between rows, when to plant, how much to plant, etc.
The section on home fruit gardens covers strawberries, raspberries, and grapes which are the most widely accepted fruits for home gardens. There are illustrations of the more difficult steps in planting and care.

Planning the vegetable garden
Planning is the first and most basic step in home vegetable gardening. Planning not only saves time when you’re ready to plant but also gives you an idea of the varieties and quantities of seeds or plants you’ll need. Most importantly, planning helps assure that the home garden will fit your wants and needs.

Garden location
Vegetables grow best in an open, level area where the soil is loose, rich, and well drained. If the soil is poor, mix in 2-3 inches of topsoil, undecomposed peat moss, strawy manure or compost, or leaves plus fertilizer. The more organic matter or topsoil you add, the more you’ll improve your soil. Avoid shady spots, heavy clays, and sandy soils.
Don’t locate a garden near trees and shrubs. In these locations, vegetables must compete with the other plants for nutrients and water. And if you have walnut trees, keep tomato plants as far from them as possible, for walnut roots produce a toxin which injures tomatoes.

Planning on paper
Before the season starts (January or February), make a rough "blueprint" of your garden plot (Figure 1). Include in your sketch the vegetables you will plant, which rows they will be in, distance between rows, expected planting date, and any other information you feel would be helpful. Refer to the vegetable planting guide in this booklet.
Keep early vegetables such as lettuce, radishes, and onions together. This also applies to the tall-growing ones like sweet corn and pole beans. For proper pollination, plant corn in blocks of several rows, not in a single long row. And to stretch out the harvest season, plant the same vegetables at different times-for instance, several small plantings of corn and beans every week rather than a single large planting.
If you have a small garden plot, consider growing one or more crops after the first crops are harvested. Concentrate on growing vegetables noted for "home garden freshness" such as sweet corn, leaf lettuce, snap beans, and tomatoes (staked or caged to save space).
As you plan on paper, remember that it takes at least two hours a week to care for a 50' x 20' garden, not including harvesting and planting. Don’t plan for more than you can take care of!