In which you've decided to build a garden...and the-e-e-e-n-n-n-n what do you do?

 Welcome to the Dark Side, where gardening and plants take over every waking thought.

But not immediately.  

They seem so innocent, don't they?  

The good news about deciding to build a garden in November is that you don't need to rush.  Winter is the time to enjoy the easier, fun, non-sweaty, non-prickly, non-dirty part.  

You can spend months streaming old episodes of "Gardener's World" (highly recommended for all gardeners, and especially for those who, like us, live in an English-esque climate, aka a Swamp), check out stacks of books at your local library (they are all on the shelf right now, waiting for you to browse them), and start sending out requests for seed catalogs (I'll put a list of my faves in my next post).

Here are some good tasks for November, for both new and experienced gardeners who want to start a new garden:

*  Decide on a location.  If you are growing vegetables and you live in the afore-mentioned English-esque climate, you will want to put your garden in the sunniest place available.  Many flowers appreciate "full sun" (generally defined as 8+ hours of direct sunlight daily) as well.

This is the second-sunniest place in our yard.  The sequoia trees (photo right) shade the
space in early mornings.  We have another garden in the sunniest spot.

Not everybody can immediately point to the sunniest part of their space, so here are a few tips:

• If you live in the northern hemisphere, the sun will always be south.  It moves across the sky from east-to-west, but also south.  So figure out where south is first.
• Now that you know where south is, face that direction.  On your left side is east, where the sun will rise.  On your right side is west, where the sun will set.  Any trees or structures between you and south (from east-to-west) will cast shade on your garden at some point in the day.  As in the photo (above) this isn't a death knell, it's just something to know.
• If you have a tall wall, house, or bank of trees to the south of your available space, you may need to get creative.  Find the clearest space you can.
• There's a gadget that will help!  This thing will tell you how many hours/minutes of direct sunlight a specific spot receives in a day.  You can move it around, day-by-day, to find the location that will work best for you.

If you live in a very hot climate, you may want to situate the garden in a spot that won't bake all the water out of your soil by 10am.  Your plants need sun, but most vegetables don't want to be cooked before your harvest them.  A little strategic shade for some plants may be useful if you intend to plant cool-season plants in a warm climate.

*  Speaking of water, you'll want that.  We had gardens for 15 years that weren't near water spigots, so we hauled hoses around whenever something needed water.  When one of the existing water lines needed to be dug up and replaced last spring (it was leaking), we hired our contractor-friend Ishaun to ditch out lines and install water spigots all over the yard.  

Each garden now has an adjacent spigot!

If you are able to choose between several locations that provide adequate sun and nearby water, I recommend that you place food gardens close to the kitchen if possible.  You might think that you won't mind running to the far end of the property to grab a handful of rosemary or pull a carrot to add to dinner, but my experience says that convenience will encourage cooks to use the garden.  Especially after dark.  Or in the rain.  Or after you've already worked all day.  Or...you get the idea.  

Making a plan means you can plan to make things as easy as possible.

Extra but not vital to your garden plan:  

*  Have a space to store your tools nearby.  We use a retired mailbox on a post to store a few small hand tools and a pair of gloves, but we have to walk across the yard to access larger tools or the wheelbarrow.  Someday I might build a little tool shed closer, or replot a pathway to make a better shortcut.  Someday, someday. 

*  Think about the future.  You may wish to enlarge your garden space.  Is there room to expand?  You may, alternately, want to shrink your space?  I've never known anybody who wanted a smaller garden after growing stuff for a few years, but it's possible.  Does your selected spot allow you to change gears in the future?

*   Think about your neighbors.  We are lucky to have amazing neighbors who enjoy (and don't complain about) our various farming activities.  If you live closer by other people, consider how your garden will affect them, and how their space will affect yours.  If they have tall trees that will shade your yard, consider that. If they have invasive plants in their yard (cross your fingers it isn't japanese knotweed or tree of heaven, both of which are noxious invasives!) take steps to protect your space.  If they regularly bounce a basketball into your yard, don't place tender plants in the path of it (that's a true thing that happened to me at a former residence).

When you've found a space, mark it out.  The size of your garden is up to you.  If you're brand-new, start smaller.  

Give yourself enough room to move and turn a wheelbarrow.

Will you need a fence around your garden?  Our fences mostly keep dogs, chickens and deer out.  It will not keep a bear out (fortunately the bear mostly likes apples and not turnips).  

The chickens can't get to the raspberries, tra-la

If you have small children or pets to exclude, you will want a fence.  We use posts and chicken wire for our fences, as those materials are cheap, easy, and do not shade the plants within.  If invaders are rare in your yard, perhaps you only need to delineate your garden space with some spray paint on the ground to remind you where you want to place the beds.

Light can get through but Shetland Sheepdogs can not.

Make gate openings and pathways big enough to get wheelbarrows through and turn them around. Trust me.

Here's your checklist so far: 

• Find a space.
• Mark it out (or fence it). 
• Figure out where you want beds and paths, and mark those somehow.  You can use paint, or sticks, or even dig a shallow trench.  Whatever works best for you.  
• Start making better soil.  You will always want better soil. 

Next Up:

• choose your plants!
• seed porn

I'd love to hear about your garden plans (and hopes and dreams) in the comments.  Food?  Flowers?  Trees?  

You can also drop information about your general climate to give me more clues about how to help.