Questions To Ask Yourself Before Planting An Edible Garden

Courgettes growing in our garden.

When planning an edible garden it seems to me the following are some of the most important questions you need to ask yourself.

What Are My Goals?

Would I like to supply a large part of my needs or my family’s needs from the garden or am I content to grow some herbs and fresh salad vegetables such as lettuces, tomatoes and cucumbers during the warmer months?

In other words exactly what would I like to produce? What are my ambitions?

What Do I Like To Eat?

Write down a list of what you do and do not like to eat.   Do you like potatoes and eat plenty of them daily but loathe broccoli?    Are you mad keen on sweet corn on the cob dripping with butter but would only use the odd cauliflower? Do you dream of swimming in courgettes but dread being confronted by marrow?  What exactly do you like?

How Much Do I Need Of The Things I Want To Grow?

Do I want to grow just enough for my needs? Do I want to grow or am I happy to grow some extra to sell or give away?  Can I give any surplus to the hens or other animals?

Do I want to grow just enough for a specific purpose, for example making my own beetroot chutney or using a small amount for juicing but buy the canned, sliced beetroot I eat regularly?

Although it sounds good initially to have a mountain of surplus it becomes a lot less so after a while when you’ve gone to all the hard work to produce it and find no one else wants it because everyone else has a glut at the same time or you don’t have enough time to preserve it all, so much of it goes to waste.  

What can you realistically handle? (continued below).

Bush tomatoes growing in our garden.

Is It Worthwhile For Me To Grow?

If you have unlimited room and time this question may not be important but if you are restricted by either consider the following. 

–Is this vegetable usually modestly priced?

-Is it usually readily available?

=Is it a case of the fresher the better with this vegetable such as radishes. beans and lettuce or does it maintain most of it’s quality for weeks or even months, such as potatoes and pumpkins?

If you’re limited by time and space these are some of the factors you can consider when deciding whether to grow this crop or how much to grow or whether it would be better to focus on other produce and buy this particular item in.

How Easily Will I Be Able To Grow This Vegetable?

Do I have the right climate to grow this crop?  How does it withstand frosts?  How does it cope with very hot weather or a drought? Lettuces and cabbages, for example, will often bolt (go to seed) in hot weather.  Some vegetables such as potatoes and silver beet tend to be very easy to grow in most places, sometimes celery and leeks can be a bit more temperamental – or require additional care and attention.

Do I have the right conditions? Is the soil suitable? What would I need to do to amend it?  Would I need to add lots of compost for a good result?

Am I able to access sufficient water?

What pests might attack my crop?

If I added raised beds, glasshouses and other potentially expensive equipment would it be worth me growing this product if part of my reason is to save money?  Consider how it would work out in the shorter and longer term.  Some things may not pay immediately but over time they might be very worthwhile, for example a glasshouse might involve a reasonably large initial outlay but may be worth it’s weight in gold over the years.

What Will I Do With The Surplus

Even before planting it is wise to consider whether you want a large surplus to your immediate needs and what you intend to do with that excess.  You could share or sell some but the chances are you might be very interested in preserving a large amount.

It’s a good idea to plan and plant with this in mind.

Would it be best if you grew more storage vegetables such as pumpkins, potatoes and onions which in many areas can be very simply stored in root cellars or boxes?

Do you have the time, energy, facilities and equipment to do a lot of bottling (canning)?

Are you interested in dehydrating?

Would you be comfortable blanching and freezing a lot of fruit and vegetables?

Would you like to try pickling or making your own jams and chutneys?

Would you use a variety of preserving methods?

Do you have plans for your surplus produce even before you start?  

Having a good idea of what you intend to do with your bounty can be very helpful even before you plant.