Backyard Organic Vegetable Gardening Max Apton Farm Manager, Amawalk Farm Owner, The Farmer’s Garden
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