By Philip Soulet

                  As Americans rediscover savoring vine-ripened tomatoes, relishing broccoli bred for flavor instead of shelf life, and basking in the myriad of subtle differences of almost forgotten bean varieties, interest in gardening is, for lack of a more creative phrase, growing.  Besides pampering their taste buds, home gardeners are also enjoying a feast for their eyes with purple cauliflower, golden beets, and striped eggplants.  But before running out to the nursery for flats of transplants or maxing out your credit card ordering seeds from online catalogs, some planning must be done.
         Begin by considering how much time you can devote to even such a worthy and exciting endeavor.  Plants are living things and require almost daily attention if they are to thrive.  Don’t be afraid to start small – remember it’s easier to expand on success than it is to deal with the frustration of overreaching.  A small plot or a few potted vegetables can be very productive and the rewards of doing well with that can encourage expansion later.
         When choosing a location for your garden, pick a spot that gets plenty of sun.  Vegetables require a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight, but do best with eight or more.  Try to make it conveniently located near a water faucet.  Don’t try to place your garden where your veggies will have to compete with the roots of trees for moisture and nutrients, because they won’t stand a snowball’s chance against that kind of opposition.  And if it is placed where you see it often, you’ll be more likely to tend to your garden’s needs. 
         Good site preparation can’t be over-emphasized.  Taking the time to remove as many of the pre-existing weeds and grasses as possible--including their roots--prior to planting will save you a world of headaches later on.  Without this important step, everything else you do will only create better growing conditions for the weeds! 
         For urban gardeners in particular, having your soil tested for heavy metal contamination can be critical.  Some old city lots have lead, arsenic, and cadmium levels so high that handling the soil can be hazardous.  For a modest fee, Louisiana State University provides testing for these contaminants.  To get more information, visit www.STPAL.LSU.edu.
         What follows are instructions for a simple four- by eight-foot raised bed that can be completely built and made ready for planting in one day by one person.  The total cost for this installation is under $60.  Modifications can be made for the same results while lowering initial costs, too.  For instance, if cinder blocks, bricks or “urbanite” (a.k.a. broken concrete) are freely available, there’s no need to purchase lumber.  Or, the bed could be built directly into the ground without any sides whatsoever.  The benefits of building a raised bed include reduced weed encroachment and preventing soil compaction, but both of these can be handled by good gardening practices.  Another benefit is that if the existing soil is contaminated with heavy metals, a raised bed system with new soil prevents you and your vegetables from exposure to those dangers.
       
 The materials for these instructions are:
3 – 8-foot 2x10’s, one cut into two four foot sections (use only untreated lumber to avoid contamination by toxic compounds; cedar or redwood lumber would last longer than pine, but is more expensive)
20 – #12 x 3-inch wood screws
1 - roll of water permeable weed barrier
scraps of un-waxed cardboard and several newspapers without the glossy sections (the ink used in the glossy parts may contain lead)
1 cubic yard of garden soil
1 bail of pine straw
½ pound cottonseed meal.
        
Tools needed:
power drill
drill bit
driver bit
staple gun with staples
shovel
flat rake
wheelbarrow
 
       Lay out the lumber with the two long pieces in parallel, and then place the two short ones at either end, matching the corners to form a rectangle.  Use the shovel to cut the sod along the perimeter close to the boards.  When cutting, lift the sod enough to have a visible line to follow later. 
         Move the boards out of the way.  With the shovel, cut a line across the width of the rectangle.  Remove the sod in sections. You can remove up to a couple of inches of soil with the sod to help ensure that the grass won’t return.  This sod can be used to patch other areas of the yard or fill in low spots.  Do not do as the Northern garden books say and put it into your compost pile.  Our southern grasses thrive under those conditions and will take over your compost in no time, rendering it useless.
         Construct a box with the 2 x 10s, using five screws at each connection to get as tight a fit as you can.  Optionally, silicon caulk can be used to fill in gaps for added protection against weeds forcing their way into the cracks – something for which Bermuda grass is especially notorious.  Attach the weed barrier to the bottom of the box using the staple gun - this is easiest done before setting the box into place.  For those not constructing a box, reserve the weed barrier for covering the soil.  Once the weed barrier is attached, flip the box over and put it into the area cleared of sod.  Spread out newspaper several sheets thick over the bottom and cover that with cardboard.  These will eventually decompose, but in the interim, they further protect against weeds and help retain bottom moisture until the fresh soil settles.
         Fill the box with quality garden soil.  One cubic yard will fill this box nicely and most soil companies will gladly load a pickup truck for you.  A small truck can handle about one yard.  To calculate how much soil you need, multiply the length times the width times the depth.  For this bed, in feet, that’s 8 x 4 x 0.8 = 25.6 cubic feet.  One cubic yard equals twenty seven cubic feet (3 x 3 x 3 = 27).  Since the soil will settle, and some will be lost along the way, one yard is perfect. 
         If any soil amendments are to be added, do so now.  Compost, peat moss, organic fertilizers and rotted manure are all examples of amendments.  They aid plants by adding fertility, and improving soil structure for better drainage and moisture retention.  Mix your chosen amendment in thoroughly.  For this project, the cottonseed meal is raked into the top few inches as an organic fertilizer. 
         Water the new bed in thoroughly, fully saturating the soil.  Allow the soil to settle for a day or more before planting.  If transplanting vegetables into the garden go ahead and add a two to four inch layer of mulch, then plant through the mulch.  Organic mulch will help to keep weeds from germinating, moderate soil moisture and temperature, and prevent soil from splashing onto the plants.  Eventually the mulch will decompose, increasing the soil fertility.  The photo shows a layer of pine straw covering the bed. Some gardeners will put down a layer of newspaper three to six pages thick under the mulch and plant through that, too.  If you are direct seeding anything, wait until the plants have grown four to six inches high before mulching, otherwise they may never germinate.
         A bed this size can accommodate a densely planted spring garden of approximately two tomatoes, two bell peppers, one hot pepper, one or two cucumbers, and sixteen bush beans.  The raised bed allows denser planting because the topsoil is deeper, letting the roots of the plants reach further down.  This number of plants could provide enough produce to supplement the diets of two or three people.  Options for summer plantings include okra and eggplant, followed by a fall planting of broccoli, cabbage, and snow peas. 
         It’s important to get as much information as you can before beginning a garden.  Read as much as possible on what plants are right for your area, and for the season you’re planting.  Go to seminars and lectures whenever they are available and talk to other gardeners and knowledgeable nurserymen.  Utilize the internet for more resources.  Some excellent local resources include the New Orleans Food and Farm Network, Parkway Partners, and the LSU AgCenter.
         The AgCenter has listings of publications that can be downloaded directly from the website (www.LSUAgCenter.com) covering times to plant, which varieties have been successful in Louisiana and much more.  Through them, you can get in touch with your parish’s Cooperative Extension agent and have soil testing done. 
         Parkway Partners (www.ParkwayPartnersNOLA.org) oversees 25 community gardens.  They also have seasonally appropriate plant sales the second Saturday of every month, which includes a lecture by experts knowledgeable about the plants being sold.
         The New Orleans Food and Farm Network (www.NOFFN.org) also provides gardening tips on its website.  Beyond that, they have a hands-on approach in helping individuals install backyard gardens, host workshops and are all around involved in developing a community-based food supply.  With an emphasis on organic approaches to vegetable gardening, the people at NOFFN strive to deliver the best information and guidance available for sustainable production.
         As you begin to involve yourself in gardening, never forget that plants are alive and dependent on you.  They need you to water and fertilize them, and to protect them from weeds, insects, and disease.  Getting them into the ground is only the first step.  Take advantage of the organizations listed here as they are invaluable to new gardeners and are all willing to get you started on the right foot and will help make your garden a successful one.