Consider your challenges.

If you are lucky, an ideal garden space sits just outside your front or back door. But even if you have the perfect spot in terms of size and sun, there are other challenges to consider, chiefly critters, climate, and soil quality.

In my desert garden in southeast Arizona, I have to contend with birds, rodents, deer, javelina, bugs, a little cold, a great deal of heat, winds, harsh sun, and concrete-like soil known as caliche. Although these may sound like deal breakers, my garden produces enough food for my family and many friends. Four-legged marauders are excluded via a wire-mesh fence that extends three feet below ground (to exclude mice, packrats, and pocket gophers). A wire-mesh ceiling, propped up with poles, keeps out birds. Plastic sheeting rolled out over the mesh come winter creates a greenhouse to protect plants from freezing temperatures. Water is used sparingly, but strategically, during times of drought. As the hot season comes on, I cover the garden with shade cloth. And soil is enriched with organic matter from a carefully maintained compost pile and organic soil amendments (more on pages 20-22). If you know what you’re up against, you can face challenges headon and come out victorious.

STEP #4:

Make a plan.

Here’s where you put the first three steps together. You now know what you want to grow as well as the location you have to work with and the challenges it presents.

Determine about how much space the plants on your wish list require, and don’t forget to think about how big these plants may become. Often, people plant according to the size of the seedlings at the time of planting, forgetting that they will grow dramatically larger later on. As a rule of thumb, tall plants should go toward the north end of the garden so they won’t hog all of the sun from the shorter plants. Also, consider the plants’ needs in terms of climate and their seasonality; you may want to grow some perennials that will live in your garden for years to come, along with annuals that need to be replanted each year.

In general, I use four criteria when selecting fruits and vegetables:

• Good nutritional value

• Outstanding flavor

• Suitability for my site

• Novelty—plants with an exciting, unique appearance or other appealing characteristics

Keep in mind that plans can shift and change. For example, I had been planting a lot of kohlrabi, which is nutritious, grows well, and has a really interesting look. But nobody was eating much of it, so I now plant less.

Chart a plan that works for you right now. That way you don’t walk into a nursery and leave with plants that won’t thrive in your garden, or walk out with nothing because you’re overwhelmed.