5 Tips for Managing a Large Garden

When you’re an urban homeowner with a garden, you have to squeeze every bit of your small garden into an urban or suburban space. The ultimate challenge is in trying to make the most of every corner, to think in terms of vertical space, and to master the art of succession planting. On the other hand, having a large garden out in the countryside can prove to be just as difficult to manage, if not more so. In this case, the difficulty can be in trying to decide what to do with all that extra space you have. Here then are some useful big garden ideas and tips that you can try out for yourself:

1. Settle on an ideal location for your garden.

It’s better to plan your perfect location than just plopping it anywhere. Access to your garage area should be easy for bulk gardening amendments. Likewise, easy access to water is essential. Long-term drainage will be a benefit of using techniques such as terracing or retaining walls, raised bed, and other methods.

Your large garden location may also be affected by the proximity of your potting shed, vegetable washing stations, or root cellar. To cut down on the time spent dragging and traversing, make it as easy as possible to move items around in your garden.

2. Take certain measures to protect your plants.

Pests have a tendency to be attracted to large gardens. When you start planting en masse, you’ll discover that creatures such as deer, rodents and digging dogs are all likely to be there. Do yourself a favor and put up a fence or other barriers at the beginning of your gardening project to protect your plants.

3. Plan for multiple entry points and cross-cutting paths.

Having multiple entry points in a large garden can save you and your household members a lot of time. It also makes certain errands such as feeding the chickens or collecting manure very easy and efficient.

Likewise, you should also plan for several cross-cutting paths in your garden. As much as possible, you should keep away from walking on garden soil as doing so reduces air space and compacts soil, which can result in a decrease in the oxygen available for plants. Plan dedicated paths to avoid people walking on your bed.

4. Set up certain watering strategies.

If you don’t live in an area that experiences the right amount of rainfall each year, you will need to have a watering plan in place. For instance, installing irrigation in dry areas will help you save a lot of time. Drip irrigation is easy and cheap to install. Mulch-covered irrigation lines are more durable, less wasteful, and cost less long-term. It can take a lot of time to set up an irrigation system in a large garden. To save time, you should choose a long-term solution over a short-term one. You should choose irrigation systems that last 10 years, rather than those that need to be replaced every year.

4. Include pollinators into your plan.

For large food production, you need an equally huge pollinator population. You will have to do a lot more hand-pollinating, or you risk poor production. If you have the space, add some pollinator patches to your garden. You should also create formal habitats for your pollinators so they can safely winter and raise their young. Many pollinators can also prevent pests from invading your garden. You can also reduce the time you spend dealing with pest problems by planning for pollinators.