Edible Gardens: Brian Brockly

Spring has a way of waking everything up, including the impulse to dig in the dirt. After months of bare beds and dormant soil, the first warm days in Columbus invite eager gardeners back outside to plan for the seasons ahead. But, knowing what to plant, when to plant it, and how to set a garden up for success can make the difference between a thriving harvest and a frustrating start.

To help demystify the early weeks of the growing season, we spoke with Brian Brockly, head gardener at Jorgensen Farms, whose work revolves around cultivating seasonal blooms and produce from the ground up. From preparing soil after winter to choosing resilient spring crops for Midwestern gardens, Brockly shares practical insights for home gardeners ready to get their hands back in the earth. His advice is rooted in the rhythms of the land—simple, thoughtful steps that help a backyard garden grow with the season rather than rush ahead of it.

EC: What should someone consider first when deciding to grow food at home?

BB: Someone who decides to grow food at home should first identify what they like to cook with. Grow what you like to eat. If you grow too much, it makes for great compost. If you grow too little, grow more the next year. Once you have successfully accomplished growing your basics, then let creativity and curiosity drive you forward. Give it some time and you would be surprised at how your garden evolves. 

EC: How much space do you actually need to grow something meaningful?

BB: Growing one plant successfully can be a very meaningful experience. It can actually change your life. I’d say a one foot by one foot square would be adequate to accomplish this. It’s never a bad idea to start small and prove that you can offer that plant the best life possible and also that you can use everything a single plant has to offer you. Then expand for your needs. Remember, gardening is a life long lesson in patience.

EC: What edible plants are the most forgiving for beginners?

BB: I would say that perennial herbs (Thyme, Oregano, Sage ect.) are the most forgiving and they will come back year after year with minimal effort. They are also quite content with relatively dry soil. As for annual crops, I would say peppers are pretty low maintenance, drought tolerant and typically don’t have a ton of pest issues.

EC: What’s the biggest misconception people have about growing their own food?

BB: The biggest misconception is that the goal is to simply feed their stomach. I believe that growing your own food is so much more than that, especially when there are plenty of supermarkets around. Growing your own food is as much about feeding your stomach as it is feeding your soul. The work of a gardener builds character, allows time to meditate and relax, and connects us to a greater purpose than any grocery store shelf can offer.

EC: How can home gardeners improve their soil without expensive amendments?

BB: Leaves and food scraps! Leaves and food scraps together create a wonderful compost. Leaves offer a great carbon source and most food scraps create a great nitrogen source for a compost mix. If you can dedicate a small corner of your garden or yard for this heap, (they even make compact compost turners), give it time to break down and the benefits will be well worth it.

EC: How do you plan a food garden around sunlight and seasonal shifts?

BB: Know your plant’s needs and create a planting schedule based on your specific crops DTM (Days to Maturity). Furthermore, don’t assume that all vegetables need full sun to thrive. Some vegetables like leafy greens and some root crops actually benefit from some shade, especially in the heat of summer. As far as seasonal shifts are concerned, I’ve learned over time that you never have as much time as you think you do. You should always be thinking 2-3 crops ahead at all times to ensure your planting dates are correct and you have enough time to harvest before winter sets in.

EC: What’s your advice on choosing between raised beds, containers, and in-ground planting?

BB: Containers should be used as an accent or if there is no possibility to create a permanent garden. Allow yourself plenty of free time to keep them watered as well. Raising your soil above grade with topsoil and compost, at least 4”, will drastically improve your gardening experience as well as your soil quality and drainage. This can be done by simply mounding topsoil and compost or by adding sides of wood or stone and filling them. Considering the width of beds, you should be able to reach the center from both sides. Lastly, if using multiple beds, allow for plenty of aisle space between your beds for barrows or buckets for ease of movement.

EC: When does it make sense to grow from seed instead of buying starters?

BB: I would say the deciding factor would be infrastructure possibility. If you have the space to set up a little propagation station in your home, it is well worth it. This could be simply a 3’ by 3’ area with plenty of light. To follow a seed from propagation to harvestable crop is one of the greatest joys in life. If this is simply not an option, then try to find a reputable source for your starts. 

EC: What vegetables or herbs are worth starting from seed at home?

BB: Most of your “main season” crops, for example tomatoes and peppers, require a decent amount of time before they start producing. If you can give them a head start by starting them early, this will give you food that much earlier and make your investment in time and effort well worth it. In Ohio, our growing season is typically May-October. 6 months isn’t much time so any head start you can give will be to your benefit.

EC: How do you know when it’s actually time to plant—not just when it feels like spring?

BB: To be honest, this is a lesson that takes time to learn, and “feel” certainly plays a part. Certain crops, like onions and lettuce, are more cold tolerant than others and can withstand a late spring frost. For main season crops, it used to be the rule of thumb that Mother’s day was the safest bet to begin planting. With our current climate and the changes we have seen over the last 10 years, it can be tricky. I’ve planted as early as the end of April, and as late as the 3rd week of May. I typically begin tracking the 2 week forecast in the middle of April and if temperatures are above 45 for those 2 weeks, I feel good about getting in the soil and at least setting the stage. Lastly, don’t rely on nursery centers to begin putting out their plugs to tell you it’s safe to plant. Remember, they have way more infrastructure than most people and their goal is to sell plants.

EC: What’s one timing mistake that can derail a food garden early on?

BB: A huge mistake is not knowing your cool and warm season crops. Certain crops thrive in cool weather and certain crops thrive in warm weather. Leafy greens like spinach and lettuce will be difficult to grow in the middle of summer. Tomatoes and peppers don’t like it cold so planting them too early won’t do much good, and leaves them susceptible to late spring frost. Waiting until early summer to plant carrots will prove discouraging and will leave you with bitter carrots. Timing is key.

EC: What does regular maintenance look like once a food garden is established?

BB: It starts by knowing your plants. Water needs, pruning/trellising needs, weed management and pest management are all factors that should be considered for each crop grown. To avoid motivation traps, consider the phrase “little and often.” Don’t water your plants when they are wilted and dry. Keep a strict, weekly water schedule. Don’t prune/trellis your plants when they are already overgrown and unruly. Start when they are small. Don’t let weeds overtake your garden before you decide to pull out the weed hook. Knock out weeds when they are small and easy to manage. Don’t let a pest infestation chew its way through a crop before you meet them eye to eye. Daily monitoring goes a long way.

EC: How do you water effectively without drowning plants—or wasting water?

BB: First, I will refer back to my recommendation to use raised beds. Raised beds are wonderful because they are free draining and allow for the best use of water. Even if you get runoff into the aisles, the water will typically just leach back into the bed from below. The most effective way to manage watering is to create a schedule and automate if possible (timers are relatively cheap and easy to acquire/set up). Drip irrigation is best as it slowly seeps into the soil and penetrates deeply over time with little runoff. Certain sprinklers like Wobbler heads also offer a slow, rain-like watering that will allow the soil to slowly wick up the moisture and send it straight to the root veins.

EC: What’s the best way to manage weeds while keeping the garden productive?

BB: “Little and often” is a motto I follow very strictly at our farm. No matter the size of your garden, I believe that creating zones is a very effective way to manage your garden’s needs. Each area of your garden can be put into a zone and each zone gets a designated day of the week and if you follow this schedule, your weeding will be kept at bay and will actually offer a pleasant task as opposed to trying to weed the entire garden at once. Other tactics like row covers create a physical barrier, blocking out weeds. Mulch is also invaluable for keeping your soil moist while smothering weeds.

EC: Are there signs people often miss that plants are stressed or underperforming?

BB: This takes time to learn I must say. One thing to keep in mind is that if you have a rough idea of your crops maturity/fruiting time (Days to Maturity), and that crop seems to be way behind schedule, this can be a tell-tale sign that your crops are stressed.

EC: What’s your philosophy on pests in a food garden?/How do you protect crops without relying on chemicals?

BB: When it comes to pests in a food garden, there are many tactics to deter pests. Sure, things like Neem and Dawn dish soap can be somewhat effective, but take continual reapplication. Ultimately I have adopted the approach that I WILL haven pests. The goal is to stay on top of them from the get go(which means daily monitoring) and to get my crops as far enough along to allow for harvestability, before the pests can destroy them completely. As an organic gardener, the most important thing that I have learned is not necessarily what you put on the crop to remove pests, but what you plant and when according to the life cycle of certain pests. For instance, I won’t grow brassicas in the summer because I know that cabbage looper will run rampant in my garden. I don’t grow turnips next to eggplant because the Flea Beatles will have a buffet on both. Lastly, I love to use companion plants like bulb fennel, marigold and nasturtium to attract beneficial insects as well as deter unwanted pests.

EC: What’s a “failure” you think every food gardener experiences at least once?

BB: I think a failure every food gardener experiences would be an aphid infestation. These little buggers can be hard to detect and hard to remove. They are also born pregnant so they can create many generations, very quickly. This is why daily monitoring is of utmost importance.

EC: How can food gardeners design for abundance rather than constant replanting?

BB: My opinion is that a hybrid approach between annual cropping and permaculture is the best way to design for sustainability and abundance. Annual, heirloom crops provide the opportunity to collect seeds and save for future seasons, while also allowing us to enjoy our favorite summer treats like a fresh warm tomato off the vine. Perennial crops like asparagus, rhubarb, sorel, berries, fruit/nut trees and perennial herbs allow us a crop that will only get better with time and will add diversity to our plates. This being said, you can grow all the annual and perennial crops in the world, but if you don’t take into account your storage infrastructure, you will have a lot of waste. Learn to use these foods in daily meals and also learn how to store them for long term gain.

EC: What role do composting and mulching play in edible gardens?

BB: To be clear, compost is mulch if added as a top layer, which it should be. The purpose of mulch is soil moisture retention, weed suppression and food for the soil. The most healthy soil I have ever seen/felt comes from the floor of a deciduous forest. It is never tilled, turned or forked. Leaves, twigs, nuts, and otherorganic material fall on TOP of the soil, and get pulled down and used as food by the beautiful biome below (earthworms, arthropods, protozoa, bacteria, and fungi). This web of life below helps to increase soil fertility in a number of ways like disease resistance, nitrogen fixation, nutrient balance and tilth. Healthy soil leads to healthy crops. Nobody likes to go hungry, even soil. As gardeners, eventually we learn to understand that the crop above ground is only the tip of the iceberg lettuce haha. What is below the soil is the control center. If you have a well organized and healthy control center, your ship will reach port.

EC: Are there crops that give the biggest payoff for the least effort?

BB: I have grown a love for cover crops as an organic gardener. This may seem counterintuitive as they usually don’t produce a “crop” to be eaten by us. What they do accomplish though is they create food for our soil, they hold our soil in place to combat erosion, they can fix nitrogen from the atmosphere and keep it in our soil as a usable nutrient, suppress weeds, aerate the soil and so much more. Some examples would be winter rye, buckwheat, vetch, daikon radish, and clover. These crops are to be used as transition crops in between our food crops. The whole goal is to improve our soil, so that our soil can continue to give back to us. Even as a home gardener, cover crops can be used on any scale.

EC: How does growing your own food change the way you cook or eat?

BB: You become more creative. You start adding vegetables to dishes where you wouldn’t have before like the colorful stems of Swiss Chard diced and cooked with a pan of scrambled eggs or the tender white Hakurei turnip thrown into a pot of chili. You start growing vegetables out of curiosity and gain excitement on how you can use them and share them with others.

EC: Are there flavors or ingredients that surprise people when they grow them themselves?

BB: To be honest, I believe that the flavors produced in one’s own home garden will ALWAYS be better and surprise the grower more than store bought. Your hard work, struggle, pride, love and dedication is attached to every vegetable, fruit and herb you harvest. You will notice flavors like never before because they came from your soil, your place, your heart.

EC: How do you suggest integrating the garden into everyday meals?

BB: Make it a goal to use one thing from the garden in every meal. Even if it is the greens from your carrots to add to your basil pesto, the marigold bloom you originally planted as a companion plant to add color and flavor to a salad, or even the purslane you “weeded” to add a pop to your lunch turkey sandwich. This will open your eyes to all that YOUR garden has to offer.

EC: What does growing food at home reconnect people to?

BB: It connects people to their place. It connects people back to their own bodies and the flow of energy within, and it connects people to the beautiful and curious natural world around them.

EC: Do you think food gardening is more about nourishment—or ritual?

BB: For me as a dedicated gardener, my soul thrives in a garden. It has taken many years of learning and experience to be able to SEE a garden. I’m not talking about just looking at a garden. I’m talking about SEEING the invisible within the garden. Just as the crop is the tip of the iceberg above the soil, the garden is the tip of the iceberg above what it has to teach.

EC: What’s the single best piece of advice you’d give a first-time food gardener?

BB: Learn to romance your garden and everything it has to offer. There is so much beauty and depth in the story your garden will tell you if you listen.

EC: What’s one vegetable you think everyone should try growing at least once?

BB: One vegetable I think everyone should try growing is a carrot. It teaches patience. The mystery lies below the soil level for the duration of the growing period, and the reward only comes when you hear that pop once the carrot breaks free from the soil and reveals the amazing, colorful, sweet root it has become.

EC: How has climate change changed how you approach food gardening?

BB: It has helped me to understand that I can’t predict nature, and I can’t quit if crop failure arises. As I write this, I have recently lost around 600 heads of lettuce due to a week-long stretch of negative temperatures. We haven’t had this type of weather extreme for quite some time. Climate change produces not just global warming, but an overall extreme weather pattern. We have to work with it. My goal now is to remove that crop and start preparing the soil for what is to come next.

EC: If someone reads this and plants just one thing, what should it be?

BB: Plant the seed of a personal, lifelong journey in a garden. It is the crop that has the potential to give forevermore.