Creating a Terraced Vegetable Garden

Question from Curtis:

I’m the Executive Chef at Cal-a-Vie Health Resort in Vista, CA. For my Christmas present, the owners cut me a 4 terrace garden behind my kitchen! I was previously the Chef at the Golden Door, so I got used to having a vegetable garden to elevate my cuisine and enhance the guest experience. I’m reaching out to you, in hopes, that you could point me in a direction of resources. Someone to be my full time gardener and help me do this organically. Maybe resources along the lines of equipment like a green house (if you feel that is necessary), compost or other soil. Or just any help you can provide me. I would really appreciate it! Thank you for your time.

Answer from Pat:

Obviously your terrace garden needs a lot of work to put it into operation. Though your employer has provided you with terraces, this is nowhere near being an operative garden. Before you can begin raising vegetables on those terraces, much work remains to be done. For example, you need to build walls to support the terraces and build steps up and down the hillside so you can access and irrigate the vegetable garden without eroding the hillside. You also need to decide what the soil is like: Is it clay, sand, or decomposed granite? This will influence your decision whether to garden in the existing ground or construct raised beds and whether you will amend the existing soil or fill raised beds with top soil. This in turn will influence your decision on whether to install a drip system or other method of irrigation. Before installing irrigation, you will need to hire a plumber to install one or more pipes and hose bibs. This is just scratching the surface. There will be countless other tasks before you have a working garden. Additionally, I trust this hillside is in full sun and that there are no invasive roots from trees, vines, or shrubs. I am supposing that the Cal-a-Vie Health Resort is expecting to pay for these services mentioned above and more.

Also, I am wondering if you are requesting me to act as a paid consultant? At one time I did do consulting work and was paid $200 an hour for it, but when I got in my eighties I had to cut back on something and consulting seemed like the logical thing to let go. So though I give a lot of valuable free advice on this blog and continue writing books and give Power Point talks and demo’s in spring and fall, I no longer do private consulting. Besides which I am currently recuperating from a broken right femur, so anyway it would be out of the question for me.

Regarding a helper to do this work, there are many people currently out of work and hungry for jobs but how many of those out-of-work people have the know-how or skills and reliability to accomplish the work outlined above is another matter altogether. One possibility is that you could advertise for such a person but be very specific in what you need. Another possibility is that you could contact the Home Horticulture Farm Advisors and Master Gardeners through the San Diego Master Gardeners Hotline and see if they know of someone who might do this work for you. Your best option might be to hire a reputable landscaping company to create a working vegetable garden for you.