Step 1
Remove the phrase “I don’t have a green thumb” from your vocabulary. That’s what Google is for! While nurturing a living entity and keeping it alive can seem daunting, don’t fear the vegetable reaper! Growing your own food can be a peaceful and sometimes spiritual process.
A fellow gardener once said that growing your own food is subversive. It’s disruptive in the most peaceful way. Growing your own food allows you to have power over what you put into your body. We have more reason today than ever to question what’s in and ON our foods. So why not take a stab at disrupting the status quo and using any extra space (or creating space- think countertops, vertical gardens and rooftops) to build a food garden?
To not become initially overwhelmed, start small. You don’t need to build a farm.
Think in all directions. Gardens don’t have to look the same. This is where you can get creative. When you think about it, really anything can become a planter. If it can hold soil and provide drainage, odds are you can grow food in it.
Step 2
Once you’ve abolished your preconceived fears about gardening it’s time to choose a location for your garden. Depending upon your region and season, you’ll want to pick an area that the sun moves through. Most plants need full to partial sun, so choose a spot that has access to the sun.
Step 3
Choose a planter or the container that will hold your soil and plants. This is where you can get creative. Depending upon how much room you have, think about growing in all directions, even up! Lots of veggies love growing vertically, as long as they are supported. Planters come in all shapes and sizes. As long as the bottom can drain, it can be used as a planter. You can grow food in as little as 8 inches of soil, so you don’t need a super deep container to have healthy plants. Let your imagination run wild. With the right preparation and care, you can turn just about anything a planter and grow food in it!
You will also want to get the tools you’ll need to get your garden going minimally you will need:
Hand shovels
Gloves
Rake
Irrigation supplies (hose, spray nozzle, watering can)
Step 4
Choose your soil. Call me new-aged, but I’m a raised beds kinda gardener. I need to know what is in my soil and that it is properly balanced with nutrients and fertilizer to ensure happy plants. For a small or medium-sized garden, I recommend using bags of Kellog potting soil and mixing in Black Cow for fertilizing. For a large garden or vegetable farm, look for your local soil company to deliver in bulk, usually by the yard. Ask for the Economix- this is a well-balanced soil with additional nutrients to help plants grow.
Step 5
Pick your plants. You DON’T need to be a botanist. You DO need to have access to Google to check what plants grow during which seasons for your region. If you don’t have a ton of space stay away from things that need lots of space like potatoes, cucumbers, and watermelon. Again starting small is key. Try growing two or three things at most to start. Green beans, radishes, and cherry tomatoes are some of the easiest crops to grow from seeds. You also have the option to pick plants that are already growing or seedlings. Young vegetable plants can be transplanted from pots and placed directly into your garden. Seedling is more expensive, but they cut down on time waiting for seeds to germinate a sprout.
Now it’s time to bring it all together. Add your soil to your planters and follow the specific planting and watering instructions for your seeds/seedlings. Plants should be treated gently when being transplanted. Just think of it as moving to a new neighborhood. Would you rather ease into it with gentle support or be ripped from your home and peopled into your new abode? Definitely love on your plants. We talk to all of our veggie plants in the Health in the Hood gardens. I found this to be a most interesting experiment in how love affects plants
As far as pest we try not to treat for pest unless we need to. Even then we use natural pesticides, like neem and lavender oil to keep bugs away from our young plants (which bugs love).
I’ve heard all sorts of tips on natural pest control and planting based on moon cycles. If you’re inclined, it cant hurt to follow them. Check here for the moon cycle planting guide: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/grow-vegetable-garden-moon-phases-52450.html.
Depending upon what you’ve planted and where you live you can expect to have a harvest anywhere from 30 to 90 days of planting. When harvesting, again, think of gentle strength. A good rule of thumb is to keep one hand on the plant and the other to remove the mature veggie with a garden sheer or your hands.
If the moon cycles and all else fails, there are endless online resources to help you troubleshoot your gardening endeavors. Most importantly, don’t give up! Much of gardening is troubleshooting. If something doesn’t work, turn the soil and try something else- One of many gardening lessons that also apply to life.
Here is a quick list of gardening mistakes I’ve made over the years, so you won’t do the same!
Harvested broccoli WAY too early- We saw two little broccoli spears and went to town. We should have waited until a full head of broccoli was formed to pick it. DUH! #overeagerfarmer
Used ladybugs as pest control. Believe it or not, you can go online and buy ladybugs to release in your garden to serve as a natural pest control army. While the idea was too cute not to try, we had less than favorable results. The kids loved releasing the little ladybugs all over the garden at dusk on a summer evening, but the ladybugs did take to the farm and flew away by the next morning pretty much.
Let our okra and collard greens get too large. While growing prehistoric-looking vegetables is totally fun, it is not the most practical or flavorful. Once vegetables get too large, they lose their correct flavor profile and can become bitter and tough. So harvest veggies young for sweeter flavor or just at maturity for the best results in the kitchen.
Happy gardening!