Your primary goals are to save money, to provide yourselfwith a healthy source of fresh food, and to have some fun in the process.There’s nothing quite as satisfying as seeing something you’ve grown with yourown hands on your dinner table. But how to start?
Where to Plant Your Garden
Obviously you can only use the land available to you, ifthere is any, or you can augment what space you have with containers. Figureout how much room your plug plants will need and plan accordingly. Tomatoes and peppers grow to a large size anddo quite well in containers with cages for stabilization. Carrots and lettuce,on the other hand, do well planted in rows.
If you or someone you know is handy with tools and if youhave access to a little lumber and some screening material to use in the baseof the boxes for drainage, you can use terraced, graduated beds and plantstands to squeeze in as much growing room as possible. Pick a place with plentyof sun that is well drained. Herbs, for instance, take six to eight hours ofsun per day.
Your soil will need to be well turned and most likelyenriched with a good quality bedding soil available from your local plantnursery. Make sure that the soil your purchase is appropriate for the plantsyou’ve selected. Talk with the staff at the nursery and they will help youselect the right materials as well as any fertilizers that might be necessarybased on your soil type. (It’s not a bad idea to take in a small sample of soilfor their examination.)
What to Plant in Your Garden
If you want to start small and get a lot of bang for yourbuck, begin with tomatoes. A single plant can produce more than 100 lbs. oftomatoes over a growing season, an estimate that is actually on the low side.Since tomatoes in the store average 1-2£ ($2-4 USD) per pound and because theyare so versatile (tomato juice, sauces, salsas, or simply eaten fresh), theplants alone can significantly augment your diet while being kind to yourpocket book. The volume you produce will also make it easy to share with familyand friends or to trade your tomatoes at a farmer’s market for other kinds ofvegetables. (Pepper plants are equally hardy and prolific.)
Other garden staples to consider include:
• Lettuce, which naturally compliments thetomatoes.
• Carrots.
• Okra and eggplant, which are well suited forsmall “left over” spaces.
• Herbs, which are excellent for spicing dishes, afragrant addition to your yard, and often a natural insect repellant. Good herbchoices include: anise, coriander, dill, fennel, and perennials like thyme,oregano, chives, tarragon, sage, and rosemary.
If you don’t plant any other herbs, go with the rosemary.It’s incredibly hardy, smells wonderful, is excellent for cooking meats, andcan even be dried into potpurri.
How to Tend Your Garden
Frankly, the biggest investment you will most likely spendon your garden won’t be monetary, but will rather be a commitment in timeplanting, weeding, and watering. When you purchase your plants, discuss theirneeds with the nursery staff. It’s always a good idea to select things withsimilar watering requirement or to arrange your garden in such a way thatsegments can be watered separately, with some areas receiving more and othersless. Learn what insects are likely to damage your plants, how to watch forthem, and what to do when they show up. (You don’t want to just use any insecticideon your garden. Remember, you’re going to be eating these plants!)
In most cases it’s a good idea to start small and to add toand expand your garden in subsequent growing seasons as you get morecomfortable selecting and caring for your plants. You’ll have some failures;everyone does, it’s just part of the process. But you’ll also augment your dietwith healthy, fresh food, cut down on your grocery bill, and create a funactivity for your family or for yourself (and get some exercise in the process.)
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