I Want to Plant a Garden
Posted in The UN-digi | 13 Comments »
13 Comments »
One of the things on my summer to-do list is plant a garden. I remember being little and helping my dad plant tomatoes and beans. I loved watching what we planted (and weeded!) finally come to life. I get excited when I hear people talk about their gardens and all the yummy things they make with it. I just have one problem. I know NOTHING about gardening. The idea sounds so fun but I really have no idea where to begin. So, the internet comes to my rescue — again. Here are some great sites that are going to help me jump in and plant a garden!
- This site, called SQUARE FOOT GARDENING, looks promising. I love that you can do this anywhere — even on an apartment rooftop! I also love the idea of small amounts of plants. I want to try a lot of little things rather than a lot of any one thing. The site has a ton of helpful information on getting started, what to plant and when, and making special soil mixtures.
- A friend told me that she knows a lot of people who plant SALSA GARDENS. I LOVE that idea. My husband loves fresh salsa and so I know we would get a lot of use out of all the fun (and spicy!) veggies that this would yield. Tomatoes, tomatillos, onions, garlic, peppers, herbs…YUMMY!
- This site is just what it sounds like it is: THE BASICS OF GARDENING
- I know it is too late for many of you US gals, but for me and my eternally perfect weather, I think I may plant a yummy strawberry garden.
- This site, THE BACKYARD GARDENING BLOG, has some great tips for all sorts of gardening questions and problems.
- If all else fails GARDENING FOR DUMMIES might be just what I need!
- And since on my biggest reason for wanting to do all this is because I think it is a great activity to do with my kids, THIS article is great source of inspiration! I loved watching and helping my dad and I want to carry on the tradition.
Have you planted a garden? If so, have any tips for me??
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Enjoy your garden! I want one so badly so my son and I can enjoy it, but we haven’t figured out the perfect garden that prevents the deer from eating all of it.
We are planting our first garden this year. I have some friends with the most beautiful square foot gardens so I bought that book. It really is so easy and has great explanations about how to deal with all the different veggies/fruits to plant. Plus, the garden is so cute all sectioned into squares. I’d definitely recommend this system.
plus, with square foot gardening, weeding really is non existent or extremely easy (depending on the dirt you end up using). I did one box with Mel’s Mix that has glorious dirt and no weeds. My other box is top soil and compost and I get more weeds but they are easy to spot and pick when they are tiny. Good luck!
My husband LOVES to garden and we have 4 square foot gardens in our backyard. We’ve done other types of gardening and this is by FAR the best! I would definitely say try this way! We have peas, carrots, red potatoes, 3-4 kinds of lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, tomatoes, green beans, zuchinni, watermelon, canteloupe…and more!!! It’s all coming up so fast because of the soil mix and there are NO weeds, and you get more for your space, it’s really amazing!!!
I love gardening. My kids are old enough now that I can spend more time working in it. I was on a bike ride yesturday and a woman was giving away several tomato plants that were growing in her compost bigs. We are now up to 16 or 17 (waiting to see what is up with a volunteer) tomato plants. We also have lots of herbs and lettuce for every meal.
Hope you have a great time gardening. It is also something that ties in well with homeschooling.
We know nothing either, but we plant a garden every year. My advice — just go for it. Throw a few plants & seeds in (I mean, do it orderly, so you know what is where), but just try it & see what happens. We don’t do much with mixing soils or anything fancy . . . but we get a great yield every year. We try different things, and if something doesn’t work well, we just try again next year or forget it. And we hardly ever have to weed — and when we do, it doesn’t take long — we put our grass clippings between the rows, and that snuffs out weeds pretty well.
This is my first year with a garden and I chose the square foot garden method. I love it so far. It really is as easy at is looks!
We are a little late getting started but we plan to plant our first garden this year too! Thanks for all the awesome links!!
Square foot gardening is the way to go. I have done it for years and love that I can get so much out of such a small spot.
It is a smidge late, but if you buy plants, or put in things that grow quickly, you will be fine.~G
I love rhubarb and all the things I can make with it, but was tired of scrounging it off my in laws, so I planted 4 rhubarb plants last fall and they are now coming in beautifully. I also planted some tumbler tomatoes (cherry tomatoes and they produce all summer long) and I put in 4 green pepper plants. Never grown them before but I figured I’d throw them in there and see how they do. My parents and my in laws have huge gardens so I leave the potatoes, carrots, peas, beets and all the rest to them, they always end up sharing anyways lol
My husband started his own “square foot garden” this year and it has worked perfectly! His favorite part of it is the soil mixture. It took him some time to collect all the right components, but it paid off. The soil is so light and fluffy (not compacted like dirt) that it makes it super easy to move plants from place to place if you change your mind later. We have really enjoyed all the fresh herbs, some radishes and the tomatillos are days away from being ready.
Here is a link to some photos of his garden to give you some ideas of how his garden box looks.
http://debbiebrenner.typepad.com/thats_in_my_book/2009/05/how-does-their-garden-grow.html
I just planted my garden on Saturday – think I am going to go take pictures this afternoon! I called my dad to come and help me plant it b/c he knows what he is doing! We planted yellow bean plants, carrots (which I just LOVE that picture you posted of the carrots – wow), cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, better boy tomatoes, green pepper and jalepeno pepper. We also planted a few herbs. I can’t wait to watch it grow. I wish I had some tips for you, but I really don’t – I just plant, water, and watch it grow. I am a pretty simple gardener!
Have fun if you plant a garden!!!
The picture of the carrots is a show stopper. You had better enter it into your state fair photo contest. Outstanding!