LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION:
First, decide where you can plant. If you have a yard, we highly recommend that you investigate the concept of Square Foot Gardening
With square foot gardening you can plant enough vegetables for one or two people (or more!) in an amaZINGly small space. Decide what vegetables you want to eat, and then refer to the book on how much space each vegetable needs using the square foot method. Mel tells you that you can grow enough food for one person in one square foot and that a garden that size will take you one hour per week to maintain. As you can see, growing does NOT need huge amounts of space.
If you want to make the square foot method super simple, go to Herb N' Gardens to get seed mats that you can place right on top of your soil: mats that are already planted with seeds! All you have to do is water! This is the same method as ‘Square Foot Gardening’, but it is already done for you.
If you live in an apartment or do not have access to a plot of soil, you can use the above seed mats in large containers or, we can recommend three other methods of easily growing your own food:
Aerofalls has a vertical planting system. Instead of going out square or in rows, you plant UP! This is perfect for super small spaces and yet the yield is fantastic.
If you want greens but not vegetables, Easy Green has sprouters, seeds and accessories that can give you ‘hands-free’ sprouts: you don’t touch them until you are ready to harvest them!
And the amaZING Stealth Hydroponic System gives you cutting edge hydroponic growing of just about any herb or vegetable without the hassle of the early hydroponic systems. The method is called ‘Bubbleponics and they have a cool video explanation of it on their website. Remember, with hydroponics you can grow indoors in a small space, all year long!
SOIL:
For those of you who say, ‘but my ground is sandy, or clay or dry and barren’, go to John and Bob's for their easy, non-chemical solutions to fabulous soil without the strain of lugging compost or fertilizers. Sprinkle their solution on, water it in and let Mother Nature take over to create the perfect soil for vegetables as well as plants. Isn’t that amaZING?
SEED or NOT:
If you are brand new to growing, you might want to go to a good nursery and purchase your vegetables from flats: plants that are already growing and in some cases plants that have already been hardened off, ready to put into the ground. If you go with the ‘already started’ vegetables, be sure and go to a reputable nursery so that your plants are healthy, without pests, and so that you get good advice from trained people, not just someone manning a checkout register.
If you start from seed, call your local nursery and ask when you should be starting your seed. You want your plants to germinate, harden off and then be ready to transplant into the ground when all danger of frost has passed. Starting from seed allows you to browse the whole internet for the best selection as well as the best prices.
PEST CONTROL:
Afraid of garden pests and that you won’t be able to get rid of them without toxic chemicals? How about getting rid of plant-eating insects with water! Yep, this is the most incredible way to get rid of nasty insects. The Bug Blaster blasts insects off with a special nozzle that directs water from your hose. The water blast actually interrupts the life-cycle of pests while cleaning and watering your garden, plants, shrubs and trees all at the same time.
We were given a wonderful article on NEEM to pass on to you. The article is about the difference between ‘All Natural’ and ‘Non-Toxic’. If you have ever wondered about the difference, be sure and read this enlightening article and then check out Neem oil for truly natural pest control that is gentle to you and the environment…but lethal to nasty garden pests.
WATER:
Do you have fluoride or chlorine in your water or is your water hard and just generally yucky? Spray your vegetables, water your pets, wash your car without water spots and fill your birdbath with filtered water right from your hose! Check out EcoOne’s All Purpose Hose Filter for fresh, filtered water outdoors.
How can you guarantee that you will not overwater a plant in a container or pot? Yes, you can grow vegetables in pots! Be sure and check out a totally natural method of watering your plants from Gemma . Here you will find out that you can put a ‘pumice wick’ in your pots and that it will automatically water your plants; without OVER watering them. Pumice is light and absorbent ‘rock’ from volcanoes and with a little search online you might be able to find a local supplier of it so that you can put some in your outdoor garden also. Check out her clear pots with the pumice wick that would make ideal containers for some small vegetables.
Have you ever watched the water meter spin when you water your plants or lawn? Now that you want to grow a garden, we’re sure that you are thinking of all the water that you will have to pay for. Just like our forefathers growing their own food, they also collected their rainwater. After all, there were no ‘water’ companies or meters in those days - so they devised rain barrels. The design of the rain barrel has come a LONG way since then, and the most impressive and well thought out barrel that we have seen is done by Aqua Barrel . This design not only uses the perfect barrel but all of its connections and ideas beat out any other that we have seen: the product of the developer’s personal experience and thoughtful design. Collect all the water you need for all your gardening needs..and get it off of your roof, not from your water meter.
TECHIE GARDENING:
Want to plan a bigger garden but don’t know where to begin with just pencil and paper? Manage it all online! There is an incredible software program that can help you plan your entire growing space, help you manage your watering and time your harvesting times and tell you everything you need to know about each plant’s requirements at Plan Garden . We’re really impressed with not having to use paper and pencil…this is all done with your computer and it even looks like fun.
Almost as techie as a software program, is the light-hearted but down to business DVD the ABC’s of Pruning . Hugh Perry’s DVD is 30 minutes long and we are grateful (and you will be too!) that there is finally something that shows you first hand over a three-year filming period not only how to prune, but what happens to the plant when you do. Learn the three types of plants, their shapes and how and when to prune each one. We NOW feel confident in pruning and know that we can safely do MORE of it without harming our plants.
COMMUNITY GARDENING:
If after reading our suggestions and doing a little of your own research you are not confident that you can start seeds or plant and grow your own food, do NOT give up! Get together with some neighbors, friends or a community group to start a communal garden where you can nuture each other as much as your vegetables. SPIN Farming is a great resource and example of what can be done by groups of people, many of them just using someone’s back yard!
TIPS FROM THE PROS:
There are some great supplier’s of product as well as information. Here are a few supplier’s who generously share their knowledge so that you can skip the problems and go directly to success:
Pepper Joe's
The Garlic Store is for those who want to learn how to grow garlic. Soil, preparation, planting, fertilizing, mulching, irrigation, weeding, harvesting, storage and curing are covered all on one page! And if you are the visual type, The Garlic Store also sells a video on how to do it all! Come on, garlic is SOOOO good for you and once you read this, you’ll realize just how easy it is to do!
Penny's Tomatoes is a one page guide to starting tomato seeds, transplanting, fertilizing, pesticides, harvesting, and even recipes and equivalents! And if you fill in your e-mail address you just might win some free tomato seeds. It’s worth a try as she has four giveaways per month!
Also, read Penny’s wonderful article on ‘Organic’ which let’s you know what organic is really about.
How to Grow Tomatoes is an 88 page ‘bible’ on what to do, what not to do, when, how, where…to produce perfect, juicy, BIG, disease-free tomatoes every time! Sure, you can scour the net and get conflicting advice, but as this book is written by a world, leading expert on tomatoes, you are getting the real story! This is the type of book where you can easily get the expertise to grow crops of tomatoes, enough to feed you and sell for a profit!
PURE ZING RECOMMENDATIONS:
Once you have decided what you are going to grow, and where you are going to plant it, our strongest suggestion is to start with ORGANIC seeds / HEIRLOOM seeds. These seeds are guaranteed to not be genetically modified and are pesticide free, which means that they will be stronger and actually produce better tasting vegetables. Your first investment will not only pay off in better vegetables, but will supply you with your own organic/heirloom seeds for future plantings.
In the summer article we will tell you how to save your own seeds!
See the following tips about starting your seeds and then hardening them (getting them used to the outdoors little by little) - and follow them.
Tip: when you are starting your seeds, get a little mister bottle and rather than ‘watering’ them, MIST them with water. This is gentle, and prevents overwatering. Keep your seeds moist (not soaked!) as dry ones die… and so do ‘drowned’ ones! Find a window that has sunshine and set up your flats of soil and seeds where they can stay warm for germination.
When those little seeds get bigger and stronger, gently ‘transplant’ them to a little deeper and bigger container. Keep following the misting instructions and watch your outdoor temperature gauge to make sure that you will not subject your plants to weather that is too cold when you first take them outdoors. Check with a local nursery if you are not sure when to start ‘hardening’ them.
Introduce your little plants to the outdoors for only an hour the first day (not in direct sun) and then bring them back indoors. Increase their outdoor exposure by one hour per day, introducing them to the direct sun little by little. When your plants are outdoors all day long and able to handle full sun, you can put them in the garden or the main pot you will grow them in.
Congratulations! You’re half way there! Go to the library or start looking online for tips on each vegetable that you have chosen to grow. Keep an index card or an online file with the tips that you encounter and keep a little log on what is suggested, and what actually seems to work. Now your garden is growing!
Next season we will talk about summer growing and have more tips for you! Get growing!
