7 Steps to Planning Your Garden

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The last several days have been a gross combination of rainy, snowy, foggy, and cold. This is the kind of weather you try really hard not to go outside in, or at least I try really hard not to go outside in. Instead, I'm sitting by the fire planning what to do with my garden in the spring to maximize productivity (and minimize effort and cost). By following these steps, I should be more prepared for spring gardening, which will help me be a more efficient gardener.

First, what do I already have? When Hubby and I bought our home, it came with several apple trees, a rosemary shrub, and a bathtub on the driveway. I've used the rosemary for cooking a handful of times, but we have yet to harvest any apples--what the late snows haven't gotten, the blue jays have. Since moving, we've added 8 hop bines, 5 blackberry bushes, 2 pomegranate trees, a nectarine tree, a passionfruit vine, and the smallest fig "tree" you've ever seen. And we filled the bathtub with strawberries. The only fruit we've gotten to enjoy have been a handful of blackberries, several handfuls of strawberries, and one tiny nectarine. They say a plant's harvest should be better each year, right?

Second, how do I improve what I already have? One of the biggest problems for me is having time to water everything. If I set aside time early in the season to re-vamp the old drip watering system that the previous owners left behind, that will help tremendously. I also have to figure out how to keep the critters at bay. Putting up a super cool owl nest box might help with the rodents, and I might have to try some sort of netting around the apple trees to help with the blue jays.

Third, what usable space do I have? We have a pretty big property. But it's in a forest, which means that there are 80 foot tall trees between the sun and a majority of our garden. 

Fourth, what are my garden goals? Do I want to supplement the fruits and veggies I buy at the store? Do I want to produce enough to be able to stop buying fruits and veggies? What about canning? 

Fifth, what have I learned from past experiences? I've tried buying plants bare-root from the internet. The only plant I've ever bought this way that grew at all was hops. I've learned not to get sucked in by the promises of the seed catalogs that show up in the mail. I've also had extensive personal failings with seeds (nasturtiums being the lone exception in this case). Strawberries have been my biggest success so far. I may want to get a journal like this one to keep track of what works and what doesn't work so I don't keep making the same mistakes year after year.

Sixth, what is my budget? This is the hardest part for me, because I pretty much want all the plants. I know that buying bigger, more established plants will result in bigger harvests sooner than buying smaller, bare-root plants from Home Depot. I've decided to save my Swagbucks rewards until springtime, and then use those for my garden budget.

Seventh, how do I prioritize my goals based on what I have, what I know, and what I can reasonably spend? This part may have to wait until the spring thaw comes and planting season arrives. But at least now I have an idea of what plants I plan to purchase and where in my garden I think they'll thrive.

How would you plan your dream garden?

The Strawberry Experiment

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I make a little money if you make a purchase using these links.

Our house came with so many interesting things. There were all the paint colors (I really do mean ALL, and 50+ cans of paint, mostly from the '90s), and the flower pots buried in the yard, and this, and the bathtub at the end of the driveway.

What would any sane person do with a bathtub in their driveway? I planted strawberries in it, of course. And watered them, and harvested a few little berries here and there, and that was about it for 2 whole years. I've finally paid them enough attention to realize that our five little strawberry plants from Home Depot (Bonnie Plants brand, of course) have more or less outgrown their bathtub. 

Right? 

I'm pretty impressed, actually. I shouldn't be, because strawberries are perennials and like chilly winters (have I mentioned it snows here?). And the other cool thing about strawberries is how they reproduce. A strawberry plant will send runners out that are clones of itself, like this: 

Now, ideally, the runner would root into some nearby dirt and not just hang sadly (and, yes, spiderwebby) down the side of a bathtub. It should start to grow roots and become independent if there's dirt to put roots in. Since I would rather move my strawberry babies to other parts of the yard than let them grow down the bathtub, I decided to see if they're willing to grow in pots. After all, some of them already have roots. They want to grow so much. I'm really just giving them what they want. 

I happen to have some little compostable pots that were 20 for 99 cents at (where else?) the 99 Cent Store. Or you could get these from Amazon (they're basically the same). Throw in a little soil, position the strawberry runner in the middle, secure in place with a railroad staple from the toolshed (why do we have railroad staples?), and water.  Now, in theory, these little guys should root in 2-4 weeks and be ready to be separated from their mama plant (see how I left the "runner" stem attached?). 

The reason I'm calling this an experiment is because I've never done it before. I have no idea if it will work, or, if it does work, if the baby plants will survive replanting in another part of the yard, or if they'll be sturdy enough to survive the winter. But I'm totally willing to give it a try (one of the benefits of strawberry runners is that they're free). And I'll gladly keep you posted on how they're doing. In the meantime, see if you can find all 12 baby strawberry pots in the bathtub: 

Click here if you're ready for what happens next!

On Pause

My hubby and I were hoping to have the keys to our new home in hand by now. Unfortunately, escrow is a long and painful process. And apparently homeowners insurance companies don't like dogs. But that's a rant for a different day. Today, I choose to be positive. Since I can't exactly move forward myself, I'd like to share some resources so that you can move forward yourselves.

If you feel like you need a little inspiration for change, take this quiz:

http://myfootprint.org

I find that National Geographic photos can be some of the most inspiring things of all, and they have a great collection of urban farming photos here: http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/photos/urban-farming/

If you want to see what some others have accomplished through indoor farming, check out these links:

Hydroponics: http://www.terraspheresystems.com/index.php/news-media/19-news-news/41-urban-farming-20-no-soil-no-sun

Vertical Farming: http://inhabitat.com/the-worlds-first-commercial-vertical-farm-opens-in-singapore/

Creative ways and places to farm at home: http://foodtank.com/news/2014/02/beantown-farming-10-urban-agriculture-projects-in-boston

A small-business success story: http://www.urban-acres-farm.com

Here is a great site for tips on getting started:

http://anr.ext.wvu.edu/lawn_garden/gardening-101/vegetable-gardening/indoor-vegetable-gardening

Happy farming!

Why Garden?

There are many reasons to garden, and many reasons to garden indoors. Of the multitude of reasons that various people choose to garden, there are several that make the most sense to me. Allow me to explain:

Gardening is good for your health. Simply interacting with plants has been shown to have a positive effect on a person’s physical wellbeing (1). I know I feel better when I’m enjoying plants, nature, or the outdoors: that’s one of the reasons my hubby and I are moving to the mountains. It’s incredibly relaxing.

Eating fresh foods is good for your health. Fruits and veggies are most nutritious as soon as they’re picked (2). They also taste better that way.

Eating fresh foods is good for the environment. The farming methods through which we usually get our food use about 10 calories of Earth energy to produce 1 calorie of energy that we’re eating (3). If we grow even a little bit of food for ourselves, we can use more sustainable growing practices than the so-called “factory farms” (3). Growing practices like organic farming (most fertilizers are made from petroleum products… yuck!), indoor farming (which can make foods available year-round that would otherwise be either unavailable or, more likely, shipped from thousands of miles away (4)), and composting the inedible parts of plants (which can then be used as an organic fertilizer—cue singing “Circle of Life”).

Since my hubby and I are moving to the mountains (where the last time it snowed was April 1… seriously), I can’t grow as many things outdoors as I would probably like to. I don’t want to let a little thing like snow get in the way of making us more self-reliant, so I have to figure out ways we can grow food indoors. Like the things I mentioned in my last post: using indoor lighting can trick plants into thinking days are longer, which can mean more produce (5), and growing without soil can reduce water use by 70% (6).

I don’t want this adventure to just be about me (and my +1); I’d like it to be inspirational for everyone. Just because you don’t have an “outdoors” doesn’t mean you can’t grow your own food. Remember: every little bit helps. Even growing enough veggies for one meal means that that meal won’t be reliant on fertilizers and pesticides that are damaging to the environment. I would encourage you to start small: one tomato plant or herb garden in a windowsill is enough to plant the seeds of change. Or you can jump in with both feet, like I am. We can go through it together. It won’t always be easy; if it was, everyone would be doing it, right? But if we lead by example, one step at a time, we can make a change that’s bigger than ourselves. If we work together, if we become self-reliant, we can create a better tomorrow and a healthier world for everyone.