Garden June 5, 2010

I started most of my garden from seeds, planting seeds is an easy way to grow most vegatables. You should start with good-quality seeds and give them all the conditions that they need for the best chance of success. As long as you follow the instructions of the package carefully, you should produce a bountiful harvest. You can buy started plants from a mail-order supplier, garden center, or a local nursery, which is a great way to save time if you get a late start on your garden. It is also more convenient to buy started plants than to grow vegatables from seed as you can cut out the germination and handling of small seedlings stages. My garden is growing nicely as you can see from the photo above.

Strawberries Yum!!

My strawberries are ripe! I picked a quart of strawberries on Saturday, June 5 and another two quarts of strawberries on June 7th. My father's birthday is June 7- my mother's goal was always to have fresh from the garden strawberry shortcake for his birthday dinner - I guess I'm on track this year.

Getting Ready.

You need to choose a spot in your yard that receives full sun. If you do not have the space for a dedicated garden you can add garden plants to your existing flower or shrub bed. You can also build a raised bed –you’ll be surprised how much a 4x10 bed can produce. You can also grow vegetables in containers on your deck or patio. If you decide on a vegetable plot, a good starting point is to lean about your soil. One surefire way to improve any soil is to add organic material, and your own compost pile is the most convenient source of organic matter. I use a garden fertilizer of 15-15-15 and spread lime on my soil. If you plan to plant potatoes, do not spread the lime (powered –from a farm store-not the fruit!) in the rows where the potatoes will be planted. Potatoes do not like lime! The fertilizer and lime can be a bit difficult to find but a farm and feed store in your area will probably carry both. After the fertilizer and the lime are spread (I use a garden/lawn spreader –but I have a very large garden). I have many wild animals who like to snake on my garden vegetables so if you think this might be a problem for you also – then you should consider enclosing your garden with a fence.
The next step is deciding what to grow. Plan your garden with grouping crops together. Growing vegetables can be unpredictable –you will find yourself adapting and improvising throughout the process even if you are organized at the beginning.

Why I garden.

I garden because I love the feel of the earth- I inherited the love of gardening from my parents and grandmother. My grandmother gardened to feed her family . It was a necessity for her to produce enough vegetables to feed her family throughout the winter. She would freeze or can her bountiful crops in the fall. My parents garden for the joy of producing enough vegetables for their use and to share with friends and neighbors. From the first strawberry or summer squash to final fall harvest my parents are producing and sharing vegetables with all who visit. I garden because I grew up respecting and loving living plants. I love working the soil and watching over my plants as they growing into edible vegetables.I learned many techniques from my grandmother and parents that I would like to share with you.