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Recent
events have encouraged—and maybe forced—many people to grow their own food.
This isn’t new to humans, but since people started living in cities, residential
lots became smaller, time has become sparse, not many people were growing their
own food. Grocery stores are abundant in most places, home delivery enables us
to order things and receive them almost instantly. But people seem to be feeling the
need to come back to the “roots” of supporting themselves, at least a little
bit.
So, you
feel the need to garden. Before going
out and buying all the seeds, you should think about why you actually
want or need to do it. Some things that pop into mind could be, wanting to eat
fresh (or maybe clean/more organic) food, reducing grocery costs, preserving
for off seasons, increasing accessibility to food, lessening food insecurity, even
mental health is a great reason! If
you’re like me though, when I’m getting into a new hobby or project, I tend to
want to DO EVERYTHING! Finding your purpose can help streamline your plans and
probably save some money in the long run.
Here
are a couple things to consider and questions to ask yourself when starting a
garden for either food or flowers:
· Space. Do you have a yard? A patio? A
field? The size of your available space will tell you what and how much you can
grow. If you’re limited on actual ground to dig in, raised beds are a great
option. You can build on top of the ground or even make or purchase beds that
are on legs, which can be quite beneficial for people who may be limited in
their bending or squatting abilities.
Sun. How much sunlight will your spot receive? Most vegetables need to get a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight to produce decent foliage and produce fruit. Some plants like lettuces can do with less and prefer a slightly shady and cooler spot.
Water. We all need water to survive. When having a garden, having accessible water is a necessity. You may get lucky at some points in your season and not have to water, but that is very rare for most people. Small patio gardens can be taken care of with watering cans, but after refilling and lugging a full watering can more than a couple trips, it can be quite tiring and time consuming. An outside spigot with a hose works quite easy if you want to water by hand and your garden is close by. If your space is larger and farther away from your water source, drip systems (automatic or manually controlled) can take care of the job and are more beneficial in watering the ground, instead of hitting the plants. Overhead watering can cause mildew or blight and wastes water to evaporation.
Pests. Do you have rodents, insects or larger animals that may bother your plants? You may have to build fencing around your space to deter the larger animals. Many insects can be deterred by using a technique called companion planting, which entails planting specific plants amongst your garden that are known to deter the bad and attract the beneficial insects. If it’s a major problem, there are insecticides and even organic pest protection options available.
Time. Do you have time for what you’re planning? Gardens require more time in the spring and fall, so think about your personal habits and schedules. I know I must really think about seed planting with spring work trips and then later summer family vacations coinciding with heavy harvesting periods. My pet-sitter also is a garden-sitter, most of the time.
Taste. Do you really like to eat what you’re growing? People tend to get caught up in the new varieties of vegetables and social media favorites. But please remember that somebody needs to eat what comes out of your garden! If you don’t really like squash, don’t grow it. It’s that simple.
I hope this short list of ideas and things to consider will help you start your garden journey. Remember, growing anything is growing something.
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