Get Gardening!

 Unfortunately our family got hit with a cold bug which has kept me from doing all that I wanted to do this week, especially in regard to gardening (and blogging). But I am so excited to get gardening and actually be somewhat on top of it this year. Maybe because it  feels like Spring outside instead of the usual frozen tundra at this time of year in Wisconsin. The kids and I already started our tomatoes, peppers, basil and some onions indoors the other day. Back when I was working full time (outside of the house) one of my co-workers and I used to talk gardening. I remember him saying that his mom would always remind him to get his tomatoes started by St. Patrick's Day. I don't remember much else from our conversations, but that has stuck with me (so you still have a week to start your seeds indoors). It is a good date to shoot for and easy for me to remember to start my indoor seeds by then (no matter what the weather is outside). This is only the second or third time I've gotten around to starting seeds indoors. I'm not sure how it will go, but at least the seeds are started!

If you have not already started thinking about or planning your garden, now is the time to do it! Seed catalogs were likely sent out/available starting back in January. Some seeds can be started outdoors even now, depending upon whether or not your soil is ready to be worked. Today I was reading in my Organic Gardening magazine that the soil is ready if you can grab a handful of dirt, make it into a ball and then it gently breaks apart when poked with a finger. It shouldn't be too wet or too dry. If it is too wet, just wait and check again another day. If it is too dry, run a sprinkler on it for a day or so to give it a good soaking. This afternoon I was able to get out and see that some spots of my garden were just right and others were a bit wet. But that's okay, I still have to finish planning out my square foot sections. We are hoping to add two more "square foot" raised beds this year. Our one 2 1/2 x 9 foot garden did amazing last year (other than our pole beans and tomatoes going crazy and choking out our melons and cucumbers). Even if you don't have much space, there are ways to grow your own fresh veggies or herbs! Give it a try.

Here is what I've done so far:

• Looked through the seed catalog to decide which seeds I wanted/needed and purchased them
• Went through my old seeds and wrote expiration dates on them (I store my seeds in their original packets in a ziploc bag with a handful of rice to keep out the moisture and throw the whole bag in the refrigerator)
• Started tomatoes, peppers, onions and basil seeds indoors
• Picked out which seeds can be planted outdoors early spring and wrote down which crops to avoid following (i.e. Kale, Kohlrabi, Pak Choi should not be planted where any of the cabbage family plants were planted last) and which crops make bad companions (i.e. Beets should not be planted near Pole Beans)
• Checked my soil to see whether or not it is ready and removed some of the leaf mulch cover from the areas that were too wet

Here is what I have left to do:

• Make my garden plan, plan out each square foot section - I like to draw a "map" of my garden in my garden notebook/journal
• Check the soil again to see if it is ready
• Plant the early crops: Kale, Beet, Spinach, Lettuce, Kohlrabi, Radish, Onion, Parsley and Pak Choi
• Once the soil gets a bit warmer (50 degrees), plant peas
• Build and prepare two more square foot raised beds
• Figure out when to plant other crops
• Water, fertilize, watch, and wait
• Reap the harvest, freeze, and can extras
• I'm sure there is something I have forgotten or left out, so I'll leave a space for it here:)

There are two gardening books that I own and love! One of them I consult regularly, The Vegetable Gardener's Bible by Edward C. Smith this is the book that gives me the practical information I need like how long each type of seed typically lasts (my expiration dates from above), what crops to follow or avoid following in my rotation planting, good companion plants and bad companion plants among many other things. The Four-Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman is more of the garden that I dream of some day having. Last year I borrowed Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew from the library. Although it was helpful in explaining the concepts behind the Square Foot Garden, it wasn't a resource that I felt I needed to hang onto. I do highly recommend the Square Food Gardening method - it saves space and time in the garden.

Now it's your turn, go on out there and GET GARDENING! Please share what you hope to do this season with your garden, whether it be small, large, or just in containers!

This post is part of Simple Lives Thursday. Check out more great posts for living simply, HERE.

A Beautiful Day in the Garden

Yesterday was one of my favorite days thus far this spring.  There have only been a handful of days that have been both warm and sunny and this was one of those days.  In the morning I got out my gardening books and a notebook and planned out my garden while sitting in the sun - the kids were also enjoying the beautiful weather and played amicably together.  Earlier I had checked craigslist for local plant sales and contacted one to see if I could come by and pick up some plants.  After planning what I wanted in my garden I checked my e-mail and was in luck!  I didn't have to wait until Saturday for all the plant sales, instead I could go to a horticulturists' house in the city and pick up some very well cared for plants from her huge selection.  The kids enjoyed it too - she has two large dogs so she wasn't worried about the kids ruining anything in her backyard garden.  I got a striped/zebra paste tomatoe, an Italian Roman tomatoe, two varieties of sweet and spicy peppers, some orange mint, one broccoli plant, one artichoke plant, two sweet potato plants, 10 red onion sets, one artichoke and one rosemary all for $16!!!

When I got home I was so excited to find my new plants homes in my gardens.  The onions and artichoke got planted right away in my front flowerbed, but for the others I needed to prepare a new bed.  We are trying the square foot gardening method for our new garden.  I decided on a 2 ft x 8 ft bed instead of the typical 4 ft x 4 ft.  It works better in our space and for what I'd like to plant.  While the kids were napping a neighbor stopped by with some kohlrabi plants for me.  She runs an organic garden that donates the fresh produce to local food pantries.  All of her plant sales benefit the non-profit garden that she runs.  I checked my gardening books again and laid out what and where everything would go in my 2 ft x 8 ft plot - making sure that I didn't put any veggies that were "bad companions" next to each other.  This is what I came up with.  All the items in the back row will be trained to climb and they will be closest to the foundation of our house.  The other items will be shorter and all plants should get plenty of sun.

Now that I had the planning done, time to get started on the grass removal for the new bed.  It took quite awhile, but I got it done and still had time to add my herbs and kohlrabi to my back flowerbed which gets less sun - so these cooler crops should enjoy it back there.  When my kids woke up from their naps they enjoyed "helping" me with my new garden plot.  My son even got out his snow shovel to help with the dirt, though I think the dirt was a bit too heavy for his plastic snow shovel.  Both kids and the neighbor kids enjoyed looking for worms and checking out the larvae that we found under the grass.  Once I added the composted manure and turned it over I asked the kids to stay out.  Next week we plan on building some sides to the new bed and adding some "black gold" (aka - compost) from our local dump/compost site.  Then the garden will be ready for the plants and seeds.  Eventually we will build a "fence" out of chicken wire for the climbing crops.

This was a very satisfying day for me!  There is something about working with your hands and being able to provide your family with food that is fulfilling and satisfying for me.  I can't wait to see and taste the fruits of my labor later this summer.

Healthy on a Budget - Plant Veggies & Herbs

After watching the documentary Food Inc. last week I am now more determined than ever to use my $100/week cash budget to buy only healthy food for my family.  Please join me in my quest for finding ways to stay within budget and be healthy!

Right now is the time for gardening, at least in Wisconsin.  I'm realizing more and more that you don't need a lot of space to plant a few vegetables that will help supplement your healthy diet and help you keep your budget low this coming year.  The great thing about planting your own veggies is that you know exactly how they were raised; and there is something satisfying about providing food for your family that you grew!  At a recent MOPS meeting I learned a bit about Square Foot Gardening and am waiting for a copy of the book by the same name from the library.  The idea is to create a raised bed garden that is easy to maintain.  We have plans to do this on the side of our house where there is a lot of sunshine.  

Another gardening method that I recently read about on MoneySavingMom.com is Foundation Gardening and I realized that I was already doing this to some extent and why not do more.  Last fall I wanted to plant some garlic, but didn't have a vegetable garden, so I decided to plant it in my flower bed that receives the most sun and happened to plant the garlic along the foundation.  These were the first plants to come up in my garden this spring.  The extra warmth that the concrete/brick foundation holds and reflects from the sun helps some plants to grow even better than they would away from the house.

  We moved back to WI last spring and since life was a bit hectic at the time we didn't plant a garden, but we did use a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and picked up fresh organic vegetables every other week that came directly from local farms.  I do, however, love my fresh herbs, so I planted a large pot with a variety of herbs.  When summer was over I transplanted a few of the perennial herbs into my existing flower beds.  Now I already have chives, oregano and lavender coming up this year.  Some of the herbs I moved into smaller pots to keep indoors over the winter.  My basil and thyme lasted most of the winter and would have lasted longer had I taken better care of them.  My sister-in-law has a very small and steep yard, but she has the most amazing tomato plants every year!  She plants them along the side of her garage - a very sunny spot (that also has the benefits of the sun reflecting off the wall and staying warm longer).  So don't give up hope if you don't have a lot of space for a garden, sometimes the best locations are already there!  I plan on planting some beets, spinach, kohlrabi and leaf lettuce in my shadier flower beds as they do not like the heat as much as tomatoes and basil. 

If you have no yard at all, but have a porch that gets a lot of sunshine, you still can plant some herbs and vegetables!  Try container gardening.  Our house in Milwaukee had a very shaded yard, but I was determined to grow some veggies.  So I used our sun deck/porch for tomatoes and herbs.  It had full sun most of the day.  My herbs did great, but my tomatoes got blossom rot - not really sure why, but I'm sure I did something wrong.  Container gardening can be a great way to grow a variety of veggies, just be sure to read up on it and be diligent about watering your plants.

Even if you have never planted anything you can learn how to have a productive garden in your space by finding information on the internet or by checking out books from your library.  And the great thing is, this won't cost you a dime!  Of course the supplies you need will cost some, but in comparison to what you would pay for the same organic vegetables in the store or at the farmers market - it is mere pennies!  So, go ahead and start planning your garden!

Join me next week as I plan to discuss couponing and how clipping and printing coupons can save you money on organic products.