Wow, It's been ages since my last post here. I've just been preoccupied with lots of springtime activities. On top of my normal daytime chores I've been gardening like crazy too. We made a victory garden at Mom's this year and I started a salad table that my father-in-law made me. The victory garden is going great! We have corn, 2 varieties of beans, peas, okra, brussel sprouts, 2 varieties of tomatoes, onions, spinach, romaine lettuce, regular lettuce, green peppers, squash, sunflowers, zinnias, strawberries, watermelon, and cantaloupe. Most of them are doing amazingly great, it's too early to tell on the melons though. My salad table didn't do as well though. Some sort of animal kept getting into it until it ate everything in it. I'm hoping to start it back again this weekend, maybe get some chicken wire to put over it. I would have thought I'd have had more trouble out of the garden at Mom's than the table, with animals anyway. It's weird... We ate produce out of it for the first time on Thursday. We had salads with the lettuce, tomato, and onions fresh from the garden. It was DELISH! Lily loves working in the garden. She helps me weed, dig, and pick. Her favorite is the strawberries. She keeps a close eye on them in case any turn red.
I wrote this for some women Knoxmoms for anyone needing help honing their green thumb. I'll post it here too, in case any of you are interested in starting a garden of your own.
If you didn’t in the fall, right now is the time to start getting your soil ready for planting. There are a few different approaches to doing this. Some people like to just plant straight into the ground. There are a few options to do this depending on how big of a space your planting in and your resources. Options include hand digging with a spade or shovel, tilling with a power rotary tiller, and using a small garden tractor or a full-sized farm tractor. Since I’m assuming most reading this blog will be new to gardening, I will assume you do not have access to a tractor. Rototilling is sufficient for most home gardens. Rotary tilling mixes the upper layers of soil rather than completely turning the soil over. You can just rent a rototiller from a local equipment company for fairly inexpensive.
Small gardens can be really successful using raised beds, which may be worked entirely by hand if the area is small enough. I personally am working in a raised bed. Here’s a link to building a raised bed http://www.thegardenhelper.com/bed~const.html and here’s a link to buy a ready made one http://www.eartheasy.com/grow_raised_beds.htm It’s really not too hard and in the end is easier to maintain. They’re easier to keep critters out, you don’t have to worry about soil compaction, they drain away excess water better, and studies have shown that raised garden beds produce 1.4 to 2 times as much vegetables and flowers per square foot as ordinary beds.
Now for starting your seeds… I think I’ve already mentioned in a previous gardening post that I have been saving egg cartons for planting in. Well I got to thinking why just stop at the cartons? I decided to be really green and use the actual eggshell as well. Which seems like it will work out well, because when they’re ready to be planted all I will have to do is crack the shell and set it in the ground. Shell and all! With ALL the eggshells and cartons I still ran out of space to plant my seeds so I had to go to the garden center and purchase more containers for planting. I decided to go with the peat pots because they’re biodegradable. I have to say though, I do much prefer the egg cartons and shells because when wet they become very flimsy.
I have searched A LOT of stores and I’ve found the BEST place to buy your seeds is at ACE Hardware. Their seed packets are HUGE for the price! I got a gigantic package of okra for $3.50 and my corn (hybrid) for $5.00. My other smaller, but still big packets of seeds cost around $1.75.
I started my seeds yesterday. It’s pretty easy. You just fill up your pots with dirt (seed starting soil.) Then plant them to the appropriate depth (back of package) and water. Make sure you either keep your seeds inside (in a warm area with sunlight) or covered in plastic outside. They need sunlight or an artificial light (a 48’’ fluorescent shop light will work fine) everyday and plenty of water. Keep them moist! The ideal temperature for them to be in is around 70 degrees. Some people I know like to put a heating pad (wet/dry pad) underneath their seeds to keep their seeds warm. I’ve found this blog really helpful http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/03/06/starting-seeds-indoors-jump-start-your-garden-today/
I also found a catalog at Three Rivers Food Co-Op that is really helpful. It’s called Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. It has different organic seeds and and it has lots of guidelines to go buy inside. It shows what is started by seeds or transplants. It has growth cycles, recommended temps, light requirements, germination periods, sun/shade requirements, and how and when to plant. Very helpful!!!
I hope this has helped some people having trouble. If you any more questions or have anything to add please post! Happy gardening!
