When I met several of you at the Coupon Fair, many of you mentioned you wanted to begin your own garden, but did not know where to start or did not have enough room! I hope this post will encourage you to begin growing your own food!
- Start Small!
The first thing to do is to start small! It is so very easy to become discouraged when you are planning big and do not have any success.
Decide how large you want the garden to be. Then, choose a location. Remember you want a sunny area preferably going from North to South so that it will get the most amount of sun.
- Amend the Soil
You can get a soil test from your local extension office and check the soil to see what you need. You want a nice loamy soil which is rich in organic matter. You can order mushroom compost and till it into your soil. However, remember there is a lot of nitrogen in the mushroom mix and peppers and other plants do not do as well in a lot of nitrogen!
- Prepare the Beds
One of the best ways to prepare the beds for a small garden is to put down cardboard as a weed barrier. Then, you can add your compost or other soil on top of the cardboard. Plant directly into the cardboard which is easier to do if you water it in first!
- Begin Planting
Some seeds can be planted directly into the soil while others need to be started indoors from seeds and transplanted later. You can get an update each month on which plants to directly seed and which ones to start in doors from my Monthly List of Garden Chores Post.
- Remove Weeds Early
By removing weeds early, you will prevent having monstrous weeds and not being able to tell where all your crops are! You can use a hoe or your hands or even a tiller. We have a manpowered cultivator our children LOVE to run through the rows as the little weeds start sprouting!
No comments:
Post a Comment