My goal this spring is to grow some food. Not a ton of food, but some. I invite all of you to join me and share your experiences!
We talk a lot about the benefits of growing your own food around here, and it’s easier said than done. Food plants take maintenance and care, and when you’re working with a limited amount of space, it can be even more challenging. It’s easy to make excuses for why we can’t grow our own food. The real trick is to just start doing it.
Confession time: I have what some folks call a “black thumb.” I’m a plant killer. I love planting and photographing plants, but when it comes to actually watering them, I am a complete flake. It’s led to quite a few gardening catastrophes followed by a period where I couldn’t face another failed crop. It had been a couple of years since I tried growing any food plants, and my friend Mike recently inspired me to give it another whirl.
Food Garden Inspiration
Mike’s whole attitude about growing food is an inspiration. His philosophy is to do what you can, and not to beat yourself up when you fail. That’s easy to forget when you’re tossing yet another dead tomato plant into the compost heap, and I’m grateful to him for reminding me. I encourage you guys to check out his site, Urban Organic Gardener, for lots of gardening tips and advice.
Since this is my first time back on the gardening saddle, I thought I’d issue myself a challenge and throw it out there for anyone else who’s needing a little push to get planting. I’m starting out with a tiny container garden on our front porch. Here’s what I’ve planted so far:
- mint
- oregano
- hot green peppers
- Chinese broccoli
- rosemary – The rosemary was actually already out there in pots, but I’m determined to help those plants flourish!
Watering is my big weakness, so I’ve set a calendar reminder for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning so I won’t forget. Since there are so few plants to tend to, I’m planning to use shower water I collect in a bucket while the water heats up. I just planted on Sunday, and I’m going to make sure to water three times a week and follow up with photos and updates as much as I can. I’d love to have you guys join me! Feel free to comment with updates about your own gardens or even email me through the site’s contact page. I’d love to read and possibly even share you stories!
[...] I find community gardens inspiring. These gardens are more than just an opportunity to help give more people access to fresh, local produce: they’re an excellent learning opportunity if you want to learn to grow your own food. [...]
[...] confessed already about my tragic history killing plants, but an iCal reminder to water my containers three times a [...]
Great article
Reading these comments, I can see that a lot of people have some of the same problems I do in terms of keeping a garden safe (ie, cats and deer coming around for a snack or turning your hard work into a litter box). I have some other issues that I’m wondering if anyone has words of wisdom for. I live in Maine where there’s really only a few months warm enough to garden, and right now it’s chilly out (about 42 degrees F) and rainy. But it can’t quickly get up to the 70s, 80s and be very sunny and humid. Any recommendations for maintaining a veggie/herb garden with these kinds of conditions? I’m hesitant to start anything without some good tips. Thanks!
I grew my first garden last year 2010. I was excited from the start because I wanted to prove to my friends and family I had a green thumb. I grew tomatoes, eggplants, lettuce, sweet potatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, red and green peppers,collards, pumpkins, thyme, grapes, canteloupes, and sweet mint. Lots of my friends and family thought I was crazy at first because I spent 4-7 hours at a time preparing the ground and then planting, and watering. What they really didn’t know that growing this garden was more therapuetic for me especially working in the mental health field. As I saw my seeds grew into plants and then eventually food I felt fulfilled that my hard work paid off. I was able to share the fruits of my labor with family and close friends. I lost 20lbs eating what I grew and working really hard in my garden.
[...] all for growing food and all for showing it off to get folks excited about growing food themselves, but it’s a little bit hard to trust Tom [...]
[...] these plants! If anyone has tips about growing Chinese broccoli, I’m all ears. At least that calendar reminder I mentioned is keeping me on track as far as watering everything. All of the other plants are doing well so [...]
I grow tomatoes and lettuces in large flower-pots on my deck.
I used to be able to grow many vegetables in my yard, but now so many deer have moved in that it is no longer possible. The deer were “cute” at first, but now they are simply destructive pests. Putting up a fence is impractical. I am not permitted to shoot them either. This is especially annoying since I was here first and the deer moved in after I did.
Growing tomatoes in flower-pots requires that they be watered daily over the summer. This is quite a pain, but it is the best that I can do.
That’s a shame about the deer. My sister in law has a lot of deer, and they keep them out of the garden by putting food (apples, I think?) at the corners of the lot. That way, the deer eat the fruit and don’t bother coming further onto their property. It helps that they have a very large plot of land, though. Not sure how big your property is.
[...] Growing your own food can be a daunting task, so I think it’s especially important for first-time gardeners to set themselves up for success. One way to maximize your probability of a decent harvest is to plant varieties that are relatively uncomplicated. [...]