Gardening 101

Some pictures from our spring garden...(scroll down for Gardening 101...10 steps to an easy, first garden)




Cucumbers


Strawberries


Lettuce


So, I have people coming up to me asking how to begin a simple vegetable garden in their backyard and I thought, I need to do a post on Gardening 101, so here goes...

Step 1:
Find the best place in your backyard that gets mostly sun during the day. A place out of the way of playground equiptment, the family dog (if you think he'll dig in it!) and bright-colored flowers (which will attrach butterflies laying eggs on your beautiful veggies, then you'll have hatching caterpillars eating all your beautiful veggies!).

Step 2:
Buy some dirt. Yes, this will initially cost some money up front, but it's usually just a one-time deal. I prefer Miracle Grow...around $6.00 a bag for the big one, $7.00 for organic.

Buy some weed fabric. It's black and comes in a roll and different sizes. This is to be layed at the bottom of your garden beds inside the boxes so weeds don't come up.

Buy some wood to make your risers for your dirt and plants. You could plant right into the ground if you have good soil, but in Florida, we have sand for dirt...literally, so I do buy my dirt and use risers. If you plant right into the ground, you'll need to pull all the weeds/grass in your area and till the ground very well until it's nice and soft for sewing seeds.

Buy your seeds. You'll want to do some research on this online depending on where you live and what you're zoned for. I highly reccomend the Better Homes and Gardens Gardening Book. It's the best. My dad bought it for me for my birthday years ago and I swear I read the thing like it's a book, highlighting along the way and making notes. You'll have two planting times (spring and fall) so there are some plants that do well in both times (tomatoes and lettuce) and some that don't (squash and zuchini). You can order them from a catalog (can get pricy) or just pick some up at Home Depot/Lowe's. I highly reccomend buying your tomato plants already started and from HD/L because they grow SO fast and you get SO much more out of them. They're around $3.00 a piece and change, but it's worth it! You'll have so many tomatoes, you won't know what to do with them all (then you'll need to research how to can them).

Step 3:
Build your garden beds. You'll want long, skinny boxes so that you can reach all your plants well and be able to harvest as well as pull weeds without stepping into your garden beds. You'll need some screws and a screwdriver (you may go nuts using nails and a hammer, especially if you get thick pieces of wood) to put them together. A few screws in each corner should do the trick.

Step 4:
Lay your weed fabric down under the boxes you just built to prevent pesky weeds from coming in. You're still going to get little weeds at the top of your beds, but at least not the big ones growing up from the ground.

Step 5:
Fill your boxes with your dirt and make sure it's level. You can start mapping out where you want to put your different veggies and herbs. I reccomend putting tomatoes in your fullest sun, as well as summer squash, zuchinni and cucumbers. These tend to get a fungus on the leaves as time goes on and the extra sun helps so they're not kept too moist.

Step 6:
Plant your seeds. I do mine in rows, but you can do whatever you like. Make sure to give your cucumbers, pumpkins and watermelons lots of room to grow their vines. They'll all need boxes of their own. I also use paint sticks (the kind you get for free when you order paint at HD/Lowe's) to label my veggies so you know where you planted what.

*NOTE: If you have squirrels, you'll want to consider keeping your dog outside to chase them away, using a scarecrow or the best way is to plant your seeds in those little planters that have like 12 boxes in them (the kind the annuals come in from the store...I always save mine) and store them on your porch or somewhere the squirrels can't get to your seeds until they've sprouted. I use our butterfly house which is completely caged in next to our garden. When you have sprouts, you can transfer them into your garden.

Step 7:
Make sure to water daily. I do this manually with a hose and sprayer attached. My dad (who is the ultimate master gardener by the way and I only wish I knew as much as he does!), has an awesome sprinkler system in his garden (it's huge!) that waters it for him daily.

Step 8:
Pull weeds often to give your plants the best chance and once a month (if you really love your plants), give them a little Miricle Grow...the kind that hooks up to your hose. You can do this organic if you want to too.

Step 9:
Watch your plants to make sure you don't have any pests (like caterpillars!) and if you do, catch one, put it in a clear bag, bring it to your local nursery and ask them what it is and how to treat it. I use Neem Oil with water and organic dish soap (my friend Stef gave some to me and it's been working swell) to spray on my garden and love it. It's very natural and safe, no pesticides for my foods. The only thing is that you'll need to reapply once it rains or you water your plants on their leaves, which you don't need to do.

Step 10:
Enjoy eating your veggies and herbs!!! Have your kids help out (mine love to work in the garden and eat it's produce) and don't forget to share your bounty. When you have extra lettuce, give to friends and share secrets. My dad and I have always done this and you'll learn so much.

Happy Gardening!!!