Growing your garden....

My gardening bench is full of jiffy pots with tiny little sprouts in each one....I'm planning for an expanded garden this year. I would like to build another raised bed and utilize the space around my cherry tree for more than just my potted herbs. The signs of spring are all around me now, my fruit salad tree has bloomed in two sections and I'm praying that it yields a good amount of fruit for me this year. Last year we battled ants and birds for the already sparse amount of fruit on the tree. Last year I got two cherries off my cherry tree! Granted that these fruit trees of mine are still very young, I was surprised the first year of planting the whole  fruit salad tree gave me every kind of fruit grafted on and not just a little of each kind, a lot! (Fruit salad trees are generally made of the stock of one type of fruit, ours is a peach tree, that is then specially grafted with other varieties to grow on one tree. Grafting is done by a specialist at Nurseries., I special ordered my fruit salad tree from White Forrest Nursery. I have a four fruit bearing fruit salad tree that gives me plums, peaches, nectarines and apricots) Last winter we cut back the fruit salad tree quite a bit, the rest of the healthy branches were starving out my small apricot section so in order to ensure growth and survival, I had to drastically trim the rest of the tree down practically to nubs. This year seeing all the healthy branches and blooms make me smile. The kids love seeing the flowers too! If I could keep bees, I totally would! Bees are the life force of gardening!!! Without bees, nothing grows! When you start growing your own food you become sensitive to what makes that work, pollinators are everything to someone who is growing food. I love seeing the bee boxes out by the almond orchards, those farmers know that to ensure a good crop, they need the bees to do their work!

Speaking of growing your own food, I've had several friends message me, text me and even discuss with me in person about starting a garden this year. It makes my heart so happy to hear the words "you've inspired me to grow a garden this year" and even more happy that you guys are excited about growing your own food! you all know where my heart is on the gardening issues, I think it's one of the best things you can do for the health of yourself and your family! Especially for your kids, it's so important for them to be part of the whole process, to work soil with their own hands, to feel the dirt and place the seeds inside, to help water and watch it grow. They're going to be that much more jazzed up about eating their veggies when they're growing them! I've been in the garden before with my kids trailing behind me and they see me pick a little lettuce leaf and pop it into my mouth so of course they want to try it too and of course I let them because it engages their interest in the process. Maybe they don't care for everything that gets grown, I plan on growing tons of tomatoes this year because we eat a lot of tomato based products like spaghetti sauce, salsa and ketchup, all things I plan on making and canning for winter use but I also know that Kaitlyn will not want to eat tomatoes raw off the vine (We'll see about Edward, he usually follows right in my footsteps when it comes to eating and loving his veggies) but getting my kids interested in growing, letting them see me, helping me pick, helping me collect eggs and change straw out for the chickens, helping me move manure from the bunny collection box to my compost area, letting them pick the veggie seed packets and helping me grow those little seeds for our garden.....it all makes a big difference in how they see our world from a different perspective. I want my kids sensitive to nature, sensitive to weather patterns, checking the rain and picking the weeds, growing their patience as we wait to pull carrots from the ground.....life lessons can be learned in the Garden.

So....for those of you who have been wanting to start a garden here's some tips to help you along (and of course you can always call me, text me, message me on facebook and instagram, email me etc. I LOVE answering your questions and helping you!)


Space: First you need some place to put your plants. Raised beds are great but you don't have to use a raised bed. I personally have 2 raised beds, a flowerbed out front and several pots all around my house. Potted planting is just as effective in gardening! I've even seen some neat ideas on pinterest for space savers using vertical gardening methods but I haven't personally tried any yet so i'll stick with  what I know.Little pots of herbs are great for starters, herbs are hearty and easy to grow and you can still get the satisfaction of picking your own with your kids as you cook with fresh herbs!

Dirt: Once you get your space marked out, built, or placed you're gonna wanna focus on dirt! If you have a space that already has dirt you may take it to a local nursery (not lowes or home depot but an actual nursery) to get it tested to see if it needs anything. I didn't do this myself and just went full into a huge garden my first year of owning our house and I was lucky. The ground hadn't been utilized for gardening much but the dirt was pretty healthy. If you want a cheaper way of finding out how healthy your dirt is, dig up a section and if you see a lot of earthworms, you have healthy dirt! Earth worms are good indicators of healthy soil! It's also a good idea to get yourself some earthworms for your garden if you end up without any or using planting mix. Think of them as your employees, they work for you in your garden and it's good to have them!

Seeds or seedlings?: We're at the time of the year when it's still early enough to start your garden by planting your own seeds. You'll want to start with some jiffy pots (they're a biodegradable pot that can be planted straight into the ground, no fuss and easy to operate!) what I do is fill up my little jiffy pots with soil, poke a few holes in with my pinky finger about knuckle deep, drop a seed into each hole, cover and then water daily. (make sure the dirt is moist but not overly wet otherwise you could get mold and have to thrown them out.) If you decide that seeds sound like a little more work than you'd like to deal with you can purchase already established seedlings (young plants) I've had great success with organic plants from Lowes, White Forrest Nursery and Robby's. They are little more instantly gratifying than seeds because you basically bring them home and plant them in their space in your garden! Make sure to check labels on what plants like direct sun and which ones prefer shade or cooler areas in your garden, where you plant what can make a big difference and most things in season for summer are full sun types. I wouldn't plant anything for summer until mid to end of march, even if you buy the established young plants, frost can be a killer and we are still in February!
 
My friend Sarah gave me the broccolini which are the taller more established plants you see in this pic. I have watermelon, peas, lettuces, zucchini, summer squashes and some tomatoes in the small jiffy pots. I'll be adding to that with some pepper varieties, more tomatoes, green beans, carrots, radishes, garlic, onions and others....I went a little seed crazy at Lowes a few weeks ago and because there's hardly a veggie that I don't love, I will be planting a ton of crops this year!

Companion Planting: What is companion planting? It's planting flowers near certain veggie plants to attract the pest that would normally inhabit those veggies and instead draw them to the flowers of the companion plant instead. Some companion plants make pests want to stay away all together because they let off an odor to the pests that they don't like. Marigolds are a popular companion flower that is planted in or around veggie gardens to ward away pests. Sure you can always just spray your garden with pesticides but I highly recommend for optimal health for your plants, your dirt and your family, not to go that route unless you use a natural remedy such as cinnamon water. There's a brand called "Dr. Earth" I believe that has a whole line of organic gardening products including a natural and organic pesticide, it's made up of several different things and it works wonderfully!
*Side note, if you go the companion plant route, make sure that the plants you plant as companions are friends with the veggies you plant them near. Some plants don't get along! You can find lists of companion planting on pinterest :-) or the internet!


So there you have it! I hope you all enjoy creating your gardens as much as I do! It can be such a relaxing part of your day to go out in the morning or evening and check on all your plants, water, pick weeds and feel blessed that God created our food in such a way to be enjoyed :-)

The verdict is still out but I might be part rabbit!?!





Every farm worth it's salt (urban or not) needs a farm cat! My little Mow followed me out the door this morning when I went to collect eggs, feed animals, and water plants. So I made him take a picture with me! lol