Preparing For Spring Gardening
It is winter in my corner of the universe. The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I aren’t tending to any plants outside. That’s for certain. (grins)
But we ARE preparing for the Spring.
Some of the little things we’re doing are
- We’re collecting empty toilet paper rolls to serve as pea growing containers. They are tall enough not to inhibit the roots. And they break down easily once they’re placed in the ground.
- We’re collecting eggshells, washing and crushing them. We put a handful of crushed eggshells in every hole before we transplant tomatoes and eggplants.
- We’re also collecting banana peels, chopping and freezing them. These are put in the holes also.
- We continue to put food scraps in the compost bin. Not much breaking down will happen when everything is frozen. But once the melt starts, we’ll be a great place.
- We’re getting ready to start plants likely in March. The seed start containers are laid out and we have figured out the order of sowing.
We’re doing a few other things (like cleaning and repairing tools, etc).
Gardeners always have things to do.
(smiles)
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A Challenging Year Of Gardening
This year was a challenging one for gardening in my corner of the universe.
There was drought. And extreme winds. And a lot of insect and squirrel pressure.
The harvest was…okay. Because we grew a variety of vegetables. Some did poorly (like the tomatoes). But some did very well (like the zucchini i.e. courgettes and the raspberries).
It wasn’t anything to get super excited about.
But gardening still ‘paid’ back, not only in savings on vegetables (which are super expensive in the grocery stores) but also in serenity.
Wandering around the garden, listening to the birds and the bees, touching the soil and the plants calms me.
A recent research study claims that listening to bird song decreases the possibility of emotional depression. There are many studies around the benefits of connecting with the soil, how it grounds us (pun intended – grins).
My garden is a sanctuary in a trying world.
And that is priceless.
(smiles)
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Gardening On A Budget
I recently read an article stating that it was too expensive for individuals to grow some of their own food.
And I agree, the way the writer did it, it WOULD be too expensive. She had the fanciest gadgets and the priciest seeds.
But many of us grow food with little or no financial investment.
To grow food, all we truly need is
a seed
some soil
a container for the soil
water
sunlight
and
time.
Seeds can be gathered from grocery-purchased vegetables or fruit.
OR, even better, we can likely get more seeds than we ever need simply by asking a few people we know.
Because many gardeners happily save seeds and they usually have more seeds than they can use in multiple lifetimes. I know I’m in that situation. (sheepish grin) We’d be happy to give you some seeds.
Soil can be found…well…almost anywhere.
Stars, many folks put out potted plant containers filled with half-decent soil for garbage collection in the Fall/Autumn. Some cities give away compost.
Compost can be easily made using ripped up cardboard, coffee grounds and some water. (I’ve actually grown green beans directly in coffee grounds obtained from a nearby coffee shop though I don’t recommend this).
If there’s a building project in your neighborhood, those builders are likely planning to haul away a lot of dirt. Bring them your little container and ask them to fill it.
Containers are an easy resource to locate also.
A margarine or yogurt container with holes punched in the bottom is often perfect for a plant. I grow my tomato starts in red solo cups with holes punched in the bottom. I grow herbs in KFC buckets with holes punched in the bottom.
Put a tray under the container to catch the water. I use rotisserie chicken trays for this.
Water is also easy to source because you can reuse water you’ve used for something else as long as you didn’t put salt or chemicals in it.
If the shower takes a few minutes to heat up, put a bucket in the tub/stall and collect that water for your plants. If you’re boiling pasta, forgo the salt and then use the cooled drained water. If it rains, collect that water.
Sunlight can be free.
Herbs, for example, are often grown on windowsills. My houseplants are all placed next to windows. They’re tropical plants and they do well during the short sunlight days over winter.
If you’re growing in a place without windows, a white bulb with at least 2,000 lumens will simulate sunlight. That can be put in any appropriate fixture. My basement grow station (where I start my seeds) uses white LED shop lights.
Time is the final factor. Growing green beans might take 50 days total time but caring for 5 of those plants will take you about 10 minutes of not-so-speedy effort a week. Maximum.
Money isn’t a restriction if you truly want to grow some of your own food!
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