Gardening Tales
5 Tips for Growing A Garden #1
February 22, 2016
Before we moved to our little haven in the country we had a greenhouse and I wrote a bit about what I was growing in my greenhouse, various projects and tips on gardening.
So, while I wait for my hubby to build a potting shed/greenhouse I thought I would share a bit about our "food," garden and the tales that will most certainly develop from working in the good earth.
When we purchased this 2 acre property to build our French Country Texas home on, we were immediately smitten with the privacy, and possibilities of semi-country living and of course growing our own food garden.
As my hubby and I venture into a lifestyle of living plain and simple it is important to the two of us to grow our own vegetables and to be able to freeze or can them as well.
Did you know that in North America there are 21 million plus individuals that are growing their own gardens?
So while all of this is fresh in my mind, I want to share 5 Tips For Growing A Garden, with you.
Fell free to chime in, on any tales of your own.
5 Tips For Growing A Garden
1. Soil.
It really and truly is all about the soil. ( Sharing a before and after photo of enriching the soil)
The best soil to grow a garden in has been enriched with compost, and organic matter.
2. Location, Location.
Make certain that your garden will receive plenty of sunshine-a minimum of 6 hours a day.
Place taller plants on the North or West side of your garden so not to block the sun from smaller plants.
3. Water.
Vegetables need one inch of water a week either from irrigation or rainfall.
Thoroughly soaking the garden is much better for the plants than shallow watering and
encourages deep root growth.
Most of us either under-water or over water-which are you?
An inexpensive rain gauge is a easy way to keep track of how much water your garden is actually getting. I have included a link for your convenience - Rain Gauge.
4. Fertilizer.
There are 3 main ingredients in fertilizer, a well balanced fertilizer will have ingredients with the same numbers.
Nitrogen- needed for formulation of chlorophyll (greening)
Phosphorous-needed for cell division and root development
Potassium-fruit set and vigor
Organic fertilizers are composed of blood meal, bone meal and wood ashes.
Vegetarian fertilizers are composed of alfalfa, cottonseed, rock phosphate and kelp.
5. How Much Time Will it Take
Gardening takes time, work, patience and effort.
Decide before you plant on how much time you want to devote to your garden.
Best to start out small and then work your way up to a larger area.
Gardening is a season driven activity, with Spring, Summer and Fall requiring the most work.
Happy Gardening Sweet friends!
xoxo
So, while I wait for my hubby to build a potting shed/greenhouse I thought I would share a bit about our "food," garden and the tales that will most certainly develop from working in the good earth.
When we purchased this 2 acre property to build our French Country Texas home on, we were immediately smitten with the privacy, and possibilities of semi-country living and of course growing our own food garden.
As my hubby and I venture into a lifestyle of living plain and simple it is important to the two of us to grow our own vegetables and to be able to freeze or can them as well.
Did you know that in North America there are 21 million plus individuals that are growing their own gardens?
So while all of this is fresh in my mind, I want to share 5 Tips For Growing A Garden, with you.
Fell free to chime in, on any tales of your own.
5 Tips For Growing A Garden
1. Soil.
It really and truly is all about the soil. ( Sharing a before and after photo of enriching the soil)
The best soil to grow a garden in has been enriched with compost, and organic matter.
2. Location, Location.
Make certain that your garden will receive plenty of sunshine-a minimum of 6 hours a day.
Place taller plants on the North or West side of your garden so not to block the sun from smaller plants.
3. Water.
Vegetables need one inch of water a week either from irrigation or rainfall.
Thoroughly soaking the garden is much better for the plants than shallow watering and
encourages deep root growth.
Most of us either under-water or over water-which are you?
An inexpensive rain gauge is a easy way to keep track of how much water your garden is actually getting. I have included a link for your convenience - Rain Gauge.
4. Fertilizer.
There are 3 main ingredients in fertilizer, a well balanced fertilizer will have ingredients with the same numbers.
Nitrogen- needed for formulation of chlorophyll (greening)
Phosphorous-needed for cell division and root development
Potassium-fruit set and vigor
Organic fertilizers are composed of blood meal, bone meal and wood ashes.
Vegetarian fertilizers are composed of alfalfa, cottonseed, rock phosphate and kelp.
5. How Much Time Will it Take
Gardening takes time, work, patience and effort.
Decide before you plant on how much time you want to devote to your garden.
Best to start out small and then work your way up to a larger area.
Gardening is a season driven activity, with Spring, Summer and Fall requiring the most work.
Happy Gardening Sweet friends!
xoxo
Hello Jemma, wonderful post and information. I think it is awesome you will be growing you own veggies and food. Organic grown food is so much healthier, it is scary not knowing what is in our store bought foods. Thanks for sharing the tips. Happy Monday, enjoy your new week!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jemma for joining and sharing these wonderful gardening tips at our Cooking and Crafting with J & J Link Up!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the week and we hope to see you again next week.
Julie xo
I commend you for wanting to grow and can your own food, Jemma. I wish I were better at gardening but, alas, I have a brown thumb! (And did I really just say "alas"? Haha!) maybe you will inspire me with your gardening posts this spring!
ReplyDeleteIt's looking beautiful Jemma, and I appreciate all of the info. Our raised bed was turned last week, so we are planting onions, radishes, a couple of peppers, and (bravely) a couple of tomatoes.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your planting.
Blessings,
J
I'm jealous. There I said it.
ReplyDeleteGood evening dear one! I was late this morning, unable to make it over here...believe me, I want to be in the garden NOW!
ReplyDeleteYour space is beautiful. You have tons of room to make this work! Do you know the blog, VELVET AND LINEN? Take a peek at Brooke's property and see what she and her husband have done. INSPIRING! Thank you for the tips; I have no room to plant veggies, but these are good reminders for keeping my flowers beautiful! Happy week, Anita
I bought a lemon tree and a tomato plant. They are both in pots and I'm going to grow them on our patio. Baby steps...
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a nice sized garden Jemma! You are going to be a busy gal with all your planting. Best of luck with it all :)
ReplyDeleteWendy
It looks like you have quite the plot ready to plant - wow, you are quite the farmer, my friend!! You'll have such a busy season ahead of you - and so much wonderful produce to harvest and preserve at the end of it!
ReplyDeleteHi Jemma, beautiful post for the home gardener. My hubby and I always had a garden in all our homes except this home now. Just not the setting or space to plant. However, when we did have a huge garden, I canned, froze and enjoyed the process. Now I gather produce at our local farmers market to put up.
ReplyDeleteLove your beautiful garden space. Such a wonderful piece of ground for a great garden. Thank you for the tips which can be applied to my flower garden too. I so look forward to working in the dirt again. Blessings for a great week. xo
Hi Jemma, beautiful post for the home gardener. My hubby and I always had a garden in all our homes except this home now. Just not the setting or space to plant. However, when we did have a huge garden, I canned, froze and enjoyed the process. Now I gather produce at our local farmers market to put up.
ReplyDeleteLove your beautiful garden space. Such a wonderful piece of ground for a great garden. Thank you for the tips which can be applied to my flower garden too. I so look forward to working in the dirt again. Blessings for a great week. xo
Jemma, your garden is going to be so nice when you get around to putting one in - with lots of flowers and home grown vegetables. There's nothing like home grown tomatoes is there? You have a vast area to grow many things, and I look forward to seeing what you have planted.
ReplyDeletelove, ~Sheri
How fun. We have almost no sun so no veggies for us.
ReplyDeleteYour garden is going to be amazing.
Oh Joyce-
ReplyDeleteI wish I could walk around your garden and we could talk about your plans.
I will rely on your posts!
How do you plan to water your vegetable garden?
Have you planted flowers?
Jemma,
ReplyDeleteWater and soil are the two hard things to deal with on my little acre. And... time & energy now that I am a tad bit older. :)
Judith
Jemma,
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, i do not have the space for a vegetable garden which is a BIG thing in this area and always has been but I so like me my flowers. I can not eat vegetables because of multiple GI issues but i may grow a tomato plant or 2 this year in a pot like i used to when my boy's were young!!
thanks so much for stopping by!!
Hugs,
Deb
Great post, Jemma! I don't have much space in my backyard, but I'm planning on starting a little garden on raise beds! Crossing my fingers for it to happen this year!
ReplyDeleteAll wonderful tips, Jemma. I'm not much in the garden -- better with potted things (due to your number one rule, soil. I have bad dirt!). And sometimes when I travel the watering gets short shrift too. But I do try and I love it when it works! Rick is the champ gardener, though, so I'll share this with him!
ReplyDeleteThese are definitely some great tips!
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Great tips Gemma & I love your happy place sign ;) Thank you for sharing @Vintage Charm!
ReplyDeleteWe featured this at our Monday Cooking and Crafting with J & J! Thanks. We hope to see you again.
ReplyDelete