{"id":2256,"date":"2009-01-11T05:00:09","date_gmt":"2009-01-11T13:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/getrichslowly.org\/blog\/?p=2256"},"modified":"2023-10-04T20:59:49","modified_gmt":"2023-10-05T02:59:49","slug":"7-tips-for-starting-your-own-vegetable-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getrichslowly.org\/7-tips-for-starting-your-own-vegetable-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"7 tips for starting your own vegetable garden"},"content":{"rendered":"
Early January. Though it’s the dead of winter, many of us are dreaming about our summer vegetable gardens. The seed catalogs have begun to appear in the mailbox. Kris and I received eight<\/em> of them today:<\/p>\n It might seem crazy to start thinking about a vegetable garden in January. It’s cold outside! But believe it or not, now is the perfect time to begin preparing for a successful autumn harvest. Over the next month, we’ll plan our seed order. By the end of February, our seeds will be started indoors. All of this leads to those exciting days at the end of April when we can move our plants to the vegetable garden!<\/p>\n Kris and I own about two-thirds of an acre in Portland, Oregon. Since moving into this house in June 2004, we’ve been gradually building a garden of fruit, berries, and vegetables. In 2008, we conducted a year-long experiment<\/a>. We tracked our garden expenses (in money and time<\/a>) and also noted our “profit” from the harvest.<\/p>\n Last month I posted detailed results<\/a> for the project. Here’s a summary:<\/p>\n For every dollar we spent on the garden, we harvested $1.91 worth of food. We hope to improve on that significantly in 2009. Last week Kris wrote about the winners and losers from our garden<\/a> last year. Today I’m sharing seven lessons we’ve learned after many years of gardening.<\/p>\n Plan your garden today to ensure summer success. Decide what you’d like to grow. How much space can you devote to the project? How much time are you willing to spend? Answering these questions will help you to determine your priorities.<\/p>\n For those with small spaces (or small ambitions), a container garden<\/a><\/strong> is an excellent choice. Containers can also supplement a traditional garden, providing a handy pot of herbs just outside the kitchen door, an experimental area for kids to grow their own produce, and allowing tender plants to be moved according to the season. This winter, we have a container-based indoor herb garden:<\/p>\n Others might consider building a raised bed to use for square-foot gardening<\/strong><\/a>. Kris and I did this at our first house and met with great success. Square-foot gardening allows you to maximize food production in a minimum of space.<\/p>\n When planning your garden, it’s better to start too small than to start too large<\/em>. Please read that sentence again. In order to enjoy your garden, you must be able to control it. Don’t get too ambitious.<\/p>\n In 1993, our first year of gardening, Kris planted too many tomatoes (25?) and I planted an insane number of chili peppers (100?). By mid-summer we were overwhelmed. We gave up. It’s better to start small and to expand a little every year.<\/p>\n Some plants are more productive than others.<\/p>\n For us, corn is a disinterested producer. It will grow, yes, and it tastes very good. But we just don’t have the space it needs to become prodigious. (I still have fond recollections of my grandfather’s forest of corn. His magic ingredient? Cow poop \u2014 and lots of it!) We spent about $9 on corn last year \u2014 and harvested about $9 worth of the stuff. Not worth the effort.<\/p>\n On the other hand, berries love our yard, and they require little money or time. We spent maybe<\/em> $5 on berry-related supplies in 2008. In return we harvested $225 worth of fruit. That, my friends, is a bargain.<\/p>\n If you want a rewarding, productive garden, do some research to find out what grows well in your area. In the U.S., one excellent resource is your state’s extension office. Here’s the Oregon State Extension Service gardening site<\/a>, for example.<\/p>\n We’ve decided to forego the corn in 2009, but are looking to expand our berries and fruit trees. Corn is cheap at the grocery store, and the berries are less expensive (and better tasting!) at home.<\/p>\n
\nImages of summer…<\/em><\/div>\n<\/span>Our Garden<\/span><\/h2>\n
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<\/span>Tip#1: Plan in Advance<\/span><\/h2>\n
\nHerbs grown from left-over seeds<\/em><\/div>\n<\/span>Tip#2: Start Small<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>Tip#3: Choose Productive Plants<\/span><\/h2>\n