7 tips for starting your own vegetable garden
Posted
Feb 02 2009, 08:52 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly.
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.
It might seem crazy to start thinking about a vegetable garden now -- it's cold outside -- but believe it or not, now is the perfect time to begin preparing for a successful autumn harvest. First, 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.
Our garden
My wife and I own about two-thirds of an acre in Portland, Ore. 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. We tracked our garden expenses (in money and time) and also noted our "profit" from the harvest.
At the end of the year, I shared detailed results for the project. Here's a summary:
- We spent $318.43 and 60 hours working in our garden during 2008.
- We harvested $606.97 worth of produce, including $225.74 in berries, $294.59 in vegetables, and $66.63 in fruit.
For every dollar we spent on the garden, we harvested $1.91 worth of food. It's important to note that we were not trying to maximize production in 2008. We simply gardened as we always have, and logged the results. We hope to improve on that significantly in 2009.
My wife recently wrote about the winners and losers from last year's garden. Today I'm going to share seven lessons we've learned after many years of gardening.
Plan in advance. 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 determine your priorities.
For those with small spaces (or small ambitions), a container garden is an excellent choice. Containers can also supplement a traditional garden, providing a handy pot of herbs just outside the kitchen door or 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:
Others might consider building a raised bed to use for square-foot gardening. My wife and I did this at our first house and had great success. Square-foot gardening allows you to maximize food production in a minimum of space.
Start small. When planning your garden, it's better to start too small than to start too large. Please read that sentence again. In order to enjoy your garden, you must be able to control it. Don't get too ambitious.
In 1993, our first year of gardening, my wife planted 25 tomatoes and I planted about 100 chili peppers. This was insane. By mid-summer we were overwhelmed. We gave up. It's better to start small and to expand a little every year.
Choose productive plants. Some plants are more productive than others.
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 -- and lots of it.) We spent about $9 on corn last year -- and harvested about $9 worth of the stuff. Not worth the effort. If you live in Nebraska, your story will be different.
On the other hand, berries love our yard, and they require little money or time. We spent maybe $5 on berry-related supplies in 2008. In return we harvested $225 worth of fruit. That, my friends, is a bargain.
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 University Extension Service gardening site, for example.
We've decided to forgo 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.
Share with others. When you buy a packet of seeds, you generally receive more than you need. We've found that it's fun (and frugal) to split the costs with others. My wife and her gardening buddies get together every January to negotiate who will share seeds with whom.
We also share equipment with the neighbors. Mike and Paul might borrow our rototiller, for example. We might borrow John's trailer. Kurt has a backhoe (which we've used, actually). Careful borrowing and lending helps keep everybody's costs down.
Buy quality tools. When you buy tools, it pays to purchase quality. Remember: Thrift and frugality are about obtaining value for your dollar -- not just paying the cheapest price.
I used to skimp on garden tools, but I always regretted it. Lately I've been buying more expensive, higher quality tools. I'd rather own fewer tools that are a pleasure to use (and last many seasons) than lots of crappy tools that didn't cost me much. (On the other hand, it doesn't hurt to keep your eyes open at garage sales. Sometimes you can get great deals on quality stuff.)
Read up on the subject. Though my wife and I have been gardening for a while, we're always trying to learn more. Your public library will have many books on the subject, some tailored to your location. There are also many excellent Web sites that can help you get started. Here are some useful resources:
Books:
Web sites:
Have fun. Most importantly, have fun. Don't make gardening into more work than necessary. Your garden doesn't need to be perfect. It's great if you can achieve a substantial return on your investment, but it's also OK if you lose a little money. (You don't want to lose a lot of money, though -- then you're caught in the predicament of the American farmer.)
Pick a favorite fruit or vegetable, plant a few seeds, and have fun watching them grow to maturity. Most of all, enjoy the final product. There are few things better than produce fresh from the garden.
Related reading at Get Rich Slowly:
An introduction to square-foot gardening
Gardening 101: Plan today for summer success
The year-long garden project: How much does a garden really save?
