So, you’re thinking of starting a garden?

During the gray days of winter, I get excited for when things turn green and there is evidence of new life. Getting out seed catalogs and dreaming of what I could grow in the garden.  If you are new to gardening, I want to share my process of how I plan my garden and maybe it will help you get going. It has been good for my soul, and spending time in the garden isn’t always work to me. Typically, I see it as a creative outlet and a way to tangibly see God’s provision and blessing.  Not everything in the garden turns out, but it’s a way to constantly be learning and seeing what can be tweaked or changed for next year. How success is measured will determine whether you feel like a successful gardener or not.  Do we measure by what’s produced? How many pests we contended with and still received a harvest? How much our children know about where their food comes from? Making healthier food choices or spending less? Sometimes measure success in what I’ve learned, because each year I learn more than the year before.  I want to use this blog to share what I’m learning and hope that it will inspire and encourage you to learn too!  Please share with me too, I love knowing what projects people are working on.

Step 1: Why do you want to garden?

Knowing your why will fuel your goal for the garden. Supplementing groceries is motivating to me these days. Gardening isn’t free, but it does have a high return on investment. A pack of lettuce seed contains hundreds of potential plants.  For around $3 you could supply your families salad needs for the spring! $3 is an on sale pack of lettuce from the grocery store! Then, you could potentially save seed and not have to purchase your lettuce seed in the future. As you learn in the gardening journey, you will find ways to save money. Like most things, there is an upfront cost to learn something new. 

Step 2: How do you know what to grow?

For me it’s a combination of what I know my family will consume, what I want to preserve, and what looks fun to grow. My family eats a lot of tomato products… tomato sauce for pizza and pasta, juice for soups, and salsa. I’m the only one in my house that likes to eat a slice of tomato, so I don’t need many for fresh eating.  I find a good sauce tomato – like a paste tomato. I’ve used Roma, San Marzano, and Amish Paste. At this point in time, I haven’t noticed a big difference between varieties for sauce.  A good sauce tomato has more flesh than juice. Then I use a beefsteak variety for juice, they are usually good tomatoes for sandwiches too!

Cucumbers are a fresh family favorite! My boys love fresh cucumbers; it’s one of the only vegetables I can get them to eat willingly. We also have the family pickle recipe that my family loves and make great gifts to extended family for holidays.  When I’m choosing cucumbers, I look for a good pickling cucumber and at this point I go off of the description on the packet or seed catalog.

Back to garden planning. After I figure out what my family would appreciate most, then I search seed catalogs for varieties and see what crop will fit my needs best.

Knowing where you are going to put the garden and what environment your plants need, is another important step in your decision making. How much sun and shade? Is it a cool or warm weather crop? Is it an annual or perennial plant?  In my next blog, we’ll go through these questions and figure out what’s next.  Start with thinking about what you will use, even dream a little!

Step 3: Make some decisions

Since it is February already, you will need to make some decisions quickly depending on what seeds you’re planning to start. I have a chart here to show you how I make a plan for seed starting. You will need to know your growing zone, do a quick Google search to see when your last frost happens. Then you will be able to use my chart to figure out when things need to be started. My Seed Starting chart will show the earliest possible times to start things, most things can be started at later dates. If you are brand new, start with one or two things and learn all you can about those things. It will make a new project so much easier and less overwhelming!