I LOVE my garden. It is a place I go to chill, to sip on big tumblers of red wine, and to chat with friends. It's full of all sorts of indigenous plants and bird-attracting perennials. It's hard to say what I like most about it, but this time of year I can safely say it's the section dedicated to my backyard vegetable garden! I almost rush to the beds on a daily basis to see what new sprouts have sprung, how big the cucumbers have become in less than 24 hours, and what lettuce I can pull for dinner. Oh, there is no greater satisfaction to growing your own food!!!
Backyard vegetable gardens are not only fun but provide a way to supplement your family’s food needs by season, depending on where you live. It also offers an opportunity to teach your kids--and neighbors--about the seed to table formula as opposed to grocery store to table.
Spring in most climates—including in Santa Barbara where I live—offers warm weather enough to have a successful spring-summer-fall vegetable garden.
Here’s how you can start you own vegetable garden:
Don’t over-analyze.
Make sure you make it simple. You, of course, can make it elaborate, but the point is to plant, feed, eat.
Pick a sunny spot
Build a raised foundation
Perfect solution for urban gardening. Raised foundations produce
higher yields, and protect your plants from pests. My foundations are
only slightly raised, but dug deep and include a layer of chicken wire
to protect against gophers. Check out www.naturalyards.com to fast track your garden by ordering a raised garden bed, or build your own. Use Sunset magazine's detailed instructions to make it easy on yourself.
Pump up your soil’s volume
Your soil should be full of nutrients. Mine isn’t so I use a soil builder such as Gardner and Bloom Soil Building Compost. It’s organic and includes chicken manure, bat guano and kelp meal. I mix it with my soil to break up the clay, improve the drainage, and add micro-nutrients to the soil. I also mix in a hearty dose of Dr. Earth Fertilizer. Plant
What to plant? It’s easy: plant what do you eat. This year I've started with: two olive tomato plants, spinach, romaine, water melons, and cucumbers. I also plant a few extra items-—beyond what I can eat—so I can share—and trade—with my neighbors and friends.
Feed
Once you get your starters or seeds in the ground feed regularly with water and fertilizer such as Dr. Earth.
Prune
If your are growing herbs, such as basil, make sure you prune to keep new growth coming, and to reduce the flowering. More on this later, and how to make killer pesto!
Harvest, enjoy, share!
Invite friends over to share their own veggies.... your own farmer's market, or package goods into a bag and give to your friends.
