Welcome to the initial article of “The Garden”. Last March when things got locked down, going to the grocery store was just about the only to get out of the house, and many didn’t even do that. Tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, once a staple in a dinner salad, were taken for granted. One just couldn’t pick up stuff in a jiffy. Shipping delays, store closures, Governor’s orders, and wanting to stay home and be safe created a need to think outside the box when it came to fresh produce. During WWII, fresh produce was also scarce, and many families had what was called a “Victory Garden”. This was a place where they could harvest fresh produce from their back yard. A similar thing occurred last summer, in what I will call a “Pandemic Garden”. Thinking outside the box, many people jumped into “gardening” for the first time. Many people bought seeds, plants, and all sorts of gardening tools. Many of these items became as scarce as toilet paper! Some fared better than others. Joy was greeted with frustration, and the thought of doing it better next began to creep into people’s minds. “The Garden” is intended as a helpful way to get the most out of your gardening experience.
In reviewing the data from a recent survey done by the editor of the Weekly Villager, the need for a gardening column had been requested by many of the readers. “The Garden” column is in response to those requests. The column will be dedicated to growing vegetables and herbs on a small scale for family use. From planning to harvest, each article will focus on a different aspect of gardening, depending on the time of year. Future articles are intended to get you thinking, do some planning, and provide some tips on growing vegetables for your family so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor.
So, let’s begin. I know what you’re thinking, “It’s February, its cold, its snowy, and the groundhog said six more weeks of winter!” However, with a little planning, you will reap the benefits of giving your garden some attention now, so once spring does arrive, you will be ready to go. The idea of a family garden is to produce enough fresh produce as cheaply as possible (not to be frustrated by the process), and enjoying the “fruits” of your labor. All too often people jump into gardening and end up with some really expensive tomatoes and cucumbers. Bugs eating everything! Not to mention being frustrated when the crop doesn’t produce like you thought it should, for all sorts of reasons. All this, because you didn’t plan ahead.
My guess is you are now being inundated with seed catalogs. Big ones, small, ones, colorful ones — all claiming to have the latest and greatest products. Burgess, Gurney’s, Breck’s, and Ball, just to name a few, are filling your mailbox on a daily basis. You could use them to start a fire to keep warm until spring comes or you could look at them to see what new varieties they have to offer. Kind of a recon mission so to speak. Read each catalog with a grain of salt. They all profess to have the best and most prolific varieties on the market. The LATEST and GREATEST! Then there are the pictures – huge mouth-watering fruits that you too can grow if you buy from our catalog. Buyer beware! Do your homework. Don’t go out and order tomato, broccoli, peppers seeds unless you know what you’re getting into. (Which will be an article sometime in March.) Buy these vegetables as plants. Don’t buy corn seed if your garden isn’t large enough to have ten or more rows of corn. Don’t buy any cucumber, watermelon, pumpkin, or gourds unless you have an idea on how to control the vines. Know the difference between bush bean and pole beans.
Know the difference between snap peas and regular peas. Know the differences in leaf lettuce, spinach, and other types of greens. The whole point is to plan for the spring. Remember when you bought a six pac of cherry tomatoes and by the end of the summer you had enough to feed a small army. Maybe one plant will suffice this year. Or maybe it was the five hills of zucchini you planted! Eegads…. plan, plan, plan. Get an idea of your garden space, how many people you will be feeding, and what they like to eat. Be smart in utilizing the space in the most efficient way possible so it will maximize your harvest. Start to think about the soil in your garden, does it need some compost, lime, or other type of fertilizer. Do you want to go organic? How much pesticide are you willing to use? All these things need to be thought of now, planned for now, so by the end of March, when you can begin planting your garden, you will be ready to go. So do your homework now and I guarantee that your gardening experience will be a positive one!
In the next article we will be talking about starting plants and cold crops. So, stay tuned and let’s get gardening!
