If gardening is in your DNA and you’re looking for ways to improve your eating habits, increase outdoor activity or perhaps you want to make better use of your lawn than a free space for your doggo to do their business, you’d be well advised to start an edible garden this year. Creating an edible garden space this year can be a goal or it can be a plan; you can’t have one without the other and we are here to help with both. Don’t overwhelm yourself with all the details at once; ask yourself some basic questions:
What kind of veggies and fruits do I want to eat?
The answer to this question should be the starting point of any garden design. Not everything you want to eat will grow well in our zone but it’s always best to start with a list and narrow it down from there if needed.
What kind of space do I have available to grow food?
It could be the whole backyard or maybe just a part of a step on your back porch or maybe it’s somewhere in between… The point is, you don’t need a lot of space to grow nutritious, delicious food, you just need partial to full sun exposure and access to water. Edible garden sizes range from multiple 8’ x 4’ raised beds to a single 12” container and by the way, edible containers are a great option for those that live in apartments or senior living communities that have balconies or small outdoor patios!
How much time do I have to spend tending to my crops?
Fruits and veggies can be, well, as fruitful as you make them. Edible plants take time to water and require some additional attention throughout the growing season, not to mention at harvest time. Consider who will be watering/weeding the garden or containers and when they will be doing so. Irrigation systems can be an immense help if you are short on time, as when set on a timer they can literally save your garden during drought seasons. Hot tip: In many cities, irrigation systems do not count towards your water usage if your city enforces even/odd days for lawn watering.
What will I do with the food I grow?
This is the fun part; harvest time! Once you have picked all the abundance that your garden or container has afforded you, you get to savor it. Will you preserve things through canning, dehydrating, or freezing or will you try to eat as much as possible while it’s fresh? Will you gift your family, friends and neighbors with zucchini and tomatoes that you underestimated…again? There is no wrong answer, however you’ll want to grow what you (or those close to you) can eat without the worry of having to throw away produce that cannot be consumed before going bad or being preserved. Waste not, want not.
How do I get started?
This can be the most intimidating part of the process. Don’t let indecision stop you from growing your own vegetables and fruits! All you need is the desire to garden; we can provide the rest. Home Sown Gardens can help you with answers to all-the-above questions and more, by offering everything from consultation and coaching to full-blown design and installation of raised beds, in-ground plot gardens, strawbale gardens, and edible containers. If you already have a garden but have gotten lackluster results in the past, it’s possible that it’s not you, it may be your soil. We also provide professional soil testing, analysis, and organic amending to give you the best chance at success in your edible garden. Call or email us to talk to a knowledgeable garden professional that can help you achieve the best results possible for 2023 and beyond!
Grow Well, Eat Well, Be Well,
Jeremy “Farmer Hill” Thornhill
