Building a Local Garden

Building A Local Garden- by McKenna

To create access to local, organic food you need nutritional and physical health. You will also need to know what and when to plant your garden. If you're a beginner at gardening you should start with plants that grow in any condition.

First, nutritional and physical health you need a nutritious food supply to start your garden. “Cool seasonal vegetables are those that can thrive during the shorter days and cooler temperatures of spring and fall, in fact, some vegetables such as Kohlrabi and Kole actually develop better flavor when nipped by frost. Lettuce, collards, snow peas, cabbage and broccoli are a few examples of cool season vegetables. Summer favourites like orka, squash and tomato require long, hot days to grow.

Before you start sowing seeds and planting it’s important to know what the last frost date is in your area. This will determine when your spring growing season begins.  There are several online sites where you can find this information using your zip code or by checking frost dates of near-by cities. These are average dates that may differ slightly year to year but they give you a basic window of time in which you can create a planting schedule.  Another good source of local, reliable advice is your area's County Cooperative Extension Service or check with knowledgeable members of local gardening clubs.” (Smith)

“If you’re a beginner, consider starting with the 10 crops discussed below. All are easy to grow, and this combination offers lots of possibilities for cooking. Some of these crops are best grown by setting out started seedlings, but most are easy to grow from a packet of seeds.

a.            Radishes. Radishes do well even in not-so-great garden soil and are ready to harvest in only a few weeks. Plant the seeds in spring and fall.

b.            Salad greens (lettuce, spinach, arugula and corn salad). Pick your favorite, or try a mix — many companies sell mixed packets for summer and winter gardening. Plant the seeds in spring and fall, and you can pick salads almost year-round.

c.            Green beans. Easy to grow and prolific. If you get a big crop, they freeze well, and they’re also delicious when pickled as dilly beans. Start with seeds after all danger of frost has passed.

d.            Onions. Start with small plants, and if they do well, you can harvest bulb onions. If not, you can always eat the greens.

e.            Strawberries. Perfectly ripe strawberries are unbelievably sweet, and the plants are surprisingly hardy. Buy bare-root plants in early spring. Put this perennial in a sunny spot and keep it well weeded.

f.             Peppers. Both hot peppers and bell peppers are easy to grow. Start with plants and let peppers from the same plant ripen for different lengths of time to get a range of colors and flavors.

g.            Bush zucchini. This squash won't take up as much room in your garden as many other types, and it’s very prolific. Start from seeds or transplants. You won't need more than a few plants for a bumper crop.”

h.            “Tomatoes. There’s just no substitute for a perfectly ripe homegrown tomato, and it’s hard to go wrong when you start with strong plants. If you get a big crop, consider canning or freezing.

i.              Basil. Many herbs are easy to grow, but basil is a good choice because it’s a nice complement to tomatoes. Basil is easy to grow from seeds or from transplants.

j.              Potatoes. An easy-to-grow staple that stores well when kept cool. A simple and low-maintenance approach is to plant potatoes in straw rather than soil. ‘Seeds’ are whole or cut sections of potatoes, sold in early spring” (Phelps)

In conclusion, planting a local garden can be hard but with patience and a little help, you can get a full grown garden in no time. with the right plants and the right place your garden will grow to your satisfaction. Just give it some time and it will be blooming in great amounts.

Resources

Smith, Allen P. “What to Plant in Your Spring Vegetable Garden.” http://www.pallensmith.com/articles/spring-vegetable-garden. Garden Home. Web. 31 Jan. 2014

Phelps, Megan. “10 Best Crops For Beginners” http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/10-best-garden-crops-for-beginners.aspx. Mother Earth News. Dec/Jan 2006. Web. 31 Jan. 2014