With all this stuff about China sending us poison via food and toys, I have decided that I need to start a veggie garden and can my own stuff for my family to eat...
I have never done my own veggie garden and would like to have a small one for me to can as the stuff ripens...
I plan on planting stuff like tomatoes, bell peppers, beans, cukes, carrots and maybe that would be about it...
To do the garden , I plan on building a box outside in my yard to hold the soil and plants... Yes, I realize this will take a lot of dirt, but I do not have a way of preparing the soil except for a shovel.. and right now the area is part of our lawn... and this would be a very small area as we are on a parcel that is less than an acre...
what i would like is some advice from all you peeps on gather on suggestions to getting this started... I will only be planting a few of each of the plants listed above.. just enough for the year... hopefully...
thanks for all your suggestions in advance...
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Comments: 29
For next year, though, I'd recommend getting starter plants around planting time OR starting seeds yourself in little containers around late February or early March. That gives you a good headstart before the planting season begins, so they are further along and produce producing before the end of summer.
As for the veggies, go with what your family will eat the most of- tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, etc. Anything you know your family will eat. Potatoes, onions, and corn all grow rather easily in Michigan.
With the area, I'd recommend rotatilling up the area you want to use, and mixing potting soil into the dirt already there. You can rent a tiller fairly cheaply at Mount Pleasant Rental, just down the road from where you live. It'll loosen the dirt up fast, and after it's mixed up, pluck out any clumps of grass, roots, or rocks, then spread out potting soil on top of it, and till it again to mix it in. Depending on the size of garden you plan to make, it should take an afternoon is all.
Once that's done, make sure the soil is moist, but not really wet, just damp to the touch, and plant the starters in lines, leaving space between each plant. Check with the seed packets for recommended planting space.
Watermelons are also good, but really do need to be started very early, or you won't get large melons. Plant those seedlings about 3-4 days apart each, so you have them at different germination periods, and you'll stagger out your supply of melons when they are ripe. They come up around mid August.
Pumpkins are a fun addition, even if you only use them for Halloween. If you plant enough, you can sell them roadside.
You can also do the same with the produce. Or, if you have enough of a yeild in a single week, consider going to the farmers market.
One thing I'll caution is to NOT start out too big. A garden is a LOT of work, and if you aren't used to doing it, you can get run down pretty fast. They need to be watered and weeded daily, you need to keep animals out of them, you need to check for produce daily when the type comes into season, etc. Just start small with a few plants of each type. It won't be a large yield of veggies the first year, but continue adding a few extra plants each year until you are comfortable with what you have.
Another thing- planting sunflowers is fairly cheap, VERY easy (they have to have full sun, though), and if you like sunflower seeds, they produce a LOT of them. Plus, the birds are more likely to pick at the sunflower seeds than the veggies.
This is a wonderful thing to do, not so much because of China, but because the best food is fresh food that does not have to travel. In terms of supporting the environment and reducing use of fossil fuel, it is also obviously better than getting veggies from Chile or Mexico.
If you have a corner for parsley and basil those are wonderful herbs to accent food. It's expensive to buy those kinds of fresh herbs in a store, and they do not take much space in a garden.
Mel Bartholomew, the square foot gardener, has written a recent book that tells all about raised beds framed in wood. I have one, and it works pretty well, thought I do have to water alot. You probably get more rain there and have cooler summers than Virginia, so it should work better.
My mom used to can EVERYTHING: potatoes, cabbage, green beans, cabbage, etc. Maybe do fresh herbs inside.
Great idea Shannon on having it delivered... i never thought of that... and it really does not cost a ton to have a ton or two deliverd...
Grow cukes on a trellis.
Hope you are varmint free or you will need a fence .
I use raised beds , they work excellent.
My garden is about 30 by 30 and we get veggies enough for the whole neighborhood with NO pesticides.
I am not doing fruit trees.. just sticking to a few things that I know the kids will eat...
I think if you are planning on building a raised bed of some sort it would be best to purchase a load of screened topsoil.You can find it locally by looking in the yellow pages.I got mine for $12 per yard ,delivered in Gladwin.It is rather pricy but it will serve you well for a number of years and you won't have to worry about rocks or clumps of grass or any other junk.Fill the planter boxes and set out the plants
Farmers Markets or roadside stands are a great place to shop right now! And you can ask if they use pesticides, etc. Most are pretty honest.
I never start plants inside - they get all leggy on me - I always go to the nursery for the all ready started ones.
Or Gurney.com always has great sales, both spring and fall. I drool over their catalog every year and plan from it, but buy my stuff locally.
You can give the kids a little bitty corner that is just there's too - they love it! And love helping Mom in the garden!!! And oh boy if one of their tomatoes or cukes comes out bigger than moms!!!!
Blessings
Blessings