PRODUCE SHORTAGES? GROW YOUR OWN! LET’S GET STARTED!
I went to my small-town store and there were no bananas. No potatoes, no spinach. I bought a head of iceberg lettuce and found it rotten inside. This morning the news predicted food shortages because of the pandemic, especially in produce. I can’t grow bananas but I can grow spinach. And a lot of other things. So I’m going to plant a garden.
If you’ve never put in a garden or you don’t really have room for one, just apply some creativity. And what better time to get the kids or grandkids involved since they won’t be back to school until fall. If you’re my age, let the kids do most of it and save your back.
Get Some Pots
You don’t need that plowed rectangle out at the end of the yard. That’s old school and boring. And it can be hard to do if you have a bad back or aching joints. If this is your first time to garden you may not want something too permanent. You might want to do it differently next time. Then at least you won’t have spent too much time and effort on it. Flower pots with a water-catching tray attached to the bottom will help keep your patio or deck clean from water and dirt stains. And they make for a mobile garden in case you need to move them around..
Get Some Dirt
Gardeners call it soil. You’ll need some. Go buy a few bags of potting soil or garden soil. Don’t go dig a hole in your yard and stick that dirt in a pot. That soil has been there for a while and may be too acidic or alkaline for your new little plants. It might be sticky clay which is no fun to mess with. The soil out of a bag almost guarantees your plants will thrive, especially if you don’t buy the cheapest one.
Get Some Plants
For your first gardening attempts, go get some plants at our local nursery or big box store. You can grow individual plants like peppers in a flower pot. Herbs like parsley and basil also do well there. A tomato needs a BIG pot. One plant per pot. And the bigger the pot, the more soil you will need.
Get Busy
Put the soil in the pots. Potting mix is usually dry in the bag. Pour or scoop some into the pot and add a little water. Mix it up with a small trowel, or shovel, or use a stick. Then add more soil and more water until the pot is about 2/3 full. This seems a little tedious, I get it, but if you don’t do it this way and just put the plant into the dry mix and water, the water will float on the soil mix and overflow the pot, taking soil with it. That’s a mess. Next, with your hand or the shovel, make a hole in the soil big enough for the plant’s root ball. Take your plant out of its little container and put it in the hole you hollowed out. Pat the soil down around the root ball. Add more soil until within an inch of the top of the pot. At this stage it helps to just stir up some soil and water in another pot and scoop it into the pot you are planting. All that’s left is to give it a nice little soak. Here’s a tip for more success with those plants. When you take them out of their containers the roots may be all jammed together from being in there so long with no space to grow. You can pull on the bottom of the root ball and break off some of those roots. I take a knife and gently make a vertical cut about 1/4 inch deep down each of the four sides. This gives the roots a chance to stretch out and grow, and they can better absorb water too.
Get Watering
If your pots are on your balcony or deck you’ll need a watering can. Water your plants every day that it doesn’t rain. Check them daily by sticking your finger an inch or two into the soil. Wet? Don’t add water. Moist? Give a little drink. Dry? A bigger drink. Too much water is as bad as none and both will kill a plant. The hotter it is the more you will need to water. In our hot Missouri weather my deck pots need watering twice a day. After a few times you’ll get a feel for what they need and will no longer have to get your fingernail crammed with soil.
Get Cheap and Get Lazy
Suppose you don’t want to mess with pots of dirt. Or that rectangle in the yard. You just want to be able to pick your own tomatoes and hot peppers for homemade salsa. Without a lot of bother. Just mix the tomatoes and peppers in with your shrubs! They’ll be quite a novelty in a formal landscaping job with evenly spaced shrubs. But if you have a more natural setting of shrubs and perennials, a tomato plant or two will hardly be noticed, especially if you let them grow naturally instead of using tomato cages. Scatter some peppers in there too. This is a fun way to garden as it’s like a treasure hunt to check them out and pick the veggies as they grow. The children will love this style of gardening.
If that was the cheap, then this must be the lazy: plant right in the bag of soil. Yep, lay the bag down flat on the ground and slice it open. Use a utility knife and cut a capital letter I in the top of the bag and open the flaps out. Think of those little cereal boxes. If you’re my age you know what I’m talking about. Cut the tips of the bag corners off for drainage. Water the soil and mix it up, then put plants in or sprinkle seeds. Radishes, parsley and spinach work well here. So do flowers. This works best on the ground and not on a hot deck or patio. Those hot surfaces will cook the plants. This style of planting works great mixed in with the landscaping. You could also leave the bag upright for a larger plant like a tomato. But don’t forget those drainage holes. Put it where it will get more gentle morning sun and by noon some filtered shade from a nearby tree, for example.
Gardening should be fun and there is no one way to do it. Be creative. I planted a cherry tomato plant in the stump of a hollow tree and it produced as many tomatoes as those planted out in the rectangle plot. Be brave and give different things a try. This summer you will happily pluck tasty vine-ripened tomatoes and peppers for your own salsa. I bet you’ll be thinking of how to grow more the next summer! Just remember to take care of your back so you can stay in the gardening game!
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