I do not need to tell you that the urban gardening trend has taken off in the past few years. There are community gardens on small plots all over the country. People are more interested than ever in growing their own food, and knowing what they are putting into their bodies. I'm just going to tell you my gardening journey, why I think it's beneficial to my family, and give you some ideas, or a starting point for next year. Just a disclaimer: I do not know a thing about growing plants that you can't eat. I'm terrible with "pretty flowers", but for some reason, if it's useful, I'm good. That being said, I'm also no expert at any of this. Just learning as I go.
I was talking to my therapist in April of 2013, almost a year after I had my son & a year before I graduated college. She asked what I do for fun. I said cleaning, cooking, keeping a human alive, homework, and running errands. Apparently, that didn't count as fun and she suggested I get a hobby.
I was dirt poor at the time, but the Farmer's Market in my city had this great program where people could use SNAP (food stamps) to purchase fresh veggies and fruit. My excitement grew even bigger when I was looking at the veggie sprouts longingly, knowing I couldn't afford them, and the vendor says, "You know, if you can eat it, you can use food stamps for it." These peppers?! Those tomatoes?! "Yup. If the plant is already started, so you can't get seeds, it's yours to eat and grow." WHAT?! I found my hobby. I wasn't even going to let living on a third floor apartment with a tiny, covered, balcony stop me. There was a lot oftrial and error, there still is, but I'm slowly figuring it out. 
My first attempts at urban gardeningI also tried the mason jars with herbs and it worked terribly. There is no drainage with the mason jars, so that could have been expected. One thing that I found that worked great for container gardening, were old baby formula cans. The tall, cylinder shaped ones work great, especially for onions and garlic
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| I didn't paint mine and just put them on a table, but this is the same idea |
If you have the space, companion planting is a great idea. Some plants help other plants grow! How cool! More information about that below as well.
While I LOVE that it's a good hobby for my son and I, my FAVORITE thing is that I can grow and provide enough veggies for my family throughout the Summer. We try to eat healthy year round and spend about $50-100 a week on fresh fruit and vegetables. With our garden, that amount is slashed in half during the summer. If we are having dinner, and forgot to stop at the store, we can just go outside and grab a zuchinni. In my large plot, I grow tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, and have native sunflowers in the back. In my cement blocks, I have herbs & peppers. I'm growing mint, lemon balm, chives, coriander, oregano, banana peppers, habanero peppers, green bell peppers, and purple bell peppers. I accidently bought the purple ones, but they are so colorful and cool! I love them!
My favorite thing, at the end of the Summer, is to gather all the veggies/herbs that need to be used quickly or aren't so perfect. I put all the veggies on a broiler pan, broil them for a little bit, then throw everything together in a food processor & make FANTASTIC salsa. I even use extra cucumbers and zucchini. They add to the nutrients in the salsa, and nobody even knows they're in there.
Plants in small spaces
Veggie growing cheat sheet
Gardening for toddlers
*SIDENOTE: Being able to use SNAP at fresh markets is taking off. If this sounds interesting, look up markets near you. I'm sure you'll find one.
Since our days in that tiny apartment, we have moved back in with my parents and have much more space. This is much more than space for me to practice my hobby. This is a family project and even my four year old loves it.
As the years have passed, I have also become very interested in native plant gardening. I have incorporated this into all my mom's exisisting landscaping. I have also built a butterfly garden using native plants.
These are all my gardens, prior to planting being finished this year. They look much better now, I assure you. The top right, with the pallet, is my butterfly garden filled with native mint, fennel, and lavender. Caterpillars seemed to love my fennel last year, so I'm hoping it will work that way again.
The top left in the above picture is my son's "garden" when it started to bloom. He grew spinach in a pot and was SO excited to have his own garden. He explains to anyone who comes to visit, how plants grow, what they need to grow, and all that good information. He goes out and checks it every day to see if they've grown, he helps me harvest, it's really awesome to see him so into it. He also painted a bird house because he didn't think it was fair that I was making the butterfly's a garden and not a bird garden. There are also a ton of kid gardening ideas on Pinterest. It is also an awesome lesson in patience for him, which to be honest, we both could use.
While I LOVE that it's a good hobby for my son and I, my FAVORITE thing is that I can grow and provide enough veggies for my family throughout the Summer. We try to eat healthy year round and spend about $50-100 a week on fresh fruit and vegetables. With our garden, that amount is slashed in half during the summer. If we are having dinner, and forgot to stop at the store, we can just go outside and grab a zuchinni. In my large plot, I grow tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, and have native sunflowers in the back. In my cement blocks, I have herbs & peppers. I'm growing mint, lemon balm, chives, coriander, oregano, banana peppers, habanero peppers, green bell peppers, and purple bell peppers. I accidently bought the purple ones, but they are so colorful and cool! I love them!
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| Typical daily harvest |
So this is how much I've harvested of most of my plants. My veggie plot is not that big, it's 10x10 feet, but so far I've gotten 7 lbs of zucchini, more than 4 lbs of tomatoes, and all sorts of herbs. It's still early, I predict my zucchini and tomatoes will be producing even more. Any garden is capable of producing food. It is just a matter of finding what works for whatever you are able to do, what your family likes to eat, and what works in your climate. Don't let these restraints hold you back though. Everyone told me that gardening in Missouri was different from gardening in Illinois. These people told me that I would not be good at growing peppers in Illinois, that the environment was not good for them. These people were wrong. Yes, my peppers may not be huge, but they are plentiful and very tasty. Everyone also told me that broccoli would grow great in Illinois. Well, I haven't had any luck with it. I encourage you to try it though!
So, you have an abundance of veggies and herbs at the end of the year. What do you do with all the extras?!
My favorite thing, at the end of the Summer, is to gather all the veggies/herbs that need to be used quickly or aren't so perfect. I put all the veggies on a broiler pan, broil them for a little bit, then throw everything together in a food processor & make FANTASTIC salsa. I even use extra cucumbers and zucchini. They add to the nutrients in the salsa, and nobody even knows they're in there.
I also use the roses, lemon balm, and mint to make lotions and lip balms. I dry them out and then let the leaves sit in essential oils for a few weeks to make mint & lemon balm infused essential oils. You can find some great recipes at one of my favorite websites: The Nerdy Farm Wife
Below are some pretty infographics to help you get started & all the sources I used in this post. Happy gardening! Get growing!
xo Jen
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| Year round gardening! |
Plants in small spaces
Veggie growing cheat sheet
Gardening for toddlers
*SIDENOTE: Being able to use SNAP at fresh markets is taking off. If this sounds interesting, look up markets near you. I'm sure you'll find one.
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| What a great idea! |
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