Gardening

Chives and Strawberries - so low maintenance!

Salutations, Dear Readers.  Since we are in planting season, I thought I would do a snippet on growing edibles.  My favorite way to get fresh herbs, vegetables, and fruits is to grow them myself.  If you think you don't have enough space, think again!  Container gardening is a great, low-maintenance way to grow your edible plants.  If you have the space, that's awesome too--use it!  There are tons of creative ways to grow pretty much anything with any amount of space.

Herbs grow just fine in pots that you can stick outside anywhere there is space, or even have them conveniently right in the kitchen.  Some herbs are a bit more touchy than others, but chives, oregano, and anything in the mint family are herbs that I have found are particularly easy to grow.  I have a pot of chives that keeps coming back year after year even if completely ignored.  Fresh herbs are fantastic to cook with, and it doesn't get any better than using freshly harvested, home grown herbs.

I have also grown quite a variety of vegetables in various types of pots and planters.  I used to rent an apartment in a fairly urban area, and so in order to grow anything I had to keep everything growing on my porch or along the side of the house on the cement walkway rather than in the ground.  During that time I successfully grew strawberries, several kinds of peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, along with tons of herbs, all in pots and window planters.  I have also seen some great options for vertical planters and hanging planters.

I now have more space than I did at my little apartment, so I have a raised garden bed for my vegetables.  This works well because the soil on my property is pretty sandy, so I just filled the bed with quality garden soil and called it good.  I have not been in my house for very long, but in the fall when I moved in, I planted three different fruit trees, and this spring I planted some strawberries and raspberries, and I plan on doing some more berry bushes here and there as time goes on.  Berry bushes are pretty, and fresh berries are delicious.  I also plan on putting in a patio area and having various potted plants there.  If you have a fence (a metal one, not a solid wooden one), take advantage of it and use to support plants like beans and peas that require something to climb on.  It doubles as a privacy screen as an added bonus.   If you have shady and sunny spots, plant your produce accordingly--make every bit of your space pretty and productive.  If you have a surplus of anything, plenty of produce freezes just fine!

If you are able to have one, I highly recommend a rain barrel, or better yet, a rain barrel for every downspout.  Using storm water is an excellent method of watering your delicious crops, and its also so much better for the environment to keep that runoff out of nearby bodies of water.  It's also nice for your wallet, as it makes so much more sense to use the water that is already there than pay for city water.  To make watering extra easy, hook a soaker hose to the spigot on the barrel and kick back and relax.  I have a great rain barrel with a lid that doubles as a planter, which I use for growing edible flowers (great for salads, garnishes, or decorating desserts!), so it is super functional and it looks great.

Happy planting!
Jillian