It's not too late

One of my favorite things about summer is the fresh fruits and vegetables!  My Granddaddy Joe has always had a garden that we have been given privileges too.  This year since Brandon and I have our own home and a big yard we decided to plant our own garden.  Now let me clarify, it is no where close to the size or caliber of Gdaddy’s garden but it is a start.

I didn’t just want to throw some plants and seeds in the ground.  It was important to me that I learn about what I was doing.  So I made it my mission to read about different techniques, crop rotation, etc.  I made a trip (online) to Amazon books and three caught my attention. I never knew there was so much information to learn about when planting a garden.  How to prepare the soil, cool season crops, warm season crops, when to harvest, how to harvest, maturity dates, how to rotate, and on and on and on and on……..

So I read and read and read and discussed with Brandon until we came to some conclusions to get us started.

Step 1:  Pick the spot in the yard and mark the size.  We decided not too big because I didn’t want to get overwhelmed.

Step 2:  Till the ground (We used Gdaddy’s tractor to get started and then the tiller as needed.)

Step 3:  Rake the soil into raised beds.  This is a popular and supposedly successful technique in gardening so we decided to give it try.

Step 4:  Decide what to plant and when to plant it.  There are crops that need to be planted during the spring under cooler temperatures and crops that can stand and even like the hotter temps of June and July.

Step 5:  PLANT

Now, this may seem a little daunting to some of you.  Maybe you don’t want to jump in and have a big garden but you would like to have some fresh cherry tomatoes or peppers to add to your salad.

Well, I have an idea for you.

A very popular idea now is container gardening.  It is exactly as it sounds and super simple.  You simply choose a few vegetables that you would like to grow and plant them in containers.  Keep them on your back porch for easy watering and harvesting.  I chose rosemary, cherry tomatoes, and jalapenos.

Now, let me give you another tip.  When at Lowe’s I found one little sad jalapeno plant that didn’t look like he was going to make it.  So I asked the cashier if I could have it for free.  He smiled and said as long as I didn’t tell anybody (so please keep it between you and me).  I planted it as soon as I got home and watered it.  And believe it or not my free little jalapeno plant has survived and is growing very well. 

It’s not too late!  You can still plant some peppers, herbs, tomatoes, or whatever you can find at your local nursery.  I’m sure you have some old pots lying around and if not most of them cost less than $2.00.  This is also a great project to get kids involved. 



Check out the books I bought for my gardening research.
The Backayrd Homestead - Carleen Madigan
Guide to Kentucky Vegetable Gardening - Walter Reeves & Felder Rushing (my favorite)
Greenhouse Gardener's Companion - Shane Smith