By Will Meinen
Growing up on a farm meant every spring the entire family would spend a day getting the garden ready for fruits and vegetables that would be ready to eat throughout the summer months. Back in those days we never talked about organic or sustainable. I guess it was just understood to be the smart thing to do.
When I moved to the city I was astounded at the poor quality and high prices I found at the grocery store, so I continue the family tradition and plant my own urban garden. It's not quite a big as the one on the farm, and it's been tricky dealing with the short growing season here in Calgary, but it still yields a great little crop and saves me a bunch of money.
If anyone else has ever thought of planting their own fruit and vegetable garden, I encourage you to try. It's quite easy to be honest. Here is my advice to anyone who wants to grow their own food.
Step 1. About a month before the last frost buy some Jiffy Pods and some seeds of your choice. Make sure the plant will get enough growing days for your climate. There is nothing more frustrating than losing your crop to an early frost and seeing all that hard work go to waste.
Put the seeds into the water saturated jiffy pods and label what cells contain what plant. Place the tray into a warm dark environment and allow for germination. Once the seeds begin to sprout into plants, place the tray in front of a window so they can get sunlight. Allow the plants to grow three to four inches tall.
Step 2: Once the soil warms ups start preparing the garden bed. If you don't have a garden bed simple find somewhere in your yard that gets adequate sunlight. Toss up some boards and fill it up with dirt. If you have any compost, toss it in there too. Once there is no chance of frost, bring your Jiffy Pods outside and plant them into the dirt. If you timed it right your plants should be approx 4" tall. Water the soil and continue to prevent the earth from drying up excessively until the produce is ready to eat.
Step 3: Enjoy the fruits of your labour! Call up some friends and have a BBQ using your very own fresh organic and sustainable produce! I'll keep you posted on my garden so you can see how it does.
Cheers,
Will
Do you grow your own food? Got an opinion on this subject? Leave a comment and give us your perspective.
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Comments (1)
My husband and I spend almost every weekend camping, hiking and climbing. So, when we bought our first house, we decided on a townhouse with a great HOA so we wouldn't have to worry about yard work or maintenance since we're gone so much.
But, last summer I wanted to start a garden, for much the same reasons you talked about: environmentalism, health, family traditions. I couldn't just plant a row of zuchini in the landscaped greenspace in front of our house, though.
So, I started a container garden on our patio! I had several big pots, and grew a HUGE PILE of tomatoes, strawberries and hot peppers last summer. It was a real learning season for me, not just how to work with the HOA, but also how much water is required in the dry Colorado climate (I grew up in St Louis), how often to fertilize and re-pot or even what pests to be aware of and how to deal with them (my tomatoes were infested with giant grasshoppers for a while).
Moral of the story: even if you're not sure you can, don't think you have the time or have never grown anything, growing your own food is still totally do-able!
Posted by Kate C | May 9, 2008 12:26 PM
Posted on May 9, 2008 12:26