When everyone in 2020 was trying their hand at sourdough, I attempted an herb and flower garden in my parents’ back yard. I didn’t think much about the location, how much sun was necessary, what soil I would use, or what I would herbs actually use in cooking. I just knew I wanted to grow something. However, because I didn’t consider these things I spent too much time on herbs that were really never set up to grow very well anyway.
This year, when our downstairs neighbors moved out and left their raised bed, I decided to try my hand at gardening. Though I started later than I should have, I have been encouraged by the fact that I could actually grow things! In previous apartments, I was convinced there was nothing I could do because of my space, resources, and other factors, but the truth is that you can grow something no matter where you are!
In this post, I’ll dive into some of the benefits of gardening, some things to consider when planning your garden, and ideas for making a garden work in whatever space you have. I’ll also chat about my results from gardening this year, and what I plan to do differently next year.
Benefits of Gardening
No matter how you choose to grow things, having a garden can be beneficial in multiple ways. These benefits are some of the reasons I chose to start gardening on our balcony.
First is food security. While growing just a few vegetables on my balcony won’t provide my family with total food security, it will help supplement our groceries. Food security is extremely important to us, so this one was a no-brainer. If we can grow in abundance, we will be able to preserve food to have outside the growing season.
Second, we could have more control over the quality of our produce. We don’t currently purchase organic produce because our budget simply doesn’t allow for it, but if we can grow it, we can control how it is grown, allowing us to have organic produce readily available.
This brings me to the third big benefit, that gardening can make our grocery bill lower. Now, there is a threshold since running water and building/buying any containers do also cost money, but depending on how much you grow and harvest, you may save money by gardening.
Our fourth biggest reason for gardening is having the freshest produce possible when we need it. I hate buying a bell pepper on Saturday for a meal on the following Friday. They almost always get wrinkly and sometimes even mold. The reality of buying produce in the store is that it has been sitting on trucks in crates for a few days before it even makes it to your home. In order to have the freshest produce possible, we want to pick it ourselves.
The fifth and final benefit to having your own garden is the self-discipline and responsibility developed. Whether you’re try to teach these lessons to your children or trying to grow in them as an adult, your garden will require regular tending, care, and problem-solving. All of these skills require hard work and discipline, and both are needed when you’re planning to homestead.
Garden Wherever You Are
Depending on the space you have, you may find it impossible to grow anything at all. And I understand! I was in that position in our last apartment. We had a tiny balcony, and between other buildings and the direction our balcony faced, we only got about 2 hours of sun per day. I had difficulty thinking of ways to garden, so I failed over and over again.
My favorite gardening fail story is last year’s attempt at growing potatoes in a container. I had tried to start other seeds indoors… they all died. I had a sprouting potato, so I shoved it into some soil in a container and started to water it. If you’ve ever grown potatoes, you know they’re a very encouraging plant. The leaves grow quickly, tall, and plentiful. I continued to water until it showed signs of being ready to harvest. I promptly dumped to container onto the ground, dug out all of the soil… and no potatoes… not even the one I’d planted! This was absolutely because I had thrown a dart at the gardening board and missed completely.
This year, I decided to do things better. I wanted to take my time considering what I could do and what I wanted to do and plan accordingly. With that being said, I have compiled a short list of initial considerations when planning your garden for the upcoming growing season.
1. How much space do you have?
You may think you have no space, but if you get creative, I’d bet you could find some! Take a look around both outside and inside your home. Spaces outside might include the ground for a traditional garden, balcony space for container gardening, or a sunny corner to place a shelf. Indoor spaces could be kitchen windows, entry tables, bookshelves, even walls!
2. How much sun do different areas of your home get?
Searching for sun could open up ideas about more space, and can also help narrow down your options. Pay attention throughout the day, making note of which areas are receiving sun, which areas may be shaded, and what places get a mix of both. If you have the time, you can even draw a general layout of your indoor and outdoor spaces and shade areas of shadow at different times throughout the day. Of course, this will change slightly through the growing season, but this will give you a good reference.
3. Can you add light?
If you find that there are no optimal areas for gardening, you may be able to add light to a particular space. There is an enormous selection of grow lights on Amazon, and there are many affordable options.
4. What kind of plants can grow in your area?
This question is most important for outdoor gardening. The USDA Plant Hardiness Zones are extremely helpful in deciding what would be the most successful pants to grow. Getting too far out of your recommended zone could make things extremely difficult.
5. What can be grown in the spaces you have?
Do a bit of research on what can grow best in the way you are planning to garden. Some plants my not grow well in containers. Some will do better in raised beds. This will help you narrow down your options.
6. What do you want to grow?
Once you know what you can grow, pick a few items to start with. It’s important to consider what your family will actually eat. If your whole family hates zucchini, you’ll likely just end up with a bunch of wasted zucchini or a few friends that are tired of getting all your zucchini. If you eat plenty of salads, plant some lettuce! Make sure that what you’re growing will actually get eaten. Otherwise, you’re creating more food waste.
7. How much time can you dedicate to your garden?
While a garden does require tending, you can also make this fit into your lifestyle. Being busy doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice gardening altogether. If you only have minimal time to tend to your garden, you might look into terra cotta inserts to water less frequently. You can also make it a habit to work in the garden for a certain amount of time each day or week. This is where community comes in handy. See what other gardeners in your area do, and pull ideas from them!
Jump right in!
Taking all of these things into consideration, you’re ready to plan your garden! Of course, there are many other decisions to make, like soil type, GMO or not, organic or not… but these are the bare bones that will help you get started with just a couple trips to the store. I would suggest not going too crazy if you’re just starting out. Trying to grow 10 different things can get overwhelming if you don’t have experience, but you’d be surprised how fulfilling it is to even grow one plant and keep it alive!
My results from this growing season
I’ll admit, I feel like a little bit of a fraud writing this post, because at least so far, my garden has only produced about two servings of okra. This past summer in Texas was one of the hottest in a while. My peppers shriveled and died, and I eventually, I just pulled up my cucumber plant that only ever produced male flowers. In their place, I decided to sow some beets and carrots for the fall, and they grew slowly, but surely.
The factors that led to the demise of my summer garden were out of my control, but there were a few things that I will do differently next year. I’ve learned a lot, and am thankful for at least some success in keeping things alive.
Changes I will make in the future
- Plant earlier: While I don’t plan to start seeds indoors, I will definitely sow earlier next spring. The raised bed that we have wasn’t available until mid May, so I wasn’t able to plant until two months into our growing season. My plants had no time at all to produce anything before the heat of summer scorched them. I plan to check the last frost date next spring and have my garden plans completed by then.
- Composting: I’ll be ordering my Red Wigglers soon to begin vermi-composting . I look forward to not only reducing our food scrap waste but also seeing the impact it may have on our garden production.
- Flowers: We did plant some flowers this summer once the vegetable beds matured. I wanted to invite pollinators, and my husband loves flower gardens anyway, so we scrounged up some scrap wood and made a small bed. Not only did it get too hot for the flowers, but it has also gotten too hot for the bugs. I plan to plant these earlier next year and pick different varieties as well.
I’m sure I’ll learn more and think of more things to change by the next growing season, but I already feel so accomplished for growing really anything at all! I’m no seasoned gardener, but I’m more experienced than I’ve ever been. That’s all I can ask for while we’re headed for a homestead, and I hope you’ll join me next spring as I try again.
If you’re a long-time gardener, give us your tips in the comments! I’d love to know what gardening zone you are in, and what you grew this year. If you have a funny gardening fail, share that moment with us.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you check out my post on 10 skills you can learn before you have a homestead and follow me on social media so you know when I start planning my next garden! I’m already getting excited!
Until next time,
Rebekah
