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| Using pots on the patio for edible greens |
Saturday, February 25, 2023
As spring comes, it can get you thinking about starting your very first edible garden. Gardening is great for the pocketbook, your health and the soul. I encourage everyone to grow at least a few things. Here are the top tips for getting started.
Tip 1 Start small and use beds you already have. Many think of an edible garden as this huge space that you need a tiller and back breaking work to put in and maintain. Look at your current flower garden beds, patios and decks for tucking edibles. Veggies and fruits require full sun to flourish. You can grow a lot of food in a sunny 6' x 6' space or pots.
Tip 2 Start with just a few plants. Pick the top 3-5 veggies you love to eat. Buy transplants the first year. If you are going to do just pots, look for the plants that were developed for growing in pots. Those that do well in pots are also great in small garden spaces.
Tip 3 Do a check of the conditions that the edibles you want to grow thrive in to determine where and when to plant. There are plants that like cool temperatures like lettuce and other greens and those that like the heat like tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers and beans. You would plant those that like it cool in the early spring and fall. You plant the summer lovers in late spring after all chance of frost has passed. By the time the spring edibles are starting to bolt and are done for the season, your summer lovers will begin to produce. If you plant the cool temperature lovers in pots, you can move them to a shadier location to keep them producing longer.
Tip 4 Fertilize and water as recommended. If you are using a solid fertilizer, you typically fertilize when you plant and then monthly. Liquid fertilizer is every other week. If growing in pots, plants need more help and a rule of thumb is to fertilize and water about twice as often as if gardening in the ground. Veggies need about an inch of water a week if planted in the ground so you usually don't have to give supplemental water until June.
Tip 5 Monitor your plants, harvest often to keep them producing and enjoy fresh picked produce! Keeping a journal will help you remember what happened over the gardening season. Make notes of what you want to do the same or differently next year or learn about over the winter for next year's gardening expansion.
For step by step instructions on starting your first garden, Your first edible garden
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