Here are the things we work on each season to prepare our garden.
1. Till our plots.
2. Cut down or pull weeds and place something down to keep the weeds down. A hoe makes weeding so much easier for us. Right now we have cardboard down outside of the garden beds and mulch on top of that to eliminate weeds and make a nice, dry area to walk around the garden.
3. Put in wood borders around our plots.
4. We send in our soil for testing to High Brix Gardens. They test the soil and then send us a specially-made fertilizer for our garden. This fertilizer, based on test results, will have the trace minerals and elements that your garden is deficient in. For your garden to grow nutrient-dense food, the soil needs to have a proper balance of minerals and nutrients. If you have any questions about High Brix Gardens, we would love to share our experience.
4. We plan on paper what to plant and where.
5. Buy seeds or started plants. Knowing when to plant, how long your growing season is and what zone you live in will help you to determine which plants you can start by seed and which ones will do better already started. To learn more about these things for your specific area, see the guides below.
5. Add fencing to keep rabbits and other pests out of the garden.
6. We plant, water, weed and wait. If you struggle to remember to water and want to conserve water, consider using a drip irrigation system or a drip and micro sprinkler kit.
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I have found that I like gardening much better when it is manageable for my stage of life. Plant things that you will be excited to use and focus on flourishing a smaller garden plot if a large plot overwhelms you. Also, you do not need a ton of fancy stuff to grow food. Start with what you have and get more tools as you go. All you really need is to have nourished soil, water, sunshine and some grit.
Gardening has a very big learning curve. I have had gardens that produced next to nothing, but it wasn’t a waste because I learned what doesn’t work. 🙂 Cody is the better gardener between us and he is very passionate about creating a pure food source for our family. We are still learning, but our harvest grows each year.
You can do it! Start small and be patient!
Here are some tools and items that we use to maintain our garden and make our life easier. Click on the images to shop the items. If you live in the city and have small spaces, the vertical garden box looks awesome.
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