As we have worked our way through the crop plant challenges using the Handbook of Nature Study, I realized that many of you think that I have a really big garden with lots of space. It is so not true.
We live in town on a city lot with a yard that we share with a dog, two cats, a pool, a propane tank, and my husband's workshop.
My garden is my sanity refuge and although it is small, I tend it everyday for the pure joy of it. It does not take much to give your family a little green space in your yard somewhere. I have been greatly influenced by the Square Foot Gardening ideals and the principles behind keeping a garden that does not demand too much back breaking labor. The ideas are so simple that my children have been able to experience from a young age the joys of gardening.Actually when we started off the Crop Plant Challenges a few weeks ago, I was worried that I would not have enough to talk about and share with you. I was wrong. I actually had more going on in my little space of a backyard than I originally thought.
Results of the Crop Challenges
Clover-Turns out I have a whole crop of clover in our backyard...unintentional nature study. :)
Green beans-We grow these every year so I was able to share our experiences with you for this crop. This is a great first garden plant because it is so easy to grow, even for children.Corn-We have never been successful growing corn so I am a total newbie with this crop.
Strawberries-This is a successful crop plant in our garden, one of our favorites. These are easily grown in a small space in a strawberry barrel.
Cotton-No experience in real life at all but we learned a lot as we read and did research.
Pumpkins-We have had minimal success in the past with this crop plant but my dad is the pumpkin man! Thanks Dad!
Tomatoes-Another crop plant that we do on a regular basis....lots to share here.
I try to balance the need to grow everything from seed with practicality. I decided that I would opt this time for some broccoli seedlings from my favorite local organic nursery to get a jump start on my broccoli crop. See the two little seedlings in the front of the box? I bought a six pack of seedlings for under two dollars and they are all now happily tucked into various squares in our boxes. I actually planted one in a pot on the deck as well just so I could watch its progress. Applying the Square Foot Garden concepts, I now know that I do not need a whole row of broccoli but a few plants will do just fine.
In my 4 ft by 5 ft box I have three kinds of peppers, green beans, two tomatoes, three broccoli plants, a few radishes squeezed in here and there, and some marigolds. I just harvested my carrot crop which was very small but delicious. After harvesting the carrots, the square was ready to go for another veggie. Can you beat that for simplicity? I added a little compost, turned the soil over in the box, picked out the few little weeds popping up, and placed the broccoli right in the newly tilled space. The whole process took maybe ten minutes to plant six new seedlings.
Mr. B's box isn't all filled in but it is manageable for him at this point. The squash took over a big portion of the space, but he doesn't mind since he loves to eat the yellow squash and zucchini that it produces. Square foot gardening techniques have helped teach us not to plant too much and it has helped to keep our boxes virtually weed free. These are extremely low maintenance garden boxes.
Remember my list of garden things to do a few weeks ago? Well, I can cross one thing off already. I found two blueberry bushes at the nursery yesterday and they will be going into their new home later today. I am anxious to see how they grow in this spot and will perhaps add a few more next year if all goes well. Start small and work your way up!
Gardening is such a great source of nature study at its very best. You do not need to make a big garden in order to reap the benefits both spiritually and physically. Gardening gives you such a sense of well-being and it is something you can do as a family.If veggies are not your thing, then grow flowers. If flowers are not your thing, grow herbs. If you like exotic things, grow succulents or cactus. It makes no difference what type of plant you choose to grow because the value is in process. Nurturing a plant, even indoors, is a unique experience.
Garden boxes that are easy to maintain make gardening accessible to many people. Simplicity is always the best way to go in my opinion, especially when you are new to gardening.
Look for this book at your library.
