So you want to grow a garden?
That’s great! I’m excited and I’m glad you are here. My first question to you is, why do you want to grow a garden? You may be thinking that it doesn’t really matter, but in fact, it matters a great deal and it’s relevant if you are starting a garden for the first time or have grown a garden for 5 years.
Without a compelling why, it's easier to linger in bed a little longer in the summer when you know you should get up to water the garden before it gets hot outside. Without a compelling why, the options to choose from can be overwhelming. Will you grow in containers, raised beds, in the ground, in towers, hydroponically or some other option? What will you grow? How much of it will you grow? How will you cook or preserve it when it’s ready? You may not even be thinking that far ahead yet. Did you know there are over 10,000 varieties of tomatoes? Now that you do, how many will you try to grow? You see where I’m going here. Without a compelling why, it is easy to get overwhelmed and give up or get so deep into it that we can lose sight of why we started gardening in the first place.
My journey into gardening started when I became a mother. Prior to having my son, I couldn’t even keep a houseplant alive for more than a month or two. I wasn't sure if I was loving them too much (overwatering) or neglecting them too much. I could never seem to really get it quite right and I just thought I didn’t have a green thumb. When my son was born, I knew for certain that I wanted to breastfeed him and six months into our nursing journey he became interested in food and by pediatrician said I was clear to start giving him some baby food. I wandered into the baby food aisle at the store and read ingredient labels for the very first time.
My life changed when my son was born and I was entrusted with nourishing and caring for another human being. Not just any old baby food would do. I wanted him to have the freshest ingredients and the best nourishment I could buy, but I found the options lacking. This led me to read ingredient labels on everything I purchased and I started researching the difference between organic and nonorganic produce. That rabbit hole led me to one conclusion. If I really wanted to know what was in the food my son was consuming, I would need to grow it myself. Cue my first garden. A hodgepodge of any pots I could find for free, some cinderblocks I stacked together and some old cedar fence boards I found in the backyard that made up my first raised bed.
My noble quest to grow my family’s food led me to the garden section at Lowe’s where I bought plants that are sold at every Lowe’s around the country and to say I failed miserably with my first garden would be an understatement. I got about 10 tomatoes off my cherry tomato plant. Maybe 5 or 6 jalapenos. Who even feeds their infant jalapenos? No one, but that’s what Lowe’s was selling so I bought it! The real gut punch hit me when I walked into Super 1 and they were selling Roma tomatoes 3/$1 and I knew I had spent $4 on a plant that gave me 2 measly tomatoes that year. To say I was frustrated would be an understatement. But I kept growing. Why? Because I had a very compelling why. I had a little baby boy that made me melt when I looked at him and I never wanted to hear to unmentionable “C” word in his childhood. I wanted him to eat real nutritious food and know where it came from because he picked it off the plant himself.
Heathline.com says that tomatoes are a good source of several vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin C, potassium, vitamin K and folate. They claim that tomatoes contain up to 28% of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C. Let me give you a few scenarios. Person A goes to Walmart today and buy a tomato that they will keep at home for a few days before they consume it. Person B goes to the farmer’s market and purchases tomatoes to put on their salad this week. Person C walks out to their garden and picks some tomatoes off their plant and eats it right away. Which of these people gets the 28% recommended daily intake of Vitamin C? One of the tomatoes was picked green, processed through a facility, packaged, transported across the country, sat on a shelf, purchased, sat on a cabinet or in a fridge for a few days and then consumed. One tomato was picked by someone likely within a day or two of the purchase (we hope), but traveled a short distance to end up on person B’s plate. The last tomato was picked off the source and eaten quickly. Have you ever thought about that? It’s the second biggest compelling reason for me to grow food.
After that first failed garden I resolved to do research on what varieties grew best in our area and what I could grow that I could not purchase readily at the grocery store. I wanted to reach for more than just growing the basics. I wanted to grow things that we could not experience if it didn't come from our backyard. After I did that for a few years and finally grew a decent amount of food, I began to share what I had learned with other Moms and Dads that were interested in growing some of their own food and experimenting with the unique varieties that were thriving in my garden. That has led me on a journey of growing a garden specifically for seed saving so that I can help other gardens get access to seeds that will give them the best chances of success in our climate.
Overtime as each of these goals have evolved so have the ways that I garden. I've transitioned from containers and raised beds that cost money to build to inground gardens that I can start quickly with very little input. I’m learning that each, and every garden plot I start is a little different than the one before and has its unique challenges and benefits.
Your "why” for gardening might change over time and honestly it doesn't matter what got you here. I'm just glad that you're here today. You might be here because grocery prices are through the roof and you want to supplement your grocery budget. You might want to start a garden because you want to buy organic produce and it's not accessible in your community. You might be growing food because you need a good reason to get off your phone and get outside and that's a great option too. You might want to start a garden because you are homeschooling your kids and you want some real-life hands-on application of science for your children. You may only want to grow herbs to make the things that you already cook taste better. You might want to grow your own food because of health issues in your family. You might be a new mom just like I was. Whatever the reason is, I'm glad that you're here and I will be cheering for you on your journey.
There's no wrong time to get into gardening. I personally think we are seeing a tsunami of people joining the gardening and homesteading movement because when we become mothers, we become more aware of the food climate in our culture, and we want to do something about it.
The reason behind your “why” for growing food will dictate a lot of things. From the growing style of containers, raised beds or inground gardens to the varieties of plants you choose to grow. Each of those decisions will be easier and easier for you to make when you know why you want to grow food.
This is how I make decisions for the three, yes three, gardens that I manage. My personal home garden is for my family. In this garden I am growing produce that we eat, culinary herbs, flowers and medicinal plants for skincare and healthcare. My family can walk out and snack on cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, roselle, and sorrel anytime their heart desires. Carrots, radishes, onions, garlic, pumpkins, peppers and herbs make up the base for many of our meals. Flowers really brighten a space and create a welcoming environment in our home. The medicinal herbs go into things like homemade soap, salves, lip balm, tinctures, teas and poultices. There is some room for experimentation here, but mainly I am growing tried and true varieties that I know we will make use of.
Our raised bed at our business is for inspiration, whimsy, excitement, and experimentation. It's the place where I try new things and show others what is possible. It's a place where I can try quirky varieties that may or may not succeed in our area and experiment in ways that I may not do at home. It consists of pots, wooden raised beds, metal raised beds, cinderblock raised beds, various different types of arches and different soils.
Our inground garden at our business is for my community. I'm growing varieties that 1. I know will succeed in our area, 2. Are easy to share fresh and 3. Are easy to save seeds from. I host free seed swaps twice a year and I give away many of the seeds I grow so I can helping others get started with varieties that I know will be successful at no cost. In this garden I'm growing things like pink celosia. Every child that sees it is drawn to this beautiful tall slender pink flower. I'm growing blue butterfly peas that are great for eyesight and are a beautiful garnish on any dish. When boiled and mixed with lemonade it turns purple and will naturally dye your rice blue when cooked in the boiling water. I grow okra that I can give away by the handfuls every single day. We also make bouquets here once a week and new families at our business get to take home fresh flowers. This garden is for giving.
If I didn’t have a clear “why” for each space, I might make choices that utilize each space effectively. There's a verse in the Bible that says “where there is no vision the people wander aimlessly.” I don't know about you, but I'm not interested in wandering aimlessly through life. I want to go through life with purpose, excitement, joy and with community. My why for each garden space helps me decide what varieties to grow, how much of each thing and really gives me framework to be creative with.
If you aren't certain why you're growing a garden, please reach out to me on Instagram @CharityGardens and I would be happy to help give you some ideas of beginner, friendly varieties. Please know that if you send me a message, you'll receive a voice message back because I'm likely in the garden and I need at least one hand free to work. Ha! I'm glad that you're here and I can promise that this will be a challenging, satisfying and fulfilling journey! Now go think about your why and let me know in the comments below what motivates you to grow a garden!