Gardening
If you are one of the millions of people trying to reduce expenses, you've probably
already considered planting a garden to help feed your family. What you may not
realize is that you can actually turn that garden into a money maker. The catch is
you have to be motivated and dedicated to make it work. In other words, you have
to work.
What to Grow
A good start is to grow what you eat at home. I love to cook with fresh herbs. I hate
paying for them, they are outrageously expensive. My herb garden saves me tons
of money.
Carrots, celery, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, green onions, radishes, cucumbers (I
grow the picking cucumbers) bell peppers and chile peppers, green beans, snow
peas, broccoli and cauliflower are all good choices, as well. This year I'll also be
trying my hand at artichokes and asparagus. Yum!
Small Space Gardening
You would be surprised at how much food you can grow in a small garden. Using
a raised bed system, you can pack in the plants, better control weeds, which in
turn helps control garden pests that love to feast on your food. Maintaining soil
quality is easier with a raised bed system, as well.
The idea is to get as much as you can out of the space you have. Rather than just
sticking with a garden area, reclaim some of the space filled with ornamentals,
and plant something you can eat.
Strawberries are fun to grow, but they spread and can take up a lot of space. My
solution was to remove the low growing plants in a planter along my walk and
replace them with strawberries. They are a pretty plant, and function well as a
border. I am in the process of replacing a lot of my ornamentals with edibles.
Patio boxes, hanging tomatoes and trellises are more ways to utilize the space
you have available.
Water Wise Gardening
The last thing you want to do is be wasteful when it comes to your water usage.
You definitely need to mulch your garden. Watering, depending on the size of your
garden can be done by hand, or with a simple irrigation system, such as soaker
hoses or drip style irrigation. Please, don't be one of those people who are
blasting everything in sight with a sprinkler. Do you really need to water your fence
or your neighbor's yard?
Another method I use is water recycling. I have a barrel in the garden that I rinse
freshly harvested foods in. That water is recycled right back into my garden. I
waste less, and I don't have to wash all the dirt down my kitchen sink.
already considered planting a garden to help feed your family. What you may not
realize is that you can actually turn that garden into a money maker. The catch is
you have to be motivated and dedicated to make it work. In other words, you have
to work.
What to Grow
A good start is to grow what you eat at home. I love to cook with fresh herbs. I hate
paying for them, they are outrageously expensive. My herb garden saves me tons
of money.
Carrots, celery, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, green onions, radishes, cucumbers (I
grow the picking cucumbers) bell peppers and chile peppers, green beans, snow
peas, broccoli and cauliflower are all good choices, as well. This year I'll also be
trying my hand at artichokes and asparagus. Yum!
Small Space Gardening
You would be surprised at how much food you can grow in a small garden. Using
a raised bed system, you can pack in the plants, better control weeds, which in
turn helps control garden pests that love to feast on your food. Maintaining soil
quality is easier with a raised bed system, as well.
The idea is to get as much as you can out of the space you have. Rather than just
sticking with a garden area, reclaim some of the space filled with ornamentals,
and plant something you can eat.
Strawberries are fun to grow, but they spread and can take up a lot of space. My
solution was to remove the low growing plants in a planter along my walk and
replace them with strawberries. They are a pretty plant, and function well as a
border. I am in the process of replacing a lot of my ornamentals with edibles.
Patio boxes, hanging tomatoes and trellises are more ways to utilize the space
you have available.
Water Wise Gardening
The last thing you want to do is be wasteful when it comes to your water usage.
You definitely need to mulch your garden. Watering, depending on the size of your
garden can be done by hand, or with a simple irrigation system, such as soaker
hoses or drip style irrigation. Please, don't be one of those people who are
blasting everything in sight with a sprinkler. Do you really need to water your fence
or your neighbor's yard?
Another method I use is water recycling. I have a barrel in the garden that I rinse
freshly harvested foods in. That water is recycled right back into my garden. I
waste less, and I don't have to wash all the dirt down my kitchen sink.
Gardening
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| Copyright 2009, Julie McMurchie. All rights reserved. |
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