I grew baby red potatoes in a 5 gallon bucket last year. The thrill of seeing what I grew was enough for me to expand my buckets lol, and my gardening. This year I plan on trying Kale, lettuce and onions and they will be complimentary to my flower garden. I will be trying tomatoes in a bucket. Let me also say, baby reds keep growing and growing. I must have left one in the bucket and got another crop before Christmas. What a great suprise!
The answer to, "why in the world are you writing about gardening in January?", is simple. That's when the seed catalogs come out!
Great post. I'm looking backwards at over 3/4 of a century, and I can't recall ever NOT having a garden. My mother's gardens varied from a few hundred square feet to, when I was about 12, half of an acre. (Five young kids on a hardscrabble ranch. No garden = no food!) When Mum was in her late eighties, her garden shrank back to a couple of hundred square feet. But there was always a garden!
I don't recall a time when my siblings and I were not involved in spring prep, planting, weeding and watering, the harvest, and of course preserving the produce. I did not enjoy the dubious pleasure of "boughten" produce until I left the ranch to go to school in my late teens.
Other than a few years in my early twenties, when I was exploring the world, I too have tended a garden. And just like my mother's, my garden has grown and shrunk depending on what was going on in my life. But I have, with the help of my wife and kids, (slave labor - just ask them!), always been able to eat mostly "real" food.
You left out the physical benefits - gardening is damn good exercise. Other than the occasional sore back, a garden provides frequent light workouts for the whole body.
Really good post. Great gardening tips. Thank you sir.
Great post, Rob. Really interesting tip about planting the tall plants at the back. Some of my baby plants got burned by fertilizer last year, so I'm doing it all natural this year. Fingers crossed.
I think another under sung benefit of gardening is that it teaches you how to plan. Most people aren't thinking about their plants in January, but unless you start getting things in order *now* you're not going to get things in the ground in time.
Thank you, and that last bit about freedom... SO RIGHT ON.
I'm a terrible gardener, because I've never really done it, tried to a little bit last year, and failed miserably. I'm gonna keep trying... Thanks!! xo
I grew baby red potatoes in a 5 gallon bucket last year. The thrill of seeing what I grew was enough for me to expand my buckets lol, and my gardening. This year I plan on trying Kale, lettuce and onions and they will be complimentary to my flower garden. I will be trying tomatoes in a bucket. Let me also say, baby reds keep growing and growing. I must have left one in the bucket and got another crop before Christmas. What a great suprise!
Thank you for all the tips and inspiration.
The answer to, "why in the world are you writing about gardening in January?", is simple. That's when the seed catalogs come out!
Great post. I'm looking backwards at over 3/4 of a century, and I can't recall ever NOT having a garden. My mother's gardens varied from a few hundred square feet to, when I was about 12, half of an acre. (Five young kids on a hardscrabble ranch. No garden = no food!) When Mum was in her late eighties, her garden shrank back to a couple of hundred square feet. But there was always a garden!
I don't recall a time when my siblings and I were not involved in spring prep, planting, weeding and watering, the harvest, and of course preserving the produce. I did not enjoy the dubious pleasure of "boughten" produce until I left the ranch to go to school in my late teens.
Other than a few years in my early twenties, when I was exploring the world, I too have tended a garden. And just like my mother's, my garden has grown and shrunk depending on what was going on in my life. But I have, with the help of my wife and kids, (slave labor - just ask them!), always been able to eat mostly "real" food.
You left out the physical benefits - gardening is damn good exercise. Other than the occasional sore back, a garden provides frequent light workouts for the whole body.
Really good post. Great gardening tips. Thank you sir.
Nice. I read a book yesterday about how the natives gardened.
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/buffalo/garden/garden.html
Great post, Rob. Really interesting tip about planting the tall plants at the back. Some of my baby plants got burned by fertilizer last year, so I'm doing it all natural this year. Fingers crossed.
I think another under sung benefit of gardening is that it teaches you how to plan. Most people aren't thinking about their plants in January, but unless you start getting things in order *now* you're not going to get things in the ground in time.
That kid in the picture looks very happy. I needed to read something positive today and as usual you came through. Thanks for this Rob.
Self-reliance dispels fear.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acQSRBCPExc
Being free is your birthright.
What an excellent, wise, and helpful post!!!
Thank you, and that last bit about freedom... SO RIGHT ON.
I'm a terrible gardener, because I've never really done it, tried to a little bit last year, and failed miserably. I'm gonna keep trying... Thanks!! xo