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Patience

April 2nd, 2014

Today for our 5×5 Challenge Garden feature, I figured patience was a timely topic as I wait for my garden to thaw. Patience is a valuable thing to learn if you want to be a good gardener. It makes gardening much more enjoyable and increases your likelihood of success.
5x5 garden in winter 2
It seems like more often than not, as gardener, we’re waiting for something in the garden. In the spring we wait for the snow to melt and the ground to thaw so we can plant hardy things. We also have to wait until after last frost to plant for our tender plants. If we jump the gun too much we can end up losing them to a last frost or freeze.
frost-5
We wait for seeds to germinate, we wait to plants to be big enough to transplant then we wait for flowers to form. We wait to for things to ripen so we can harvest them. The good thing about gardening is that you’re not just sitting around twiddling your thumbs while you’re doing all this waiting, there are plenty of things that can be done, mostly weeding.
morning_frost
Learning to be patience in spring is key, don’t plant things too early. You might get lucky some year, but you’ll be sorely disappointed in others.

Do you have trouble waiting for things in the garden?

Know When to Quit

March 26th, 2014

“A gracefully executed quit is a beautiful thing, opening up more doors than it closes.”

Kio Stark – Don’t Go Back To School: A Handbook for Learning Anything

5x5challenge wide
Today’s 5×5 Garden Challenge lesson is all about quitting or giving up on plants when the time has come!  As a gardner, you have to learn how to give up on something in the garden. If your tomatoes are starting to get blighted you must pull them up and dispose of them. If your lettuce is starting to bolt away it goes. Be ruthless about pulling plants that are past their prime and plant something else in their stead.
spinach harvest 2
This can be tough, especially if they start to bolt or get diseased before you get a harvest.  Learn to recognize the signs of bolting, plants sending up vertical growth, flower buds forming, bitterness, and others depending on the plant.   If a plant becomes diseased and it looks like it won’t pull through, pull it out!  You don’t want to risk disease spreading to other plants.  If one particular plant isn’t thriving while all the other are – away it goes.  Learning to be ruthless in the garden will save you lots of heartache.
bolting cabbage 2
This is something I always stubbled with in the beginning when I only had a small garden space. I wanted to eek a little more out of everything, but instead I ended up with vegetables that weren’t great and I wasted valuable time that could have been used for another crop.

Do you ever have issues pulling plants that are past their prime?

5×5 Garden: Keep Learning

March 19th, 2014

One of the most important parts of gardening is to be observant and to never stop learning.  You should never allow your gardening knowledge to stagnate, things should never be done exactly the same way year after year.  You should be trying new things, with failures and successes.  Ultimately, gardening isn’t really about plants, it’s about you and what you gain through the experience. So what are some great places to learn?
touring-the-working-garden
One of the best ways is to chat with other gardeners, they can be a wealth of information. I haven’t met a gardener yet that hasn’t been willing to talk about gardening.
Kitchen Gardening Books 1
Reading is also a fantastic resource, the library will be you friend and help save you a pretty penny. I read just about any kind of book about gardening, from garden design to growing vegetables, you can learn something from just about every book.
mushroom class 2
Workshops and classes can be a fantastic resource. Lots of local libraries and garden clubs have workshops throughout the winter. Check your local University extension for workshops and classes as well, they can be fantastic resources.
Kitchen Gardening Books 6
I have been lucky to be able to learn from all these ways, one isn’t any better than the other, they’ve all been tools that have helped me become a better gardener. Of course I should also mention that blogs are great ways to learn – especially since you’re here learning about gardening!

What’s your favorite way to learn more about gardening?

Patiently Waiting

March 12th, 2014

As I was thinking about what to write about for the 5×5 Garden Challenge post this week, I realized I don’t really have much.  I’m patiently waiting for it to thaw out.  This forecast isn’t helping, snow, and lots of it.
Screen Shot 2014-03-11 at 8.27.52 PM
I am seeding things indoors, but nothing for the 5×5 Garden. What I need to do it get out my seeds and plan out where I’m going to be planting things when it finally does thaw. Here’s my post from last year about planning your garden.

Is the big winter storm going to be affecting your garden? Or are you happily soaking up sun in the South?

Should You Start Your Own Seeds?

March 5th, 2014

It’s Wednesday, that means it’s 5×5 Garden Challenge Day.  As I was starting seeds this past weekend, I thought newbie gardeners might wonder if they should start from seed or buy plants from a local greenhouse instead.
rowed_vegetable_garden
I’d have to say that perhaps the best place to get seeds and plants is from a local gardener.  If you happen to know someone that has a beautiful vegetable garden, chat with them.  I’m always giving away seedlings to local friends for their gardens.  You may end up with a great new friendship and a few lovely plants for your garden.  They will also be a great resource for your new gardening efforts.
Frost Kissed Seed Tin from Peaceful Valley 5
If you don’t have a friendly local gardener to get plants from, I’d recommend direct seeding a few things and buying a few plants as well. Some things, like beans, peas, and zucchini are easy to start from seed, so go ahead and buy seed for those.  They are also direct seeded in the garden, so you won’t have to worry about buying seed starting supplies.  The seedlings are also easy to differentiate from weeds, so you don’t really have to worry about accidentally pulling one of your seedlings while weeding!
potted-tomato-seedlings
Tomatoes are easy to start from seed, buy you might not get the timing quite right.  Plus you might want to try a few different varieties in your garden.  It’s much easier to buy a few plants at the greenhouse and purchase the seed and supplies to start your own. I’d recommend finding a small independent greenhouse nearby to see what kind of selection they have. Most likely you’ll be able to find tomatoes, peppers and herbs there.
trip-to-the-greenhouse-7
Another reason to buy plants is because of the number of seeds in the packet. If you only want two tomato plants, you’ll end up with a bunch of unused seeds. They will remain viable for a while if stored in the right conditions, but you’ll have to find a place to keep them. You might also not end up liking the variety you grew or you might want to try a new variety the next year.
onion_seeds
Another reason to buy seeds is because you can get a jump on the growing season. Most often greenhouse will have lettuce seedlings very early in the season. You can buy those, plant them in your garden and have lettuce ready to harvest in a few weeks. After you harvest the lettuce you can go back to the greenhouse and purchase tomato seedlings to plant in their place. Learning how to time starting seeds can be a bit trick for a newbie.
lettuce_seedlings
Starting from seed isn’t difficult, but there is a greater risk of failure if you have never done it before.  You also need to purchase a few supplies to do it, soil being the most important.  If you are interested in starting your own download my free Seed Starting 101 e-book (see the link in the sidebar).
seed starting 101 cover image
I don’t want to discourage anyone from starting all their plants from seed the first year if they want to.  Jump right in if you want, you can always find plants easily enough if things don’t go quite as planned, and you may end up with fabulous plants and a great gardening experience!
first raised bed in the garden
My first edible garden consisted of two 4×10 raised beds. All of the plants in them that first year were purchased at a local greenhouse. The following year all my seedlings were grown in my basement. Do what you want to do and what you have time to do.

As a newbie, are you planning on buying plants, starting from seed or both? As an experienced gardener, do you have any advice for newbies when it comes to finding plants for their first garden?

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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