What’s Keeping You From Starting A Veggie Garden?

Proverbial "black thumb"!

The idea to write about this came from discussions with a few reluctant gardeners.

• “The Black Thumb” – Some people fear they have somehow been cursed with a black thumb.  They see it as a genetic trait, a voodoo curse or something more sinister marking them for life.  After exhaustive research , I think we can safely say there is no such thing as a black thumb.  At worst, it is simple a case of not yet having developed a “green thumb”.  We all have failures, good seasons and bad.
• “Past Failure Does Not Guarantee Future Performance” – Everyone has tried to grow something at some time … and the plant died.  You need to accept that plants DO die and that you will “kill plants”.  It is part of learning.  Each season will bring new knowledge, successes and failures.  Hey, if the US government can bail out bad banks, I think you can cut yourself a break!
• “Not knowing where to start” – Some people get excited about starting a garden, spend lots of money buying seeds with those mouth-watering pictures on the packages, but soon get stuck not knowing where to turn next.  Thanks to a new groundswell of interest in gardening (pun intended) that you’ll discover with excellent books, Web sites, Meetups, free Master Gardening help from county extension offices, you now have many resources at your disposal.
• “Overcoming inertia” – Call it procrastination or the concern that “I must be too late”.  Some people who want to start don’t ever get over the inertia and end up in the autumn envious of other people’s garden- fresh veggies.

We’d like to hear your comments and reasons why YOU think people don’t join the ranks of others who grow their own food!

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7 Different Strategies To Plan Your Vegetable Garden

We use a combo of Frugal, Tiny Garden, Fridge and Native Methods

People often ask us,

“So what vegetables should I grow in my garden?”

Invariably, the response will be a long list of questions like climate, soil, what they like to eat/cook, etc. that borders on interrogation -  mouths agape, eyes glazed, head bobbing up and down, trying to take it all in.  Yes, it can be tedious to think about these things!

So to make it a little bit easier, here are several preliminary approaches you can take in deciding what to plant.  You can certainly follow more than one strategy, keeping in mind your climate, soil, acreage, and personal tastes.

1. Refrigerator Method. Open your fridge and think what has been in it over the last 12 months.  What are things you will always find and what are “one-offs”?  If you have a good climate for growing vegetables, this is the best method because you know you will use what you grow.
2. Native Method. If you already know what grows in your area, then focus on what grows well.  Don’t grow artichokes if you have hot summers.  Don’t grow carrots if you’ve got heavy, clay soil.
3. Frugal Method.  Grow vegetables that are expensive at the supermarket.  Think of short shelf life, high consumption veggies like lettuce, or lower production volume but delicious cherry tomatoes that can cost $3 for just a half quart!
4. Anti-Pesticide Method.  You may want to grow certain vegetables that have the highest pesticide load, such as sweet bell peppers, celery, lettuce, spinach, potatoes, carrots and green beans.
5. Tiny Garden Method. If you have limited space to grow, then you may find herbs and vegetables that don’t take up much space to be your favorites.  You may also like the Square Foot Gardening techniques by Mel Bartholomew.
6. Squirrel Garden Method. The opposite of the Tiny Garden Method and may require a large area.  If like a squirrel with its acorns, you want to stow away vegetables for the winter, then think about setting aside garden space for storage vegetables like potatoes, onions and garlic.  Think of what can be dried (beans, herbs) or canned/frozen (tomato sauce).  We highly recommend Yin-Yang beans!
7. Impress The Neighbors Method.  Ok, so I am guilty of doing this with our purple artichokes that grow next to the sidewalk (purple anything is a great conversation piece). Go through your seed catalogs until you say “What the heck is that?” and then if it grows in your area, grow it in your garden.  Grow it in your front yard to befuddle neighbors walking by with their dogs.

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Top 10 Least Kid-Friendly Veggies To Grow

Some kids like broccoli!

“Mom, can I munch on this onion?”

You get the picture.  Some veggies just aren’t ideal crops for a kid’s first garden.  Children love to graze, and you’ll want to encourage them to enjoy the fruits of their labor.  Although there will be exceptions for some kids who really love broccoli or spinach, for first-timers, have a look at our Top 10 Veggies for Kids to Grow.

To help maintain your child’s enthusiasm for the “stuff” that grows out of her garden, here’s a list of edibles that you might want to OMIT from your kid’s first garden:

1. Asparagus – can take 2-3 years before produces a strong, harvest-able crop
2. Cabbage – not munchable, often susceptible to cabbage worms
3. Cauliflower – high maintenance (blanching), often susceptible to cabbage worms
4. Eggplant – slimy
5. Hot peppers – some have oils on the outer layer that can irritate the skin
6. Okra – fuzzy, spiky, slimy
7. Onions and garlic – yuck, Mom!
8. Spinach – can be chalky, though we’ve enjoyed good varieties
9. Turnips – best to stick to radishes
10. Zucchini – thorny/prickly, though can equip the neighborhood with baseball bats

For specific projects like pizza gardens where the objective is to harvest ingredients that go into making a finished meal, some ingredients in the list above would not apply.

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Top 10 Veggies For Kids To Grow

Kids love veggie gardening together!

There are many benefits in introducing children to grow their own food.  Parents and educators may wish to help develop responsibility, a sense of accomplishment and contribution to the home, as well as give kids the opportunity to see the magic of watching something grow.  Your motivations will be your own, but I encourage you to grow vegetables with your kids.

We came up with a list of “kid-friendly” veggies that

• Kids enjoy – nothing beats picking something and eating it right on the spot
• Are easy to grow – something you’re pretty sure will be successful

You’ll need to consider these suggestions in light of what grows best in your area.  For instance, melons don’t do well in our cool, foggy summer climate, so alas, we don’t bother growing them.   Lastly, make sure your kids have ease of access to their gardens – either in containers or narrow beds.  Remember they’ve got more limited vertical and stretch reach.  It isn’t much fun having to bushwack your way to get to a bean!

Early season harvest:

1.    Radishes
2.    Sugar Snap Peas
3.    Strawberries (ok, this is a fruit, but so is a tomato! You get the idea.)

Mid-season harvest:

4.    Carrots
5.    Pole or Bush Beans
6.    Cherry Tomatoes

Mid-to-late season harvest:

7.    Corn
8.    Melons
9.    Potatoes
10.  Pumpkins

Root crops like radish help break the top crust and is a good companion to carrots.  Kids may not swoon over the taste, but radishes grow quickly, and allow your little ones to quickly make a contribution to the dinner table.  Carrots are an age-old favorite which kids can munch on as they learn to thin the rows.

Sugar snap peas, strawberries and cherry tomatoes are wonderful “pop-in-your-mouth” food right off the vine or with a quick rinse of water.

Pole beans are fun to trail along teepees, and delicious raw and cooked.  We grow a purple variety (“Royal Burgundy”) that turns green when steamed – a “doneness” indicator!

Fresh, sweet corn can’t be beat (even munching it straight off the stalk), but it takes lots of nitrogen.

Harvesting sunflower seeds

There’s nothing like the sweetness of home-grown melons, if you’re lucky to have both the space and climate to grow them.  They will require lots of water, but little ones will love harvesting their desserts!

Tall, majestic sunflowers are impressive to little kids.  The hour or two to harvest seeds is a great bonding opportunity on a balmy Indian summer day.

Carving their home-grown pumpkin!

When it’s time to dig out the potatoes, our son invites his neighborhood friends to find the “Easter eggs”.

Pumpkins and gourds can take a lot of room in a garden, but if you’ve got a spare patch that can be left to cultivate the fruit over 4 months, your kids will love to show them off to their friends and schoolmates!

Next up, the “Top 10 Least Desireable Veggies For Kids To Grow” !

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Helping out school & community gardens

Shoveling dirt into wheelbarrows for HEAL Project

One of the rewarding pastimes of vegetable gardening is observing how much fun kids have digging in the dirt, planting seeds, and best of all, harvesting the fruit!  We hope our readers will have opportunities to be involved in their community or school gardens as we had at the HEAL Project from our school district.  They’ve successfully built veggie gardens over the last 2 years at three of our local elementary schools.

We’ve also enjoyed visiting the School Garden Wizard site for its practical advice and resources in planning vegetable gardens for organizations.

Preparing the beds for HEAL Project

If you operate a school or community garden, please let us know.  We offer Plangarden software at significant discounts to non-profits!

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