If you have been gardening for some time, you know how superior the food you grow is compared to store-bought produce. Maybe you grow enough in your garden to provide all the vegetables you or your family need throughout the growing season. Now, you want to increase that to provide all the vegetables you and your family need for the rest of the year. There are a number of considerations you need to realistically face before you can actually live off your garden all year round.
If you have acreage, this isn’t a problem. If you have an urban lot, the amount of garden space you can access could be a limiting factor. Think out of the box. Plant your organic herb seeds in your window boxes. Instead of flowers, plant peppers, swiss chard, or rhubarb in the flower beds. If you have a narrow side yard next to the garage, consider vertical plantings of cucumbers or squash. Any plant that you locate outside of the main garden gives more space for your main crops.
Be realistic! Remember that you will have to tend a much larger garden. That also means it will take more time to harvest all the crops. You also will have to can, freeze, and/or dry all the food for the winter. That is a significant time commitment. Do you have enough time yourself or are friends and family willing to chip in?
If you plan on freezing most of the produce, you will need a stand-alone freezer. The size is dependent on the size of your family. If you plan on canning your produce, you will need plenty of shelves for your jars of food. You will also need a pressure canner. Purchase all the canning jars, as well as lids, so they are ready when needed. Do you have a cool space for storing potatoes, squash, onions, and pumpkins? It must be cool but not freeze. Have everything prepared before the growing season starts.
If you are still committed to the dream of growing all your year’s worth of produce, you will need to make a garden plan. If you have been gardening on a smaller scale, you probably know what your growing zone is. If you don’t know, find out here. This is crucial information. It tells you how long your typical growing season is and when you can start planting vegetable seeds and plants out in the garden. It also tells you when the first frost will hit, signaling that the garden will be going dormant. These dates aren’t written in stone, but they give you a close estimate. Lots of factors can influence when you can actually plant in your garden, including climate change and weather conditions. It may warm up by the date predicted, but if it’s been raining for three days, you won’t be able to work the soil.
Don’t waste space growing beets if no one likes them. On the other hand, gardening should be fun, so allow a little space to try. Grow enough for everyone in the family to try and either add it to your list of plants to grow next season or add it to the “never again” list.
If you are going to commit to growing your own food, start with the seeds. Choose non-GMO organic vegetable seeds. Set up your indoor plant nursery for those plants that can’t be directly sown in the garden soil. Keep control over what you grow for your family by purchasing the best seed available and growing your own plants.
If space is limited, you will need to grow intensively. Here are some ideas to get the maximum production from a limited garden space:
The best tip is to keep a journal! Record what you planted, how much you planted, and when you planted. Record how much of each vegetable you actually canned or froze. If you canned tomatoes and you ran out before you could harvest the next year’s crop, check your journal. You will have a pretty good idea of how many more plants to grow and how many more quarts of tomatoes you need to can. Note what crops did well in your garden and what didn’t do well.
Each year your garden will continue to improve—and that’s the best way to hit your goal and live off your garden year-round.
Would you like to create an edible landscape? Some individuals are turning their lawns or…
Many become homesteaders to experience the freedom that comes from living according to their values,…
A few years ago, my husband and I spent our weekends driving around looking for…
Once upon a time, there was a Garden Guru named Steve Solomon, who grew loads…
Like many kids, Easter was one of my favorite holidays growing up. Even way out…
Now here’s a picture for you... Imagine looking out over a small pond on a…