The time is coming soon when we will be able to get out and work in the garden! I am getting pretty excited. I love being out and the fresh air, having some exercise by doing something useful and dreaming of all the fresh produce we will get to eat! Meanwhile we have been getting stuff ready......
Early on this month a passionate gardening friend sweetly gave me a bunch of little tomato, pepper, herb, lettuce, cabbage and flower plants. The kids and I also started a bunch of seeds of our own. We have them be the southern window in my office and they have been growing very well!
It is a jungle in there now! Starting your own plants from seeds is pretty frugal. I use recycled containers to start them in (my most often used container is cutting the bottom off of milk jugs) and then you just have to get dirt and seeds, neither one has to be very expensive if you watch for sales.
The other thing I have been doing to get ready for gardening is working to improve our garden soil. This is just our 3rd year of having a garden at this house and the previous owners didn't have a garden so we started from scratch. In fact I think some time ago it was a dumping area because when Ken tills each spring I have to follow behind picking up all sorts of trash that the tiller digs up. We also have very sandy soil so it needs amending for that as well.
Early on this month a passionate gardening friend sweetly gave me a bunch of little tomato, pepper, herb, lettuce, cabbage and flower plants. The kids and I also started a bunch of seeds of our own. We have them be the southern window in my office and they have been growing very well! It is a jungle in there now! Starting your own plants from seeds is pretty frugal. I use recycled containers to start them in (my most often used container is cutting the bottom off of milk jugs) and then you just have to get dirt and seeds, neither one has to be very expensive if you watch for sales.
The other thing I have been doing to get ready for gardening is working to improve our garden soil. This is just our 3rd year of having a garden at this house and the previous owners didn't have a garden so we started from scratch. In fact I think some time ago it was a dumping area because when Ken tills each spring I have to follow behind picking up all sorts of trash that the tiller digs up. We also have very sandy soil so it needs amending for that as well. Lately I have been getting goat manure from my parents farm to put on the garden. I don't have a truck to haul it with so I take 3 5 gallon buckets and get that much at a time. It isn't a lot but I figure even a little helps and over time it will be a lot. Composting is also part of our lifestyle and we are able to get quite a lot of beautiful nutrient rich dirt each year from that.
How is your garden going? (Probably many of you can work outside in it already!) What are your favorite Thrifty and green gardening tips?
How is your garden going? (Probably many of you can work outside in it already!) What are your favorite Thrifty and green gardening tips?
5 comments:
I just planted a few of my plants yesterday and got the soil all in shape (hopefully!!)
your starters looks great, and good green thrifty tip!
I just planted my garden today, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I feel like I have bad luck gardening, but this year I'm at a new house and following some new directions (from the Vegetable Gardener's Bible), so I hope I have some good results this year.
I haven't ever started seeds indoors, but yours look marvelous! I just bought tomato and pepper plants and then direct-sowed the seeds for my other veggies. I'm going to be so disappointed it I don't get results.
Your seedlings are much nicer than mine! I'm beginning to think that a south window or grow light are very important. I have a south west window that I just moved them to and they are better there than at the southeast window.
I am so excited about eating vegetables from our own garden though!
I'm glad to hear someone mention a grow light. This year we're expanding our old garden to include two new 4x8 raised beds and I'd love to start a few plants from seeds. A fellow gardener said it really isn't possible to raise certain plants (such as tomatoes) without a grow light. We have no intention of getting one but we do have a sunroom with lots of southern light. Will that work? Is it possible for those seedlings to get too much sun? Thanks so much for joining us this week for Thrifty Green Thursday!
Thank you everybody for your comments! I'm hoping all of our gardens excede expectations!
GreenBaby~ I have heard that grow lights are very nice but I have never used one and the gardening friend that gives me plants does not use one either and we do grow successful tomato plants. Southern windows are pretty important I think. Your sunroom should be great! I think it is possible for seedlings to get to much sun, they can wilt but I have never had that as a problem.
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