Figuring out My Garden

As a kid, you couldn’t ask for a better place to grow up than my hometown. A dusty little hamlet tucked away in Connecticut’s farm country, the town of my birth was the quintessential small town. The majority of the townspeople were farmers or made their living catering to the farmers who lived in town. My own family, while not farmers ourselves, supplied seeds, grain, and other supplies to our town’s farmers and we did live both next to and directly across the street from two neighboring farms; one dairy and the other chickens.

When you are a little boy, there’s probably no better place to live than in the shadow of two farms – especially when those farms are of the animal variety. My brother and I still talk to this day about the summers spent chasing cows around old man Hoffman’s farm or hiding chickens from mean old farmer Cooper. When I was 16, my friends and I made the horrible mistake of trying to go “cow tipping” only to find out that, rather than tipping, these cows tended to kick, and to kick hard.

Of course, living in such close proximity to a farm wasn’t always fun and games. There were harsh odors and harsh realities to deal with and accept. Many a child would grow attached to a particular animal only to have it butchered or sold away. However, as a whole, growing up in farm country was a positive and character building experience and one I wouldn’t change for the world.

If you’re into cooking, experimenting in the kitchen, growing, or are just into gadget then I have to recommend you check out the Aerogarden in any one of its many forms and variants. This amazing little toy has quickly become my favorite kitchen aid and both my wife and my kids have enjoyed the sudden improvement in all my meals. My secret: I’ve been growing fresh herbs on my counter and incorporating them into nearly all of my usual dishes. For example, the dill I’ve been growing has gone great with scrambled eggs and omelets in the morning and is equally tasty when added to my favorite roasted potato dishes at dinner time. Even better, the fresh basil and oregano I have growing right next to the fridge have allowed me to freshen up any Italian dish from pasta to left over pizza.

While many people will tell you that an Aerogarden would be a waste of money when you could “easily” grow herbs at home in small pots with dirt, water, and grow lamps – the reality is that it will be a much easier task if let the Aerogarden do all the work. Rather than potting and watering plants you just pop in the seed pods, add some water and nutrients, and then only add water again when prompted. Within just a few short weeks you will have wonderful fresh herbs growing at an amazing pace and your cooking – and the compliments it receives – will never be so amazing.

Gardening always seemed like something reserved for old ladies when I was growing up, but with the economy in tatters a lot of people seem to be turning to it to cut costs. I have even found websites that detail exactly how to set up your own green space in small places, like an apartment or shared house. Me being a very poor recent college graduate, all of these sites are very interesting to me. I am hoping to put something together in my kitchen or balcony, and shave some costs off of my grocery bills that keep piling up.

I would like to grow some tomatoes and green beans if possible, since my balcony gets plenty of light and there should not be a problem with setting up a couple of big pots out there. The only big problem I can foresee is that the winters where I live tend to get a bit chilly, which is very bad for both tomatoes and green beans. Looks like I will be stuck with the grocery store varieties over the winter months.

Green beans need soil that is consistently around 70 degrees, so they need to put outside around spring time. If you want to get a head start you can use peat pots to start the seedlings a month or so before the temperature is right for them to be outside, and guarantee yourself more of a green bean supply. Green beans also need to be rotated from their soil often, usually yearly to get the best results. It helps their roots avoid diseases and rotting.

Fertilizing and watering green beans is not particularly labor intensive. Watering should be done weekly directly at the plant’s roots, keeping the plant itself as dry as possible. You also want to make sure the soil remains moist at all times.

There is something therapeutic in the work I do in my garden. I use it as a way to relieve stress and trick myself into thinking I’m not in the middle of a big city. My apartment is not very large and I do not have a yard, so I keep a small herb garden on my balcony. I enjoy having fresh herbs to cook with, and nurturing my own little vegetable patch of sorts is fun.

I grow a variety of herbs, including rosemary, sage, sweet basil, mint, tarragon, thyme, chives, and parsley. It makes for a very nice arsenal in my war against bland cooking practices. I have been trying lately to get my friends into it, but they do not see the point when you can just pick up whatever you need at the store. They do not seem to realize that herbs and spices at the store are incredibly expensive, and my little herb garden saves me a decent amount of cash since I cook for myself quite a bit. I suppose I was lucky to be born with a green thumb, even if it is not really a full-blown garden I am working on.

For any beginner herb gardeners I would recommend the varieties I am growing above, as they are relatively simple to set up and require very little in the way of maintenance once past their initial upkeep. I hope to expand my little garden empire in the future to tomatoes maybe, although my balcony space is a bit limited. One of these days I will make it out of the city and start a real garden, but for now my little herb garden is bringing a touch of taste to my culinary experiments.

Most people always want to have their own gardens and grow good food. A vegetable garden is a great way to develop your green thumb and get delicious food too! You have a wide choice of vegetables to grow. However, you need to be selective and grow food that you would use. Its best to grow salad vegetables which can be eaten raw too.

The first choice would obviously be tomatoes because of its use. Tomatoes are relatively easy to grow too. Who wouldn’t want to eat that fresh glossy looking red tomato straight from the garden?

Carrots also are fairly easy to grow. Fresh carrot juice is so yummy and healthy too. Potatoes would also be another top favorite to grow. Along with being tasty to eat it’s easy to grow, except for a bit of spade work.

Along with vegetables its also good to grow herbs as it is always used in the kitchen. How could I forget mentioning about garlic? Garlic is not very difficult to grow and its value I guess is known by all.
It’s easy to mention what food is good to grow. However, what you decide to grow will primarily depend on the space of your garden. If your plot is big then you can even grow corn. Corn tastes best when it is had fresh.