This May Be A Good Time To Start A Garden--How You Can Do It Without A Lot Of Expense

Our oldest grandchild, now a teenager with several of her own laying hens,
developed an early interest in nature and in gardening.

One of the things that kept many families alive during the Great Depression was their ability to grow much of their own food. And throughout the years that followed our rural farm family kept not one but two vegetable gardens, as well as numerous fruit trees. a strawberry patch and a grape arbor, along with dairy cows, pigs and chickens to supply us with fresh milk, meat and eggs.

Today many of us lack the space, time and/or the skill to grow even a fraction of the food we need. It's become all too convenient to simply shop for whatever we need at the nearby supermarket.

Until now.

Now everything begins to feel more complicated, and even risky, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

I'm primarily a hobby gardener myself, but would commend this activity as one of the more therapeutic and productive uses of your time and whatever space you can spare in your back yard. Or in your front yard, for that matter.

This week I enjoyed converting a part of our backyard flower bed into a salad garden, sowing some lettuce and radish seed among some of the flowers behind our house. And in our modest size vegetable garden, we have two rows of sugar snap peas that are thriving in the recent warm spring weather. Soon it will be time to plant our sweet corn, squash, tomatoes and green beans.

Here's how you can start a little vegetable garden in some sunny space without even investing in a tiller, or without having to hire someone to work up your soil. 

Three things are required, a shovel, some plants or seed, some newspapers, and some mulch, like grass clippings or leaves. Some homemade compost as fertilizer is also a good thing.

Simply dig some holes for your tomato, squash, cucumber, or cantaloupe plants, ones you either grow yourself or buy at your neighborhood greenhouse. Then plant them like you would tree saplings or flower plants, applying a little compost with your good soil. 

It's simple. And don't worry about neat straight rows. Be creative as you would if you were designing a flower garden. 

Next cover the grass between the plants with layers of newspaper, and cover the newspaper with some kind of mulch, preferably grass clipping or leaves that will mostly decompose by fall. This pretty much takes care of any weeds, helps retain moisture (reduces the need to irrigate), and will greatly improve the texture and fertility of the soil. Some kind of cover crop, like winter oats or wheat, can be sown in the fall and mowed down in the spring to add even more humus and richness to your soil. 

Without the usual plowing or tilling, garden crops normally grown in rows, like corn and beans, can be a challenge. But none of these plants necessarily need rows (certainly not straight ones) and one can spade whatever space needed for as many of these wonderful sources of fresh produce as desired. And then use plenty of good mulch, as above, and wait for the harvest.

I actually have a 1972 Honda tiller one of my parishioners gave me years ago, but I still mulch profusely, and after many years the soil is wonderfully easy to work with.

Having said all that, I don't consider myself a master gardener. For that kind of help you need to consult with your parents or grandparents, or see one of your Old Order Mennonite or other friends who are experienced with this. Or if you live near Harrisonburg, visit Tom Benevento and Vine and Fig, the local New Community Project location along Main Street just a block north of the Little Grille.

Happy gardening! 

And enjoy your fresh produce--and giving away some surplus zucchini squash and tomatoes.