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Ten Beginner Garden Plants
Starting a garden might seem intimidating or hard to do but it doesn't have to be. The goal might be to have a huge beautiful garden and with time and effort, that may happen. The plan is to start small and work your way up. If starting with tomatoes and peppers is where you are comfortable, then do it. Something growing is better than nothing at all. These are ten beginner garden plants that can be grown for beginner gardeners. These two grow nicely together. Potatoes like well drained loose soil. Dig a trench and burry potato slips into the ground or put them in a raised garden bed that…
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Preparing the garden bed
In the fall, I like to make sure my garden is as ready as possible for the spring. In the process of preparing the garden bed, I layer up many things I find in the yard that will compost over the winter. Things include leaves, twigs, chicken manure, vegetable scraps and dirt. I find that it is easier to accomplish the layering when the items are readily available and not frozen. The first step is cutting back all dead plants in your garden bed. If there are weeds, I will bag those up and dispose of them but if it's just dead vegetable plants, I cut them up into small…
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Gardening in February (Zone 5)
Gardening in February can be a busy month. There are many plants that can be started indoors and winter sown outside. I have always done "the lazy way" by winter sowing my seeds. This year I am starting some seeds indoors to help get a head start on plants I want to be bigger in the cooler months. Cool season crops should be started now. Gardening in February includes the brassica family, salad greens, herbs and flowers. All of these seeds can be planted directly into the garden soil in the spring. I want to just transplant some of these into the garden to help get a head start on…
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Winter Sowing
One of the easiest ways to garden is winter sowing. It's the process of planting seeds in a container with dirt and setting the container outside to sprout when it's ready. I have had great success with this method for the past 4 years. Plus it is a way I can reuse milk jugs. Winter sowing seeds a the most natural way for seeds to get ready to grow. Many seeds like having a cold season before they are willing to sprout. These plants are called hardy annuals and perennials. In my zone 5, it can can very cold in winter. Hardy annuals and perennial plants don't mind the cold…
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Gardening in January (Zone 5)
If you live in zone 5, gardening can start in January. I like to start some seeds indoors under a grow light and I also like to winter sow seeds outdoors. Now that the holidays are over, I like to think about and plan my garden for this year. It may seem too soon right now to start seeds but it can definitely be started in January in zone 5. I usually winter sow most of my seedlings. However, this year I am trying to start more seeds indoors to speed up the growth for some of the plants. I have had great success winter sowing and I have an…
