Garden Basics
Gardening, in my experience, is something that you need to get your hands dirty doing in order to fully understand it. I read so much on gardening before I took the leap. Reading helped immensely, but experiencing it is what taught me most.
This is my second year gardening, and I have finalized what I’ll be growing and how I want to do it just this past week. My guide is offered to you through both reading and experiences and I hope that it will aid you in your adventure of gardening.
First off, we practice a no-till gardening method. This means we do absolutely no digging into the soil, which I learned disrupts the natural ecosystem within it. However, we originally did this on accident because our soil in Northern Kentucky is clay and rocky. Not ideal. One of my favorite resources is Neversink Farm in upstate New York. I aspire to farm as beautifully as he does.
Second, I use as much as I possibly can from what I can find in my own backyard: branches, sticks, leaves, dried grass, rocks. These resources are available to us and work wonders in the garden at no cost. I know fancy is fun, but my garden grew wild and produced absolutely wonderful produce.
Third, we are big into composting, specifically vermicomposting, which I mention here, and soil health. These go hand-in-hand with using natural resources and using a no-till method.
Lastly, I encourage you to read as much as you can and want to in order to discover what best suits you and your needs and how big or small you want to start. It can be overwhelming which is why I’m writing this guide for you. Here is one of my staple books for learning about homesteading. So let’s get started!
Prepping Beds
We bought our home in late August 2021. I knew it was too late to get anything really growing with absolutely no prep work, so what I chose to do was use our moving boxes and layout my garden. I set the boxes down where I boxed out my beds, then laid a layer of chopped up dead leaves on top of them to keep them weighed down. Over the winter, everything decomposed, killing the grass, keeping the weeds at bay, and and nourishing the soil underneath.
Come springtime, I laid a thin layer of good quality soil and compost over the prepped beds and sowed my seeds directly into it. This method wasn’t the greatest, but my first year was all about learning. Instead, I’ll explain below what plants should be started indoors first and which should be sowed into the bed and when.
However, what was important was the preparation and the ability to use items I had on hand. Cardboard is a wonderful way to block weeds and kill grass, and boxes break down. This year we didn’t have any boxes, so instead we mowed up some dried leaves and set out a decent sized layer in the shape of the (newest) bed. My chickens have been scratching at it and pooping in it (very good for the soil!). When the leaves decompose, they will kill off the grass here and we’ll have a nice new area to lay soil and plant. This is my dedicated space for my rows of corn, dill, beans, and nasturtium.
Another addition I will have to prep my beds this year is compost. As mentioned previously, I vermicompost, meaning I use worms to help break down my food waste. I’m quite excited to be able to have “homemade” compost this year and truly see the fruits of my labor in every aspect of my gardening journey.
Last important thing to mention is to be sure of what gardening zone you’re part of. Check out what your zone is here to understand when to plant and what will thrive in your area. We are zone 6a.
What I’m Planting
After last year, I realized there were a couple things I didn’t want to plant again because they grow in abundance and I gave way too much to my chickens: cucumbers and zucchini. I love both of these things, but this year I wanted to step away from them and focus on other veggies. Instead, this year I added Brussels sprouts, spinach, peppers, and onions. I was also keen to add many more herbs and a new flower, zinnia, to my mix this year.
Companion Planting
I learned about companion planting many years ago. This is a method of planting herbs and flowers with veggies and fruits in order to naturally deter pests. Think strong smells like mint and garlic and how those could deter certain bugs from chomping on your hard work. It’s amazing and I didn’t have any problems with my plants last year. Here’s how I’m pairing my plants this year.
If you paid close attention, you probably noticed that I was missing a few of my items. I had extra room, so I planted a group of parsley alone, zinnias alone, and lavender alone in the garden bed. I really wanted to grow more herbs this year so I ended up with more than I needed, per se, for the amount of veggies I had.
Timing of Planting
How to Plant
Before I make purchases, I want to know what I purchase can be reused. I don’t like to buy those one-time use biodegradable planters because I plant too many seeds. In the past, I’ve used cardboard egg cartons instead, which do work great, and is a great way to reduce waste, but this year I wanted something more permanent to my gardening inventory.
I recently purchased this soil blocker and I cannot be more pleased with it. No need for fancy anything with these, just block your soil mixture and plant your seeds. They stay clean and organized and fit perfectly in these growing trays.
After my seeds are planted, I find the sunniest and warmest place in our house (happens to be our bathroom) and let the seedlings sprout, making sure to keep them watered.
Types of Seeds
Upon my search for seeds, I stumbled across many different brands and types and it was extremely overwhelming. So to start off pretty simply, seeds are separated into two main categories: hybrid seeds and heirloom seeds. Hybrid seeds are, as implied, created with human intervention while heirloom seeds are seeds saved year after year (over 50 years, in fact) from the original plant. They’re both unique in their own ways. I choose a variety of each when seed selecting.
This year I chose to get my seeds from Burpee. They have a plethora of choices, from hybrid and heirloom to organic. They have both seeds and plants to choose as well. Vegetables, herbs, flowers, and fruits. Anything you can think of, they have.
I purchase my worms from Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm, and there are heirloom seeds available there as well. Last year I got autumn beauty sunflowers and they were absolutely stunning.
Besides choosing what it is I want to grow and eat, I also researched companion plants. Honestly, it just so happens all you really need are herbs and flowers alongside your veggies and they’re extremely easy to grow. Herbs are also easy to harvest and dry and store, which we’ll discuss later in the series. Start with what you want to eat and go from there when selecting your seeds.
Jump Right In
I kept feeling like I didn’t know what I was doing enough to garden. I’d see my plants sprout and then I’d see some things dying. I couldn’t for the life of me get my green beans to produce more than flowers all last summer, then I learned about a product to boost their fruiting and learned what their soil needed. Then they wouldn’t stop producing.
Gardening is a continuous journey of learning by doing. You can’t possibly know what to do unless you start, so get out there, make mistakes, learn from them, and grow delicious and beautiful things!
Some upcoming blogs in my Garden Guide Series Collection:
- Beneficial Bugs & Common Pests
- Recognizing Common Plant Issues & How to Resolve
- All About Fruits
- Herb Collection and Storage
Disclosure: Some of my links are affiliate links, meaning that if you click on them and purchase, I make a small profit from Amazon.
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