Mr. Indie Fixx and I are are planning our own little Victory Garden this year. Nothing big, just some tomatoes, spinach, squash, peppers and herbs. Just some of the stuff we eat a lot of in the summer. We’ve never really done this before, so this is new territory for us, but we have been talking about this for several years now and this year it just makes sense.
Are you a long-time gardener or newbies like us and have decided to help reduce your food bills this growing season? Whatever the case may be, please share your thoughts about gardening in general, gardening during a recession, tips, tricks, what you are planning on growing or whatever you feel like sharing. I’m really interested in hearing how many of you are planning on starting a garden as a result of these uncertain times.
Since now is the time to start thinking about seeds, I thought I’d share some Etsy sellers who sell both seeds, cuttings and plants. Right now, most are just offering seeds, but in the upcoming weeks I’m sure they will be offering more plants and cuttings as well.
Heirloom Rutger Tomato Organic Seeds from Green Thing ~~~~~ Early Jalapeno Pepper Seeds from The End Peace
Organic Heirloom Dill Seeds from Green Thing ~~~~~ Buttercrunch lettuce seeds from FluffnFlowers
Forsythia Plant from FluffnFlowers ~~~~~Organic Heirloom Sweet Green Bell Pepper Seeds from Smoky Mist Gardens
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Spearmint Plant from ShellBerry ~~~~~ Liatris Bulbs from Deb Roninson’s Shop
I’ve been a gardener since I was 14. I have coordinated a school garden for over 10 years and also worked on youth gardening with my city for a number of years. I have installed veggie gardens for folks and of course, have my own garden.
I buy a lot of my perennial herbs as plants but basil, dill and parsley are started from seed. Actually, dill and parsley just reseed. The mistake most people make with basil is to start it to early. Wait until June and seed directly in the garden, you’ll have more basil then you can imagine!
As for compost, layer your kitchen and garden waste with leaves(check Craigs List), add a little garden soil to introduce decomposers and keep moist.
Here’s a link to a good seed company with reasonable prices and good variety:
http://www.fedcoseeds.com/
If you have any questions feel free to email me. Happy gardening!
Gorgeous! And practical too!
Laura, we are planning on doing a raised bed, good to hear that will help with rabbits.
We’ve been talking about dong compost, but we usually don’t bag our grass or leaves, just leave them on the grass. I guess we could do some raking for the compost, but what’s the ratio to veg and fruit scraps to yard waste?
Way to go. We’re well on the way with our vegetables patches. Check out our blog, Gustoso for hints and tips: http://gustoso.wordpress.com/
Oh dear, I don’t know about Asian beetles! But for the rabbits – have you considered doing raised beds? Planting in raised beds can seriously help avoid problems with rabbits, moles, and other ground-dwelling critters.
Make your own compost! Save all your scraps (no dairy or meat) and paper, leaves, whatever. We don’t have a fancy composter, I made one out of an old rubbermaid tub with a few holes poked in the lid and the bottom for drainage. Works great!
Also, any suggestions for organic gardening to deal with pests. Especially rabbits, cats and Asian beetles.
Thaks, for the herb tips, Melissa. i think I will do them in pots.
hmm, compost. hadn’t thought about that. Any suggestions?
Wow, I didn’t know about seeds on Etsy either! Last year we planted cherry tomatos in a giant planter on the front porch and by April we had a GIANT set of plants. (Taller than me at 5’9) They were always just popping with tomatoes, until we finally stopped taking care of it when the end of Fall came around. We had so many tomatoes that we were giving them away all the time and still could have lived off of them. I estimated the market value of what we consumed over those 7 months to have been about $150. (we’d normally spend around $5-6 a week on those little cherry tomato containers at the market, which were never very fresh.) All for a start up cost of a few dollars! And this great tomato success was my first gardening attempt EVER. Anyone can do it. I’m definately doing it again, and I’ll add a new veggie this year!
thanks so much for this post. proof yet again you can buy ANYTHING on etsy!
you’ve got me thinking about what i’ll need to start my own little “renter’s” garden!
We had our first garden last year. It was a great learning experience. Not everything worked out: I killed the peas with death by choking (on weeds) and neither the carrots or the onions even came up. But the corn was fabulous, the potatoes grew just fine and the green beans were to DIE for.
Oh, and I tossed a store-bought cantelope in the garden as compost, literally just tossed the rinds and a bit of seeds on the top of the earth, and I ended up with six cantelope. So that was easy.
It was a small garden, with just a little produce. On the other hand, we didn’t use any chemicals at all, and very, very little compost. (I’d just started composting.) I’m thinking this year, with the addition of compost and knowledge, it will do much better.
I’ve been trying to grow herbs for a few summers now. Here are my findings: #1…Grow them in pots. That way, you can move them inside when it gets too cold and have fresh herbs all winter, AND some herbs, like mint, spread like crazy and will take over the whole yard. Seriously! #2…Don’t do the seed thing. I did because I heard some urban legend saying herbs from seed taste better in the long run, but I have yet to get my herbs to do anything spectacular. My friend, on the other hand, grew the most lush, beautiful basil last year from a start she got at Home Depot! #3…Don’t baby them too much. My herbs grew the best when I ignored them for a few weeks. I walked outside one day and POW! I had great rosemary all of a sudden.
i love this post–thanks for the links. we bought some recycled plastic containers for our deck last year at the HEIGHT of wedding planning, so i never got to it! post wedding, it’s my next project! i can’t wait to see your posts about your garden!
I didn’t even think of indie plants or seeds! How neat.
Ever since I was little, my Dad has always had an awesome garden and this year will be no different. I plan on helping out as much as I can because heaven knows I eat a lot of the harvest. š
We froze a lot of veggies last year and have been enjoying them all winter.
I’ll just have to live vicariously through the rest of you. This new neighborhood is overrun with deer; they eat even stuff that deer aren’t supposed to like. I imagine a vegetable garden would last about a second and a half around here. Maybe one day I’ll be able to get a greenhouse enclosure…
Stephanie, you can even buy plants! I bought a blackberry plant last year for my sister and had it shipped right to her house.
Wow, I had no idea you could buy seeds on Etsy, that is so nifty! Good luck with your garden š My father and I raise a small garden every year and somehow the veggies just taste better when you grow them yourself š
I would really like to have a container planter of fresh herbs in my kitchen, ready to cook with. I have a small yard, so I also will have tomato plants in pots on the patio. Maybe there are more veggies I can grow in pots since I don’t have enough yard for a garden? I’ll have to research…
sounds delicious…I’ve never grown a garden, but I would love to and I have a little patch of dirt here in the city. I’m up for the challenge.
I’m absolutely planning a garden this year – if we can get the empty mobile home moved off the spot I want to use in time for planting. š
Last year I spent a fortune at my weekly farmer’s market and I STILL ended up buying produce at my icky local grocery store. I vowed that this year there would be a garden – and the financial situation is making it even more pressing. We’re getting chickens too – we already got an old coop from some friends and now we’re just waiting for warmer weather.
I never even thought of looking for seeds on Etsy! Thanks for the tip!