Spring time! Here in hardiness Zone 5, we are getting ready for gardening season. I will be sowing some of my seeds indoors this week, as well as planning my garden layout a bit more.
Like a lot of things I do, I started blindly gardening without a lot of information. I bought generic gardening soil, 5 gallon buckets, and some seeds from Home Depot. Frankly, it has worked super well for the past 3 summers of having a garden. That being said, I really want to learn more about my hobby so I can get better at it.
In general, being outside is something that truly brings me joy. Being able to combine my love for nature and food is the best of both worlds.
Truthfully, gardening the way I was gardening is expensive! Potting mix, buckets, buying pre-sown seedlings from the store are all decently expensive if you want a large garden. I want to be able to achieve simplicity, knowledge and cost-effectiveness into my garden.
All this being said – I have had killer gardens the past 3 years. I have learned a lot just by putting seeds in the ground and have had pretty amazing success in my gardens. I am planning on bringing you along while I make my garden this year. We will see what works, what doesn’t work, and maybe learn some stuff along the way.
What to expect
There are a lot of things I am doing this year for my garden:
- Planting berry bushes
- Planting fruits
- Planting herbs
- Planting veggies I know and love growing
- Planting veggies I have tried growing – and failed at
- Planting veggies I have never grown
- Building healthy soil – using lasagna gardening
Trigger warning: I know there are a bunch of vegetables that are actually fruits. However, I am apparently unable to mentally grow from what I was told was what as a child, so I consider them veggies still and I can’t help it. Sorry if this puts you in a position of discomfort – just know it is not malicious.
Also, I got a farmer almanac this year! It is crazy how much I learned and I honestly feel really dumb for just realizing how informational and helpful they are for planning my garden. 10/10 recommend for gardeners everywhere. There is a whole section about gardening with moon phases and companion planting. Both of which are new concepts for me gardening, so we will see how they goes. Spoiler: apparently they both produce more fruiting on the plant when done properly.
My garden schedule
This week I will be sowing my seeds indoors and next week I will be giving you a more in-depth detail about one of my many gardening things I am doing this year.
In the end of April – Beginning of May I will be planting windflowers outside of my house. I am hoping to bring more pollinators into the area as well as having a beautiful yard. I was able to find a farm that sells native wildflowers of the Northeast, so hopefully they grow well and I can document that process too! The wildflowers are perennials and I can not begin to express how excited I am about having a wildflower meadow at my house yearly.
At the end of May, I will be putting my indoor sown seeds outside in the garden. Around that same time I will plant the veggie seeds that get directly sown outdoors (squash varieties, etc).
Over the next couple weeks I plan to give a sneak peak into the process I am using this year. I do not know if this is the best way or if it will work well. I am just going to be honest and show you what I learn and how I do it. Will I probably change some things next year? 100%.
Will I be posting recipes with using fresh veggies grown in the garden this summer? A zucchini New York Pizza will change your life, and I can guarantee that.
Subscribe to our website or follow us on Pinterest to get more hot gardening information from a Mainer trying her best to learn how to garden properly.
This is wonderful! Thank you!