Time To Plant That Victory Garden!
“Victory gardens raise morale, as well as crops.”
~ Mother Earth News
Our very first garden
Before we bought our beloved home back in Texas in 2006, we borrowed a friend's backyard where he generously allowed us to dig up a patch of soil and plant some vegetables. Bless our hearts, we were so desperate to grow something - anything - that first year that we drove across Dallas a few times a week just to visit and water our fragile seedlings.
I'm almost positive we had no idea what we were doing then, and no matter what happens now, it has to be better than harvesting one single cucumber, which is all we got in the summer of 2006.
That fall, we moved into our home and stood on the back steps overlooking our positively blank piece of Texas soil - a perfect square with a bit of grass and an old brick patio framed by a new wooden fence. I knew one thing - I wanted flowers. Lots of 'em.
But that winter of 2007, a fire pit and some tiki torches was the best we could do.
Come spring, we tried our hand at a small square-foot garden with a few marigolds and some very sad tomatoes (we were overeager and overprotective and overwatered them, most likely).
Then, on Christmas Day 2007, we really started digging. We first started digging up the brick patio to form flower beds {landscaping edging isn't cheap, you know}. I attacked weeds so fierce that they bit back, throwing me to the ground, leaving me with a few shredded leaves in my fist, the stubborn weed still firmly planted in its place. And oh, the "treasures" we unearthed, decades of debris - old pieces of shag carpet, bent spoons, plastic action figures, and even a cat skull. But little by little, it took shape...
Continue reading the story on my previous site, Dreams of Simple Life…
Our raised bed square foot gardens as we expanded and we figured out what we were doing :)
You Can Start A Garden Now
All those years ago, when we started that cutest, tiniest little hopeful garden in a corner of our urban backyard, we kept it really simple. Now, we’re actual real farmers in Tennessee, and while that’s definitely not for everyone, the point is - we started in a very small, tiny place. Not knowing what we were doing. Perhaps like you might feel right now.
Be encouraged that the road from there to here was a long, gradual journey. If we can go from that tiny garden to a farm with 17 acres, you can definitely grow a small garden in your backyard! I believe in you!
This is what you can do, starting now - just copy what we did:
We made one square-shaped raised bed using the guidelines in the book Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew and a few trips to Home Depot for some wood. I recommend cedar wood so it doesn’t rot quickly.
We used “Mel’s Mix” as the soil/compost mix and chose only the plants that grow the easiest in Texas soil.
We chose to grow veggies we liked to eat and that were easy to grow in our planting zone (Google “my planting zone” if you have no idea what I’m talking about). For where we live in middle Tennessee, here are some ideas of the easiest veggies to grow in your backyard (or front yard!): tomatoes, cucumbers, kale, cabbage, collard greens, okra, radishes, beets, summer squash, and all kinds of lettuces!
To keep it easy, we bought starter plants at a nursery and planted those.
You will plant your garden the day after the last frost in your area. We rely on the Farmer’s Almanac to let us know the last frost date for our region (here in middle TN, it’s April 21st).
A few more resources:
Go to The Farmer’s Almanac website to get a free beginner’s gardening guide here.
Here are 9 First Crops for your Coronavirus Victory Garden from the wonderful folks at Mother Earth News.
It’s Time To Bring Back Victory Gardens from Wellness Mama
Let me know if you have any questions, and I’ll help in any way I can!
