Suburban Gardening

It is not really an urban garden and certainly not the type you would find on a nice plot of land in the country so I guess you call it a suburban garden? 

I may have just made that up but let's go with it. 

And warning...if you are a real gardener, now is the time to stop reading because my motto goes along the lines of trial and error. If you are experienced, my low down on suburban gardening will sound like nails on a chalkboard.  I'm not an expert and I could be breaking every cardinal rule of growing but it works for me.

Growing a garden makes me really happy. I seriously feel like a kiddo in a candy store when I get to pick something that I actually grew. It's the bees knees and if I can do it, so can you. Trail and error people, trial and error.  When something actually grows you will feel like you should quit your job and become a farmer because practically you are. 

Or something like that. 

Anyway, the first summer in my home, I decided to try my luck and put Emily to work tilling up the grass. God bless little sisters. 

In total, my little raised bed garden is only 4 foot by 8 foot. Pretty small but being in the 'burbs puts limitations on how much of the lawn one can actually convert. There are millions of online tutorials for what is best so I just went with what seemed most logical.

Two things:

1. The soil in my area is all clay based so a raised bed garden was best. 

2. Don't even judge my two tone fence. I stained part of it when I first moved in and well the other half took a back burner to life. Oops. 

 Each spring, I use a shovel to loosen the soil that is left over from the previous year (because it is a small area a tiller isn't necessary after the first year of digging up the yard). Once it is loosened, I pour compost soil over the top. I have no idea if it is necessary but stating with a top layer of fresh nutrient rich soil makes sense in my head. 

The winters in Missouri don't lend themselves well to growing from seeds so I start with transplants. And let me tell you the best kept secret...go to your local farmers market to buy your transplants. Why? Because farmers are a gold mine of info and they love to share their passion. So I think about what veggies and herbs I love to eat and then illicit the help of an expert to map it out. The first year I gardened, I was clueless so I wondered through a booth and saw zucchini transplants. I happen to love zucchini so I asked how it is grown, how much space it needs, how much one transplant yields, etc. The nice farmer was so excited to see a "kid" express interest in something he loved that he went on and on and on. 

 The key to mapping a garden is understanding how each thing you want to plant grows. For instance, zucchini grows out on a vine while peppers grown up on a stalk. Keeping that in mind, zucchini need more space between each transplant while peppers can be planted closer together. 

How things grow is a question that the farmer can answers or good ol' google. 

 This year I planted zucchini, peppers (yellow, red, and green), green beans, and tomatoes. I have found that tomatoes (and my herbs...basil, rosemary, and parsley) do quite well in a container (so in a pot instead of being stuck in the ground). And, each year I like to throw a wild card into the mix. Basically it is one new type of transplant to keep my 'trail and error method' alive. It's something I have never grown and don't have my hopes set on thriving. If it works, I will incorporate it into future gardens and if not, no biggie. 

 The wild card of the year is brussels sprouts. I mean what? 

I love brussels sprouts and if you google how they grow it's actually kinda neat. 

We shall see what will be with them!

 Because transplants are a little weak when they are first planted (as in a little flimsy thing trying to defend itself again rain and wind) I have found that giving them a little boost in stability is helpful. You can get as fancy or as popsicle stick/sharpie/loosely tied twine as you want. 

Type 'garden support' into pinterest and you will be mind blown on all the ways in which you can protect your veggies. But alas, keeping it simple works too. 

Someday, I would love to have a big garden with lots and lots of wild cards but my little 4x8 produces plenty of goodness for me (and any tenants that I have at the time).

If gardening sounds overwhelming, start with a couple containers and see how it goes. When you get your first tomatoes or are able to grab fresh cilantro to toss into guac you might as well chalk yourself up to being as great as Martha.