Learning to Garden – Planning a Grocery Garden

If you are just learning to garden, you may have seen that there are many different types of gardens and as many ways to grow plants. Whether you live in an apartment or on large acreage, you can grow some groceries. Factors like available space and time, physical capabilities, desired results, and personal values will help you determine the type and size of your garden. The good news is that there’s a garden just for you that will work in your situation and fit your circumstances.

To help you decide what type of garden to plant, evaluate your wishes, resources, and capabilities.

• What would you like to grow? Consider the foods you and your family enjoy eating. Which ones can be grown in a home garden? Which varieties will grow well in your area?
• Would you like just a few different veggies, or would you like to have a broad range of fresh ingredients for cooking and preserving?
• How much of each item do you want to grow? Do you want to raise just enough to eat fresh during the growing season? Or do you plan to preserve or store some for use throughout the rest of the year?
• What outdoor areas do you have that are suitable for gardening? Available space may limit you to container planting or edible landscaping, or it may offer you acres to work to your heart’s content.
• How much time can you realistically devote to garden maintenance? If you work away from home full time, you will have less time available than if you are home every day with hours free to work in the garden.
• Do you have back pain or joint issues that may prevent you from working and crawling around on the ground? If so, high raised beds may be a great solution for you.
• Are you comfortable with conventional gardening practices, or would you prefer to use more sustainable methods and products?

In future posts we’ll look at several types of gardens and methods of gardening suitable for various situations. You might want to start with one category or combine one or more. The best advice we can give a beginning gardener is to start small and start simple. It’s easier to expand a small gardening project than to deal with a frustrating garden that is too large to maintain. When you are learning how to garden, it is also wise to learn on some plants with simple requirements rather than taking on complicated plants that will test your patience.

Here is a list of our posts in our Learning to Garden series:

• Four Places to Grow Your Groceries, Part 1
• Four Places to Grow Your Groceries, Part 2
• Growing Herbs
• Growing Vegetables
• Growing Fruit
• Growing Flowers

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