I want to start a garden. Here are my two biggest problems in doing this.
1. I live in a townhouse and don't technically "own" any land. I have a westward facing covered front porch and an eastward facing uncovered patio.
2. I don't know how to grow plants and the thought of starting a bunch of plants at once is a little overwhelming.
My solution for (1) is to grow a container garden. This brings on a couple of new problems. Namely, I don't have any containers and I don't know how big the containers should be in order to produce enough produce (ha) to make this venture financially responsible. I'm a little worried that I'm going to spend more getting started than I'll save in not buying produce at the store or farmer's market.
My solution for (2) is to read. Unfortunately, I get distracted when I start to read things. I checked out some books from the library, but I'll probably forget most of the stuff I've learned from them. I did learn (and remember) that the best place to position the containers is in a southern facing position. The south side of my house is attached to another house.
I do know that I want to grow tomatoes upside-down, using one of these: https://www.topsytree.com/flare/next?tag=ossmmn
If anyone has any knowledge of growing anything, but especially lettuce, tomatoes, and peppers, let me know!
I want to start a garden too. I figured I'd just start with herbs and then slowly move into other things. I'd look for seminars at your library. Our library is currently doing some flower gardening stuff, so I keep watching for when they do a vegetable garden one. Sorry I don't have any other tips. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteAsk around at IU - colleges are full of hippies who want to do things themselves and have enough of their parents' money to blow it on fancy gadgets and stupid ideas, but sometimes you'll find someone with good ideas.
ReplyDeleteAlso, as far as being "financially responsible", think of it as a hobby more than as a replacement for the market. Don't blow $500 on a window box, but if you spend $150 on supplies to get started and only get $50 worth of produce, you'll still have gone through a season of growing your own stuff, it will often taste better, and you'll be proud of yourself. DO IT!