How does your garden grow?

How many times have you been on a social media platform and seen a post that resembled the following: my food comes from the grocery store?  Like most farm kids, I learned at an early age that the food on our table came from the garden and livestock.  It may not have been raised at our place but someone, somewhere produced everything from the sugar in our sweet tea to the beef roast, carrots and potatoes on our plates.  This information is something that I took for granted but I didn’t realize that not everyone knew that livestock, fruits and vegetables were grown in order to produce food for people.  It was in college that I realized that some people my own age, 18 at the time, had never seen a cow in real life and possibly didn’t realize that cattle produced milk to drink and meat to eat.  That’s when I realized how lucky I was to have grown up on a farm being taught how to grow my own food.  Since 2020, people have been looking into their food supply options other than grocery stores.  Some have looked for local suppliers to which you can find a few under the Farm Fresh tab in our Media section on our website: www.yourfarmerscoop.com.  Others frequent the local farmer’s markets when they are in season.  Then, there are the brave people who want to learn to grow their own food and this week’s blog is about the different types of gardening and what you’ll need to be successful with each one so let’s get growing!

Space and Time

A couple of main things to consider when deciding on growing veggies is how growing much time and space you have for this garden.  Obviously if you live in an apartment and/or work long hours then you’ll be more limited on what and how much you can plant so a container garden would be a great option in these situations.  Because containers come in different sizes, you would determine how big or small you wanted these containers to be and you can move them around if needed.  Container gardens would also be a great choice for someone who works long hours and won’t be able to spend a lot of time caring for the plants because weeds and plant pest won’t be as much of an issue.  Because container gardening doesn’t have as many pests, less chemical would be needed to keep the plants producing which would be a major advantage for people who want to stay as natural as possible.  Also, not as much large equipment is needed for container gardening and if you moved the containers can go with you.  Most vegetables can be grown in containers as long as growing space is available…for example, if you wanted to grow a vining crop, you’ll need to plan on where the vine will go once it starts to crawl.  One drawback to having a container garden would be the added expense of the actual containers and bagged dirt but the price of food in stores is going up by the day.  The convenience of picking your food from your patio, not to mention the pride and bragging rights you would gain would more than make up for the expense.  Ready to move off the patio or have a little more time and space?  Move on up to a raised bed garden!

Moving on Up

Growing veggies in a raised bed would be another great option for people who maybe live on smaller lots or who doesn’t want to have to buy a tiller or other more expensive equipment to grow vegetables.  Raised beds can be made out of pallets, bags of soil, straw bales or some of the fancier raised beds may consist of crossties or landscaping timbers. Some are only 8” – 10” above ground level and some are built up and fenced so that rabbits can’t hop through and nibble on crops.  A raised bed can be as small and economical or as big and elaborate as your budget will allow but the vegetables will taste the same.  Like container gardens, the biggest required expense will be the dirt unless you want a nice, fancy, permanent raised bed built with crossties or landscape timbers.  If container and raised bed gardens aren’t your thing or you don’t want to be confined then you could always go with a more traditional type garden that’s planted directly into the ground.

Sky is the Limit

The sky is the limit on how big to make a traditional garden which is what I’m calling the gardens that are planted directly into the ground.  These gardens are only limited to the amount of land that you have dedicated for a garden area and how much work you want to put into raising your own vegetables.  More traditional gardens will be a little more work because of grass, weeds and bugs and also because the preparation of the ground will take a little more effort.  When getting ready to plant seeds or plants in the ground, the ground will need to be tilled or worked as country folk call it.  I normally plant after the middle of May because anyone who has lived in Tennessee very long knows that we have “little winters” until around the end of May.  These little cold snaps happen regularly in Tennessee and will send you scrambling for anything you can find to cover those plants to save them from frost and freezing temperatures.  All the work is worth it though, when you cook that first head of broccoli or bite into that first ear of sweet corn.  A traditional garden is the way to go to produce volumes and if you’re wanting to can or freeze vegetables on a large scale, this is the only garden for you!

Growing a garden can be overwhelming if you’ve never tried to do it but have no fear, your CO-OP is here!  Regardless of whether you plant in containers or in the ground, grow some fresh vegetables this year.  You won’t be sorry and if you have any questions, we’ll be happy to help!  Stop on by your local CO-OP and get all your gardening supplies.  We have most everything you need and can give you advice if you’re a little unsure about how to handle something.  If you don’t feel up to planting your own, holler at us and we’ll help put you in touch with some of our local producers who would love to have your business as well!  Stop back by this section next week for a little more information on the “little winters” of Tennessee!  Happy gardening!