Gardening is such a potential blessing for many and there are so many ways to do this.
Some of the topics below need to be finished and linked for proper usage please be patient.
Sprouting
I love sprouting during the winter because it adds fresh to my life. Sprouting is a great way to enjoy greens in the dead of winter when even my hearty plants in the green house are not producing enough. When you sprout a seed it releases a number of locked up ingredients.
I use sprouts in salads, smoothies, plain, and to add nutritional value to other recipes.
Some of my favorite things sprouted are broccoli sprouts (which I buy), mung bean sprouts, alfalfa, sunflower seeds, fennel, and chia.
Container Gardening
Starting with the most simple things that anyone can do lets look at potted plants. At the moment I have tomatoes in pots, chocolate mint, basil, pumpkins, strawberries, garden sorrel, other herbs, and hot peppers.
Why because some of them I want to grow in places that a pot works better. Some because they are herbs and not frost tolerant and I wish to bring them inside in the fall, Then I have the ones that have not found a home in the ground as of yet. The strawberries are a case all their own in that I can move them and direct where they can send off runners for new plants.
Small space large Yield
Growing vertically makes it easier to get large yields from small spaces. Growing year round or spring, summer, fall can up the yield as one crop finishes another can be added.
Working with Compost
This year I attended a great worm compost seminar where people learned how to do compost in a bin using leaves, grass, and worms. The seminar helped families in the community start their own worm composting. I have been letting the worms work on my compost for the last four years but not in containers and my chickens have taken a tole on my worm population that last couple of years. The process is fairly simple you just need to take the time to set it up and basically you can add your food scraps in a rotating fashion.
I also compost leaves, grass, old vines, soil, sand, and other organic matter in a large pike in the back yard. The pile also gets things like ash from my fire bowl, leaves from my neighbors yard, and horse manure.
Saving Seeds
I love to grow things from the last years seeds. I have most of my tomatoes from previous harvest of seeds. I also like to have a number of seeds from things I tried that I want to use again. The most enjoyable seeds I found useful this winter were my fennel seeds which are great sprouted. They have an amazing flavor. I save seeds from most of the things that I grow.
Bazil is another of those seed varieties that are wonderful to grow and save. All of the herbs will produce seed some well before you would like them too.
Weeding
Mulching
I have mulched with compost and wood chips for a long time. The purpose of mulching is to add nutrients and keep in moisture. This year I was blessed with stump grindings to use for mulch. I didn’t have to purchase compost from the dump. I think dumps composting tree waste and organic matter is a great idea. The chemical fertilizers and sprays people use are kind of scary though so knowing or getting your compost from an organic source feels really good. .
Harvest ideas
Picking veggies, herbs, berries, root crops, and seeds is a lot of work. It is worth the effort for me though because I have such great food to eat that way. I love picking peas and just eating them right there in the garden. Lettuce and berries are really wonderful right in the garden though it is nice to take them in and use them as well.
I love to harvest corn and open it up to see what it looks like.
Helping others
Gardening allows me to grow things for myself but it also gives me things to share with others. Sharing with others makes me happy. I love to share tomatoes and peppers with my neighbors. My parents had this great tradition of sharing extra produce with the neighbors. So I try to follow it as well. If I am blessed I want to bless others.
Mom and I had a great time one year sharing her cucumbers that just produced an amazing amount. Food banks, shelter, even your local church, are especially in need of fresh produce if you can grow it and share it.
Just taking time to enjoy your garden of the efforts of others is part of joy of gardening. It was no mistake when God gave Adam and Eve a garden to tend. Multiple studies have shown that gardening or even just being in a garden is good for your physical and mental health.
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Created for Gifts that lift us by Judy Woodworth all rights reserved 2018