Grow Food:
Some say growing food is like printing money - that's if we don't spend too much up front. Anyone who realizes they are going to grow food into the future can spend more on infrastructure as they could see it as a 10 year investment.
But, if you're new to food growing, why not start with a 4 feet by 4 feet plot as featured in the picture? You can dig up some grass and plant right in the soil that's there. Or, cover the grass with newspaper and then put a 2" x 6" piece of lumber in a square, as shown, and fill with top soil or mushroom compost. Then plant into that mixture. In the picture are two cucumber and two tomato plants. They don't look like much now, but once grown they will fill the space. They need to be staked to a stick or tomato cage to prevent them from falling over and train them upright. Then cover the soil with cardboard, straw, leaves or newspaper to prevent weeds from growing - who wants to weed? Then regular watering is important, especially on 90º plus days.
Of course, if you start early enough in the year, you can plant bush string beans in between the other plants as they'll give you beans and be finished by the time the cukes and toms are 3 feet high and start yielding. You can even plant some lettuce seeds around their base when it's cool, but by June that's too late, the lettuce will struggle to grow.
Some say growing food is like printing money - that's if we don't spend too much up front. Anyone who realizes they are going to grow food into the future can spend more on infrastructure as they could see it as a 10 year investment.
But, if you're new to food growing, why not start with a 4 feet by 4 feet plot as featured in the picture? You can dig up some grass and plant right in the soil that's there. Or, cover the grass with newspaper and then put a 2" x 6" piece of lumber in a square, as shown, and fill with top soil or mushroom compost. Then plant into that mixture. In the picture are two cucumber and two tomato plants. They don't look like much now, but once grown they will fill the space. They need to be staked to a stick or tomato cage to prevent them from falling over and train them upright. Then cover the soil with cardboard, straw, leaves or newspaper to prevent weeds from growing - who wants to weed? Then regular watering is important, especially on 90º plus days.
Of course, if you start early enough in the year, you can plant bush string beans in between the other plants as they'll give you beans and be finished by the time the cukes and toms are 3 feet high and start yielding. You can even plant some lettuce seeds around their base when it's cool, but by June that's too late, the lettuce will struggle to grow.
By early July the plants are going to look like this with bees pollinating the flowers, and by end of July you'll be harvesting for weeks to come.
What plants do you like to eat? Buy those and start growing. It's best to start with small plants instead of seeds. You can buy them almost anywhere. If you become a garden-farmer, then perhaps you'll start seeds indoors before the frost ends and then transplant what you've grown.
If you'd like free help getting started in the 19320 area, use our contact form to get in touch. Or, if you're real hungry for info., download this amazing document from Penn State Agriculture Extension: Vegetable Gardening: Recommendations for home gardeners in Pennsylvania.
What plants do you like to eat? Buy those and start growing. It's best to start with small plants instead of seeds. You can buy them almost anywhere. If you become a garden-farmer, then perhaps you'll start seeds indoors before the frost ends and then transplant what you've grown.
If you'd like free help getting started in the 19320 area, use our contact form to get in touch. Or, if you're real hungry for info., download this amazing document from Penn State Agriculture Extension: Vegetable Gardening: Recommendations for home gardeners in Pennsylvania.
