Believe it or not, getting into the world of edible gardening is actually quite simple despite how intimidating it might look from the outside. While there are many complex ways to go about growing edibles, which will no doubt increase your crop yields, it doesn’t take as much effort to get started as you might think. All it really takes is;
I’ve written this Snippet for those of you looking for a basic, no-nonsense, no-frills approach to getting started with edible gardening. I call this “lazy gardening” and it’s the method I’ve been using for the past seven years to grow more than enough produce for a household of two during the warmer months of the year.
To facilitate your journey into the world of edible gardening, I've enlisted the help of two professionals who live and breathe all things edible gardening. Both work at my favorite local nursery, Swansons, and were kind enough to provide some words of wisdom for you. Rolf Hokansson is a perennials lead and grew up on a farm with a half acre vegetable garden. Aimée Damman works in the marketing department, has five raised beds on her urban homestead, and kindly recalls that vegetable gardening was her very first love. Throughout this Snippet make sure to listen to Rolf and Aimée's tips - they're two of the most down-to-earth garden professionals I've ever met.
My own journey with edible gardening began about seven years ago when I was still living a rather mobile lifestyle moving once a year or so. I planted a few herb starters in containers and advanced to all sorts of vegetables in the following years. Today, I’m still not permanent but fortunate enough to be renting from folks who were willing to let my husband and I convert half the front yard into a raised bed edible garden. Now I work with three raised beds and a covered patio, which acts like a green house for my jungle of heat loving edibles grown in containers.
Heat loving edibles like peppers and eggplants grow in containers on my covered patio.
In the Pacific Northwest, I grow my heat loving edibles in containers in my greenhouse like patio to give them the heat they crave.
Aside from having a basic interest in growing plants, perhaps the most common reason to start growing your own edible garden is to save money on produce. One head of organic romaine lettuce at the grocery store may run you a couple of dollars and for the same price you can pick up a packet of 500 seeds. Sure you have to factor in the cost of soil, a container, fertilizer, water, and time – but in the end you’ll save both money and surprisingly, time. Instead of spending time in the produce section of the grocery store, you’ll just need to go outside the door to pick out some leafy greens or tomatoes for dinner. Growing edibles can also give you a less expensive and more convenient opportunity to fill your diet with mostly organic and non-genetically modified organism (GMOs) vegetables.
At a more macro level, like a breakdown of society or even a natural disaster which could leave you temporarily isolated, learning to grow edibles provides you with a valuable life skill. Growing food provides you with great security and power to feed yourself and others during times of emergency.
If you asked ten edible gardeners for the “right way” to grow edibles – you’ll likely get ten completely different answers. Everyone has their own secrets developed over years of experience, from eggshells or fish heads planted below tomatoes to elaborate custom soil mixtures.
In my experience, I’ve found edible gardeners fall into one of four broad categories. While there are always exceptions to every rule, I find it’s helpful to keep these styles in mind when receiving advice. Everyone has their own experiences and preferences when it comes to growing edibles, so make sure to take all advice with a grain of salt. I fall into the last type, the Lazy Gardener – the type for whom I’ve written this Snippet.
This gardener means serious business, just like the style title implies. They start almost all their own seeds, some saved from last year’s garden, indoors or even in custom built green houses. You can easily spot their domain because all the flat space has been converted to raised beds – forget about grass. You may even spy a chicken coop or free range hens. They’ve spent years developing their own special soil blends and tricks to naturally boosting their crop yields.
This gardener is all about creating that picture perfect garden seen on the pages of garden magazines or Pinterest. When considering what edibles to plant, they’ll lean towards beautiful plants with unique colors like Osaka Purple mustard greens, Purple Ruffles Basil, and Turks Turban Squash.
Often apartment dwellers, these gardeners spend their time maximizing space by growing in containers. They come up with creative ways to stack containers or grow their gardens in wall hanging pocket gardens. Some even get into alternative growing methods like aero-, bio-, or hydroponics; which work well indoors since these methods doesn’t use any dirt.
If you’re feeling sensitive about this title, you could also consider this style “The Low-Expectations Gardner.” Meaning these gardeners are interested in growing their own edibles, but want to put in the minimal amount of time and effort and aren’t too worried about the results. In my experience, I’ve always put in the minimum effort and had general success. Sure a few of my seeds don’t sprout each year – but over all things grow well enough to feed my household of two and then some. If you’re interested in entering into the world of edible gardening as a Lazy Gardener, this Snippet is for you.
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Before we dig into this new world any further, lets go over a few key terms you ought to know.