Gardening: Not Just for Grandmas
If you haven’t heard, gardening is undergoing a bit of a renaissance. It is suddenly becoming cool to grow your own plants and vegetables.
As recently as a handful of years ago, this hobby would probably prompt you to conjure up an image of an old lady with a colorful floppy sun hat, green knee pads, and a tiny shovel/rake tending her personal greenery because she didn’t have much else to do (sorry grandma).
The last word most people would have used then in connection with gardening was “cool.” But fast forward to 2019 and suddenly gardening is a popular hobby for millennials. From a recent New York Times article in March 2018:
“Millennials were responsible for 31 percent of houseplant sales in 2016,” according to Ian Baldwin, a business adviser for the gardening industry. The 2016 National Gardening survey found that of the six million Americans who took up gardening that year, five million were ages 18 to 34. “This group has more college debt and as a result, are renting homes instead of buying,” Mr. Baldwin said. “Houseplants are a low-cost way to have a green space at home.”
Join the Garden Party
Whether you are a person who rents or owns your home, gardening is a rewarding hobby to get into and you don’t need much space to try this hobby out. I started a few years ago with a few simple herb plants, basil and cilantro.
I do own a home with a yard but I started very small with just two small milk jug sized pots that I kept indoors near a window ledge. For transparency’s sake, I had zero prior experience with plants other than knowing from my 3rd grade science class that they need water and sunlight to grow.
I found that the basil and cilantro plants were very easy for me to keep up with and most importantly, keep alive. They also provided really cool fresh options that my wife and I would use for dinners.
You can also find pre-started basil and cilantro, seasonally, from stores where plants are sold (Home Depot, Lowes, local plant shops) for around $3-$4 per plant or I’ve discovered that you can buy seeds cheaply on Ebay for $1-2 (including shipping).
The approach depends on you but the packet of seeds is certainly the most cost effective. Depending on how much of the herb you plan to use, you most likely will have enough seeds to keep you supplied for the next few years. The cost is usually around $1-2 but the downside is that you’ll have to wait longer for the plant to grow to begin using it.
There are several online Ebay options as well for multiple types of herb seeds for under $10. This is a great option if you aren’t sure exactly what types you want to try.
It’s the equivalent of buying a variety pack of granola bars. Why commit to one if you aren’t sure you’ll like it? With these seed bundles, you still get enough to typically to last you a very long time for the amount of money.
The upside of the $3-4 plants I mentioned before is that they are immediately usable and will grow large very quickly, however, if the plant dies you’ll have to start over again. I’ve tried both ways and there are benefits and drawbacks to both depending on how much time and money you want to commit.
Botanical Baby Steps
Feeling like “plant grower of the year” and with my confidence supremely boosted by not killing the cilantro and basil plants, I decided to branch into other low maintenance houseplants to further test my green thumb. I wanted to see if this was a fluke (I secretly thought that it might be).
So next I purchased about 4 or 5 different types of succulents. Not familiar with succulents? Think of cactus type plants that you would most often find in desert type conditions. They do not require much water and are consequently tough to kill. You can usually find them where plants are sold, home improvement stores, for under $10 depending on what type and size you want.
To my surprise, my succulent experiment was a great success. Knowing what I know now about those plants, this shouldn’t have come as a surprise at all. You see these plants only required watering every 1-2 weeks and despite the little effort required to grow and maintain them, I would frequently get compliments from visitors to our house.
For a pretty small chunk of money and almost zero skill, I was able to have fresh basil, cilantro, and also low maintenance conversation starter plants that made our house look both interesting and unique.
Backyard Garden or Bust
Reflecting on my new “no plant left behind” mindset and cherishing my perfect record of never having a plant die on me, I chose to branch out into vegetable gardening. I am fortunate to own my house, which has a decent sized backyard where my vegetable garden journey all began.
I started with just a 3 ft x 3 ft. area (small enough to accommodate the greenspace in the back of most townhomes). I used a shovel and just dug down about 6 inches all throughout it and just mixed up the soil with the shovel. I didn’t yet have a ground tiller and did all of that by hand, which was absolutely no fun…….but I stuck with it.
Taking the same measured approach that I had employed with herbs and houseplants, I chose to only plant tomatoes and peppers. I like to think of my gardening strategy making good use of the KISS method – keep it simple stupid.
I live in Indiana and the usual saying that you hear from most people is that you should wait until Mother’s Day to plant your garden to make sure that you are completely clear of winter and the deadly frosts. Well, several years ago, we were lucky enough to enjoy some very warm weather in Indiana just a few weeks before Mothers Day.
This being my first time trying a garden and being very excited and impatient, I went ahead and planted my tomatoes and peppers. Mother nature (appropriately) chose to end my perfect plant record.
A frost, a few days before Mother’s Day, promptly killed all of my plants and had me rethinking my grand vegetable garden plan. Rather than quitting though like I initially thought about doing, I decided to double down.
For my next go at it, I waited a couple of weeks after Mother’s Day, again with the tomatoes and peppers. Well I’m happy to report that these plants ended up being successful otherwise my personal gardening story may have taken a very different path.
After a few years, I have now expanded to an 8 ft x 10 ft garden which usually has about 7-10 different vegetables in it. All of this came from my initial experiment of just growing 1 or 2 types of herbs with absolutely no experience.
If you have a backyard like me and the space to plant, here are some tips to get started.
Six Tips Before You Start Your First Garden
1) 811 before you dig! You never know where gas, phone, cable, and water lines are buried. This is very important! They will come out and mark your property, in most instances, for free.
If you don’t want to dig, you can also decide to use raised beds, which put everything above ground usually surrounded by wood or plastic barriers. A lot of people find this easier. It depends on how “permanent” you want that garden to be.
If you do decide to go with raised beds you can make your own using items from the hardware store or you can order pre-made ones on Amazon or Ebay. Some of these are actually pretty awesome as you can move them around and break them down in winter and put them in storage. They make gardening “mobile.”
If you decide that garden is most likely going to be a permanent fixture, you’ve had your underground lines clearly marked, and want to till up the earth. I use this cheap electric garden tiller that would be worth your investment if you plan to stick with the hobby. Very easy to use and does a great job.
2) Determine the dimensions of your garden in an area that will get some sun. I would start small with just a couple of vegetables at first. Measuring becomes more important the larger you want to make it. If it is your first rodeo you can eyeball it. Are there rabbits or pets to worry about? Then you may want to consider small fencing options.
3) Pick out what you are interested in growing. Visit this website: https://www.ufseeds.com/learning/planting-schedules/
It will tell you your states average first and last frost dates and will tell you the best times to plant all different types of vegetables that can help you decide.
4) Make sure you’ve got a hose that will reach your plants and/or a watering can. Seems like common sense right? I started a garden and realized I didn’t have a hose. Classic cart before the horse move on my part.
5) Check with your spouse (if applicable) or roommates. Nothing worse than making a garden without asking them. I’ll go ahead and own up that I also speak from personal experience on this one.
6) If you have an HOA (Homeowners Association for my non-acronym loving friends) where you live, check your laws first. Some actually do prevent vegetable gardens unfortunately. I hope you don’t live in one of those. Mine actually does not allow them but...they do allow flower gardens.
Pro tip: Put a few flowers in your garden. Your vegetable garden becomes a “flower garden” if the HOA gets angry. I don’t know if this will work for you but it certainly worked for me! Just don’t go bragging about it.
No Backyard? Limited Space?
The tips above work out great if you have a backyard but what if you do not? Well, you can still garden even if you don’t have the luxury of space.
Many vegetables can actually be grown indoors as well – you just need some containers to grow them in and a place where they can get some sunshine. Carrots, beets, onions, garlic, herbs, cherry tomatoes, and lettuce are all great candidates for indoor growing.
You can try the small/mid-size decorative plant containers they have at Wal-Mart, Target, Lowes, etc or if you are less concerned with the look, I’ve found that by getting a 5 gallon bucket ($2-3 at most stores or some restaurants will give them to you free) and punching/drilling many holes at the bottom of the bucket for drainage, you’ve got a perfectly productive planter for cheap.
Put about 2 inches of gravel inside the bucket before you put in the soil to help with the drainage and you are in business. Just make sure you’ve got something underneath the bucket in case you over water.
I’ve used Tupperware for the lid of the bucket before. Depending on the weather in your area, you can also move these buckets inside or outside as well. It gives you a lot of options and doesn’t require much space. If that bucket is too ugly for your living room there are several places on Pinterest that will show you how to make it “living room worthy.”
If you want to start indoor gardening, try beginning small and easy with some lettuce. You can get the individual lettuce plants from a store or you always buy seeds online for a couple of dollars. Most lettuce are prolific producers and will keep regenerating so you’ll be able to keep harvesting it.
What Do I Get Out of This?
Some of the positives of gardening are obvious, however a few of them did come as a surprise to me. Here they are in no particular order:
Vegetable gardens get you incredibly fresh, tasty, and healthy food that is tough to replicate from stores. You don’t have to drive anywhere to get it. It won’t have any chemicals unless you use them.
Cranky people love fresh produce. Whether they are neighbors, friends, or family members, I’ve found fresh produce gifts bury hatchets and smooth over differences and conflicts. The best part…the fresh veggies cost you very little to pass out vs. buying that giftcard or I’m sorry card.
Physical exercise. This one actually surprised me. All of the bending, leaning, squatting, and stretching involved with gardening made me realize that this hobby is so much better than just sitting in front of the television or surfing on your phone.
Proud Papa (Mama) Syndrome. The sense of pride and accomplishment you get from successfully growing produce not only inspires you in the vegetable/plant world but it does spill over into other areas of your life. I found myself saying “Well if I can be successful in this with no starting experience, what else can I do?”
Stress Reliever. I did not see this one coming either. Everyone gets stressed out at some point and it is important to have outlets to relieve that stress. I discovered that by simply tending my garden after some type of stressor occurred that I ended up being able to calm down and re-center more quickly than pre-garden days. Definitely unexpected but very welcome.
Whether you are already an expert or are an absolute beginner, gardening offers you many upsides that can improve your life. Contrary to popular belief, you can start at anytime, not spend much money, and quickly find success in a hobby that is very rewarding!
Resources:
For additional great information, check out this book. I used this to learn the basics as I went through my journey. It goes into much more detail than the beginner will need but really sheds light on the gardening process.