Happy August! The last month of summer is upon us and all I want to do is start thinking about what to plant in my fall garden. And I use the word “garden” rather loosly. I live in a small townhouse but am lucky to have a little piece of dirt (it used to be lawn) in from of my place that I have converted into a small Square Foot Garden. I have 14 square feet of garden space and I plan to use it well this fall.
My summer garden was a pretty big fail by my standards but I can only blame myself because I was out of the country for most of the summer and plants don’t like that very much. I think that is why I am so ready for the Fall Garden Plan. I have also been inspired reading The One-Block Feast by Sunset Magazine and am looking forward to one day maybe trying something like that with my neighbors!
I know I want to plant some swiss chard and beans in my fall garden. I am looking at my other options right now to make a final plan. One site that can help is SproutRobot.com. My sister just turned me on to it and I think it is kind of fun. You plug in your zip code and it tells you what to plant. The list is not huge because SproutRobot is actually a seed company and you can subscribe to the service and they will send you seeds all year long when it is time to start planting them. How cool is that?
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step -Confucius
I feel that everyone who visits FierceFoods is on a journey. Unfortunately, some of those journeys are not ones any of us want to take. I am honored to be a contributor to this blog and enjoy reading it to learn new things each week. My little corner of FierceFoods covers Farmers’ Markets and Gardening. Spring is here and it is time to start talking about Gardening!
Can we re-visit Confucius again?
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step -Confucius. If you are new to gardening, this should be your mantra. It has always been mine. By concentrating on the next step, I am able to reach my goal and you will be able to reach yours as well.
And just like that, I’m stuck. It is really easy for me to decide what to grow for myself but I am struggling a little with what to recommend you grow, or plant, or garden. I mean a GARDEN is a big deal! The pressure is on.
Deep breath. I am going with the summer stand by of basil and tomatoes. Each journey begins with a step and the step we are taking today is with tomatoes. We are going to need sun, soil, and water for these plants. And they are going to amaze us. Basil plants are starting to pop up in the Farmer’s Markets and so are tomatoes. The weather is getting warmer and this is the perfect time to plant them here is Southern California. If you live else where, check with your local (FREE) Master Gardener program to see when you should plant tomatoes. (GOOGLE your state and Master Gardeners to find them).
There is TONS of information out there about how to grow tomatoes and I think this short video does a pretty good job of summing up what you need to do. Just make sure you plant the tomatoes in pretty good soil and you should be good to go.
After you have planted some tomatoes, find a nearby sunny spot for some basil and you should be ready for a tomato and basil salad in no time. Be sure to water the basil when you water the tomatoes and keep and eye on it. It will wilt when it needs more water.
Here a a few recipes from Sunset Magazine that highlight tomatoes. Modify as needed and let me know how they are.
Master Gardners: This is a group of volunteers who have gone through extensive training to be able to help the community with their gardens. They usually have hotline and present seminars. This is a GREAT free resource for the gardener and I highly recommend them. I was one in San Luis Obispo years ago and loved every minute of it.
Square Foot Gardening: Square Foot Gardening is my preferred method of gardening for vegetables. This method maximizes gardening potential in a space and minimizes waste. I highly recommend it.
Sunset Western Garden Book: The Sunset Western Garden Book is my gardening bible here in California. It tells me about the plants I am thinking of planting and what there needs are, and what I can expect in terms of size, fruit, flowers, and up keep. I think every gardener needs a book like this and would be interested to know what books like this people use around the country. The public library has a lot of copies so check it out.
And there you have it. Our first step into gardening. This weekend I am going to plant some more tomatoes in my square foot garden and think of the summer. The ironic thing is that I don’t even like tomatoes…….
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