Veggies and More

 Is gardening actually beneficial to the environment? The answer to that question can be quite complex, why? Well the choices a gardener makes can determine whether or not they have a positive or negative impact on the environment. We'll talk about no-till gardening, tilling, and chemical usage and what they do for the environment. Garden however you like, just consider this food for thought and enjoy your gardens and time outdoors.      We're gonna start at where it all begins, the soil. Soil management is key for a few reasons, look at it as a domino effect. A healthy soil means a healthy plant which contributes to a healthy environment. Our soil is one huge carbon bed, plants and trees pull carbon dioxide out of the air through photosynthesis. They then release the oxygen into the air and store the carbon. When you do the opposite of this and release carbon into the air and mix it with oxygen you get carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is an important greenhouse gas as...

 So you’ve found yourself starting a garden and happen to stumble upon tomato plants, one says heirloom and the other hybrid, so what exactly is the difference and how will it affect your garden?  Heirloom : An heirloom is simply a variety that has been passed down generation to generation for about 50+ years and hasn’t been altered. Heirlooms provide us with more unique looking and tasting options that grocery stores and farmers markets can’t. Heirlooms are perfect candidates for seed saving as well. As usual with every good thing comes bad and that’s no exceptions with plants. When growing heirlooms you may find that your yields are minimal and plants frequently dying or suffering from diseases. This won’t always be the case, some years yields will be high others not as good. No matter what you decide to grow it’s always worth saving some space for heirlooms.  Hybrids : A hybrid is the child of two different varieties, typically bred in greenhouses due to certain charac...

So you’ve decided that you want to start a garden, now what? A person could easily find themselves overwhelmed with all the information out there and get discouraged. To save time and headaches I will break down some of the basics for a bountiful success.   In order to get started you need to see what kind of space you have to work with. Do you live in an apartment where your landlord may not want garden beds or do you own a house and have free use of your property? These questions will dictate what you can grow and how much of something you can grow.  For our apartment dweller’s we’re going to be looking at container gardening which is extremely effective and rather convenient. You are able to grow a lot of different fruit and veggies in containers which include beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, broccoli, lettuce, potatoes, basil, parsley, and many others. With container gardening you can be as simple or as fancy as your budget allows. A simple 5 gallon bucket fro...

 There are many reasons why you should be growing your own food. Since the start of the pandemic we’ve seen a large increase in people starting their own gardens but why? All about that money . Food prices are constantly increasing, fresh fruit and vegetables are no exception. With a little bit of research a person could take a $2.00 seed packet along with a container and potting soil and save themselves more money than they think.  Variety , variety , variety . You can go to your local nursery or big box store and find many different types of tomatoes, peppers, herbs, so on and so forth. These varieties you’ll never find at your local grocery store or farmers market and if you did you’ll be paying top dollar for them. I’ve personally grown so many different tomatoes and each one is so different, it’s not just color that’s different but taste. You’ll never want to buy store bought fruit and veg again once you’ve grown your own.  Free therapy anyone ? I never imagined on...