straight from the garden or preserved to enjoy in the winter months – there’s nothing better. Live it!: Not everyone has space or time for a large garden. What are options for small-scale urban or backyard gardening? Farm Girl: It is amazing what you can grow in small spaces. A small 4x4 garden box can produce a great salsa crop, a small container filled with herbs sitting on your patio can supply you with fresh herbs for the summer months, or add some blueberry bushes to your landscaping and enjoy your fresh-picked berries on your yogurt. With container gardening consider the size of the container, what it’s made of, drainage and soil. Larger containers allow for more root space and soil will not dry out as quickly. Fill with high-quality soil and enjoy watching your plants grow. Live it!: What are the steps for a first-time gardener to get started? Farm Girl: Most garden plants require full sun so you will need to consider the location of your garden plot before you get started. We recommend starting small with easy-to-grow vegetables. Good-quality soil is an important factor. Is the soil free of commercial pesticides and insecticides? If your lawn has been sprayed with weed killers, you might want to consider creating a raised bed garden. It is hard to grow healthy plants in soil that contains too much sand or clay. Adding compost to your soil is an important step in having a healthy, productive garden plot. One option for soil in a raised bed is 1/3 part compost, 1/3 part vermiculite and 1/3 part peat moss. Live it!: What types of vegetables do you recommend for new gardeners? Farm Girl: Bush beans, peas, tomatoes, spinach and leaf lettuce are some of the easiest vegetables to grow. They require little maintenance and produce well. We have grown all of these individually in container gardens as well. Live it!: What time of day is best to water vegetables and how much is enough? Farm Girl: We prefer morning to water. It is said that if a plant is showing signs of wilt, the plant has already been stressed due to lack of water and will produce a smaller,
less juicy fruit. In most cases, your plants need to receive at least an inch of water a week from rainfall, or watering, to ensure they are receiving the proper nutrients to produce fruit. When watering, make sure the water is reaching the plant’s roots. Live it!: How do you keep pests, like slugs and Colorado potato beetles, away? Farm Girl: There are several methods: Use row covers, hand pick and place pests in soapy water, purchase organic insect spray at your local nursery, or use our natural insect spray recipe. Sprinkling diatomaceous earth around the base of your plants works well to control slugs. We also like to plant marigolds to control pests as well as give our vegetable garden some pretty color! Live it!: What are the tricks for growing a bumper crop of tasty tomatoes? Farm Girl: First of all, don’t plant tomatoes too close to each other, as that may contribute to disease. Side dressing tomatoes with Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) can be beneficial. Use one to two tablespoons per foot of plant height. It can be added around the base of each plant every six weeks to help increase the yield and keep the plants green and bushy. Watering tomatoes with a soaker hose helps cut down on disease problems that can occur late in the season. Mulch- Joyce Kaping, left ing with clean grass clippings or straw helps with weed control and helps retain good soil moisture. Live it!: What are the benefits of teaching a child to grow vegetables? Farm Girl: We have both witnessed our grandchildren eating more vegetables – and a wider variety – due to their involvement in growing and preparing the food they eat. They love to go to the garden and pick raw green beans, peas, cherry tomatoes, raspberries and strawberries and eat them on the spot. We at Farm Girl Fresh love to invest in the next generation. This year we custom designed a Kids’ Garden-to-Table Kit to educate young children and help them develop a lifelong skill of growing their own food. This will provide health benefits that last their lifetime. For more information about Farm Girl Fresh, go to www. FarmGirlFresh.com or follow them at farmgirlfreshco on Instagram and Facebook.
I have always found the garden to be my ‘refuge’ where I can dig in the dirt and experience nature firsthand.
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