Growing Fruits and Vegetables

                    
I’ve never been a person with a natural knack for taking care of plants, however, a few years ago, I decided that it would be fun to grow my own fruits and vegetables. I had been hearing so much about the dangers of supermarket produce because of the pesticides used, so I decided to try my hand at growing my own. It is a daunting task to begin especially when you have little experience. However, with a little research and a few years of practice, I can now say, that I love growing my own fruits and vegetables. 

One thing to keep in mind when starting a garden, is to decide how big of an area you will need. If you are lucky enough to have a larger area to grow your produce, I would recommend investing in a raised bed. A raised bed is a large container to house your plants. It is generally constructed of wood and built on the ground where you can utilize the existing soil or add new soil. You can also grow certain plants in various sized pots if your space is limited. My garden area started out small, but has grown over the last few years. I now have two raised beds and various pots/containers to house my plants. 

                                 

After you determine how much space you have and where you will plant your fruit and vegetable plants, it is time to decide which types of plants you want to grow. You can begin your plants from seeds or you can buy plants that are started for you. I generally like to buy started plants because these tend to be more successful for me, however, I have started plants from seeds before and that has also worked well. Many big box hardware/garden stores sell a wide variety of fruits and vegetable. I also like to go to local garden centers as well. 

When choosing your plants, it is important to know your local climate and to check each variety of plant to make sure it will be successful in your climate zone. It is also important to check to see what time of the year your plants should be planted. For example, some varieties of vegetables are considered cold weather, such as lettuce, broccoli, and green onions; these plants are best planted during early spring or late summer. I generally stick with plants that do well from May through September. Another thing to keep in mind, is that certain plants do better when they are planted near one another, and vice versa. For example, pepper plants and tomato plants are good to plant near each other. Over the years, I have found how I prefer to arrange my garden, but that is something that can be changed so long as all of the plants in a given area do well when planted near each other. 

                                     

After, you decide which fruits and vegetables you want to grown and where you want to plant them, before you actually do the planting, make sure you do not over crowd any given area. When you first buy the plants, they look so cute and little, but I assure you they will grown big very quickly. It is important to make sure each item has plenty of space to grow, otherwise the plants my not grow well or at all. 

I like to keep one raised bed just for tomatoes and peppers. This year I planted one roma tomato plant and two beefsteak tomatoes. I also planted two jalapeno plants, one red pepper plant, and one green pepper plant. Just an FYI that took me forever to realize, but bell pepper plants are generally sold by color such as red or green, however, all green peppers will eventually turn red if you leave them long enough. The pepper when it’s green is considered less ripe than when it is red. 

                             
                             

In the other raised bed, I like to plant the other vegetables that I chose. This year I picked green bean, cucumbers, egg plant, Honeynut squash, and sweet potatoes. I have grown all of these in the past except for the sweet potatoes so we will see how that goes. The bean plants came as several small plants, which will produce a ton of green beans. I generally only buy one cucumber, egg plant, and squash plant because they all yield a ton of each item. Many of the plants, including the tomatoes, squash, cucumber, egg plant, and beans need cages or trellises in order to control the plants as they grow. These can easily be purchased at any garden center. 

                                              
                              

I like to plant my herbs in rectangular boxes near the raised beds. I have no real reason for planting them out of the raised bed except for the fact that it would be too crowded to plant them with the other veggies. I try to plant different types in different pots so as not to mix them up. 

                               
                                

Finally, I have an area where I have planted a watermelon plant, a blueberry bush, and a miniature fig tree. The blueberry bush comes back each year. I have had this particular one for a few years. It needs little care and produces a ton of blueberries. I have planted a seedless watermelon plant this year. I planted watermelon before, but I have never tried seedless ones. I was also very excited to buy the fig tree. I know it is not mature enough to produce fruit this year, but I am hopeful that I will have figs next spring. 

                                                      
                                   

An important thing to remember when planting fruits and vegetables, is to make sure that once the plants begin to grow the actual fruits/veggies, to make sure they are protected from roving animals. I like to use bird netting to cover all of mine, that way squirrels, deer, and various other wildlife will not be able to eat the fruits of my labor. Finally, make sure to use as much organic products as possible. You can buy organic soil, plants, and pesticide, if needed. I don't tend to use too much pesticides because I don't usually have too many issues. If you are adventurous, there are plenty of recipes for homemade pesticides using safe ingredients. 

                               So many blueberries!                                    

As you can see, it does require a lot of hard work and heavy lifting to begin this type of project, but I cannot tell you how much fun it is to grow your own food. By mid-summer, all of the plants will be huge and full of fruits and vegetables. I love cooking with my own grown produce! It’s also fun to give some to friends and family. I hope you give it a try this year. Even if you only have a little space to grow your own produce, try planting any of these items in a pot. Also don’t be discouraged by past planting failures. Trust me, I have had my fair share of planting disasters, but I am sure you too can be a successful gardener!

                                        
XO Tres Chic