Ready To Garden.

Last summer, I decided to try my hand at gardening. I knew absolutely nothing about it and so before diving in deep, I opted to start small with a few potted herbs. Pinterest made them look easy enough, anyways. I started with basil and cilantro plants. They lasted me several months until I decided to bring them camping (yepp...I'm that lame) and the cold weather shocked them. Sadly, they withered and could not be revived. Nonetheless, it was still extremely rewarding to watch them grow and re-grow. Spring is just around the corner and I'm going to try again! Ethan made me a 2'x2' raised bed container for Valentine's Day and I've been researching the best way to maximize my garden box. Everything I've come across kept leading me back to "Square Foot Gardening." The more research I did, the more I realized that this seems to be the truly successful way to garden. So, what is square foot gardening? It's basically ditching the traditional methods of gardening (such as straight rows, in-ground gardening, cultivating soil, planting more than you need, buying seed every year) and using a square-foot method that has been used and re-used for the past 30 years.Some benefits to square foot gardening are:

• It's totally organic. No pesticides, no fertilizers and no chemicals to maintain your plants.
• No weeds. Because it's in a container and you start with the formula for "perfect" soil, weeds don't have a chance to grow.
• Minimal investment. The only materials required are wood for the box, the seeds, the soil mix, a pencil, a trowel and a scissors. You don't need garden overpriced, excessive gardening tools.
• It's perfect for small spaces. Whether you are living in an urban environment, have a huge backyard filled with poor soil or simply have a tiny cement slab (like me!) you can square foot garden. It can even become portable in case you ever move (which is perfect for our lifestyle.)
• Deep roots aren't necessary. The perfect soil formula that square foot gardening uses allows the "soil" to retain it's moisture, meaning the roots of plants don't have to constantly grow deeper to search for more nutrients. This means that your garden box only needs to be 6 inches deep! That is unheard of for plants like tomatoes that require a minimum of 12 inches.
• You can plant a variety of vegetables. Because S.F. Gardening ditches the traditional rows, you can fit more plants in a smaller space while maintaining a variety of produce.
• It promotes crop rotation. Instead of planting rows and rows of vegetables that you do not need, square foot gardening promotes planting what you need and upon harvesting, re-planting something new. If planned properly, you should have a constant supply of produce without every having excess that goes to waste. One 4'x4' garden can supposedly give one person a salad's worth of veggies every single day for a whole season!
• You don't have to re-purchase seed. Since you aren't planting giant rows and are only using a pinch of seeds at a time, you can save your seed for up to five years!
• It uses less water. You don't have to hose down a giant garden. In fact, you don't use a hose at all. All you need is a cup of tepid water to pour around the plant once a day.
• It's easy. Or at least it's supposed to be...we'll see lol.

Today I went out and bought the soil mix I need for the garden. (The perfect soil formula is 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 vermeculite and 1/3 compost. You can buy these separately but I just purchased the pre-mixed package that Lowe's sells.) I also purchased several organic seed packets to start sowing over the course of this week. The  packets were $2.38 a packet but they are certified organic and do not contain any pesticides or GMO's which is exactly what I'm trying to avoid. Since we are still in a cooler season, I am able to start sowing carrots, leaf lettuce, spinach, and even tomatoes. This summer I plan on rotating to green peppers, green beans, more tomatoes and another kind of lettuce. I'm so excited to start gardening especially after readingseveral blog posts that document the beginning of their garden until the end of the season. I know it was rewarding to watch my cilantro and basil plants grow and re-grow last summer, so I can only imagine what it will be like to harvest actual vegetables! I'm excited to document this all and share the process with you. And if I am successful, this will definitely be a step in the right direction towards the more natural lifestyle I'm aiming for.<< Though every blog and website encouraged me to purchase his book, I tried gathering all the information I could without having to buy it. There is enough info. out there, it's just all scattered and you have to piece it together. I ended up purchasing the book today and am glad I did. Not only is there a step by step how to do this all, he also has charts and plant profiles in the back of his book that clearly mark out which cool climate and warm climate plants can be planted and when. Spring is just around the corner...maybe you should try this out with me too!