Plants on your Plate-3 Steps to Gardening This Year!

Several years ago, I challenged my middle school science students to design a nutritionally dense garden in a small, raised bed space. Our project was mean to teach kids about plant parts that we ate and the process of photosynthesis. During this project, we learned much more! Students researched the nutritional content of many vegetables that were easy to grow in fairly small spaces. Kids were challenged to get the most "bang for their buck". We even started seeds and kids took home a few plants to grow over the summer. 

I'll never forget getting an email from a student who was about to eat the first tomato (and maybe the only tomato!) from her spindly little tomato plant she kept going all summer in a flower pot. It really was a proud teacher moment.

Not everyone has the space or equipment to be self sustaining and grow large gardens. They take a lot of time and energy and are worth every bit of that time and energy, but it's not logical for many people. I'd like to  talk about small space garden planning in this blog and encourage you to plan ahead for this year's planting season and get the most of out of whatever space you have to grow your own food!

It may not be feasible for you to start your own seeds for this year's garden. Heck, many plants need to be started in the winter months to be ready for the ground by May and June. You can research local suppliers and find some healthy plants that are ready to go in the ground. I usually buy my tomato plants from a reputable organic nursery each year. Some easy to grow garden plants can be started from seeds in the ground as soon as it's warm enough, like carrots, radishes, beans and peas.

The key to a successful gardening is planning your space, growing food that your family will eat and having the ability to keep up with it. Here are some easy steps to get you started. 

1. Planning your space

Here is one of my 7th grader's designs! It's easy to do!

I've gardened in all sorts of spaces. Decide on your location, measure it and get some drawing or graph paper. You really do need to know what each plants space requirements are. You can get clever by growing UP with beans, peas and other vining plants to save space, or plant on the edge and let plants hang over the edges. I don't have great soil at my house, so I've built a raised bed and cultivated some better soil. I also utilize many containers for growing my food as well! My tomatoes love the space on my back porch and lettuce can be grown in pots just about anywhere (and they look beautiful too!)

2. Plan your plants

What does your family eat? What are you able to can or freeze? What types of vegetables provide a decent yield? Gardens should be customized to the person or family. Once you know your space availability, decide what you want to grow and start mapping out your space. It's easy to find out spacing for seeds or plants. I like to put cherry tomato plants (1 per pot) in a bright sunny location out on my porch for easy access. In my raised bed, I put in several rows of green beans because my kids eat those right up! I don't worry about having a huge variety of plants in my garden. I plant what we need, what I know I can grow and what I have space for! You can really get creative in small spaces. Research companion gardening too, to find out which plants are "happier together". One, year, I planted herbs and lettuce in the base of my tomato pots! It worked out pretty well!

3. Plan your Care

Sometimes people get overzealous with garden plans, only to find its overrun with weeds or crispy by mid July. Be prepared to offer your garden the care it needs for several months. After all, it will reward you and your family with fresh food! Know when certain vegetables should be fertilized (if you choose to do that), watered, thinned out and harvested. Keeping the garden free from weeds and pests is important. 

New gardeners might get impatient with all the work up front, but the yield is worth the wait. It also takes practice! Caring for a garden and learning what works takes time, but it really is rewarding to eat food that you grow!

The winning garden design growing!

Back to my students. The year I assigned the garden project called, "Plants on Your Plate", I told kids that I would pick the best plan and plant it at my house. We left school in June and I promptly went out and planted the garden that was deemed superior and took pictures for the kids throughout the season, so they could see it progress. Some of my kids went on to implement their own garden plans too! It was during this school year when my love for planning gardens began. Since then, I've not had the same vegetable garden twice and I am still learning as I GROW!