We grew our garden again this summer by double.  It's now about 40ft x 14ft filled with beans, corn, radish, onions, cucumbers, turnips, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, pumpkins, lettuce and for the first time this year, potatoes. 

Since this was the first year, I wasn't sure when exactly I should dig them up.  Reading online and talking to others it was suggested to dig them up in early September, or before the first frost starts and the foliage turns black and starts to die off. 

The foliage on my Yukon Gold potatoes is dying off now and unfortunately we had our first frost warning last night so I decided to dig up the first of 3 rows planted.  I was pleasantly surprised with about 10lbs of potatoes in a 15ft row.  I'm not sure if that's good or not, but I did have some lessons learned.  I'll dig up the rest in the next week or so as I keep an eye out on them.

Next season I will prepare the plot better and plant the seed potatoes in about an 8 inch trench and cover with 4 inches and work up the mound.  This should ensure a plenty bounty as this first planting seemed to have potatoes popping out of the ground, which I would attibute to not planting deep enough.

Another option I'm going to try next season is a potato stack... but more on that later ;o)  For now I'm pretty happy with the experience and will definately grow a couple varieties of potatoes next year.  If anyone has any tips or tricks I'd certainly love to hear them!

Common even the President of the United States of America is gardening!  Ok well at least the White House will get it's first garden since the Victory Garden days, so what are you waiting for?

Food gardening is becoming a movement on it's own.  Not only due to tough financial times to reduce grocery bills, but also people are becoming better educated about produce and want to know where their food is coming from and is as healthy as possible. 

According to a recent survey by US National Gardening Association, seven million more people will start a vegetable garden in 2009, which is up 19% over last year.  This statistic itself is good motivation to get started if you haven't already!  Home vegetable gardens are easy to start and don't require that much time or effort.

Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Location, location, location... most staple vegetables thrive in full sunlight so find a location that has at least 6 hours of sunlight a day.
• Start small... you don't need to feed the neighborhood on your first run (although that can be a goal later ;o).  Start with a couple 8x4 raised beds or even plan some cucumbers, tomatoes and pole beans in an empty flower garden or a small 10x10 plot if you don't want to build raised beds.
• Watering...take watering your garden into consideration and preferably plant close to rain barrels where you could possibly run a drip line.  Don't plant your first garden where you or your garden hose can't reach or you won't make the effort to water when needed.
• Planning hint... plant tall vegetables like corn and pole beans on the north or west sides of the garden so they don't block the sun for your smaller vegetables.
• Good Soil... if you can prepare your soil with plenty of organic material like compost and KEEP AWAY from fertilizers and chemical pesticides.  Key to delicious vegetables is all in the soil.  Not too sandy and not too clay like... good amended soil will stay together when you squeeze it into your fist, but break apart easily.
• Mulch & Mulch... mulching is one the best things you can do for your vegetable garden.  Use good quality organic mulch and lay about 2-3 inches around your vegetable plants and on top of your drip lines, if you use them.  Mulch will help retain water and help stop weeds.
• Relax & Enjoy...relax and enjoy the garden.  Gardening is a fun experience and you trully get the fruits of your labor.  Nothing is more fun or rewarding then going out and picking fresh produce from your vegetable garden for a meal.

So there is no reason to not start a vegetable garden.  If you have kids this is a GREAT way to kick off the summer months as they can learn with you from start to finish... from planting the seeds or starter plants, to picking summer snacks while mom or dad aren't looking!  Most of all kids can learn that tomatoes do come from a plant that you cared for and helped grow, not from a grocery store counter.

These are just a few tips to get you motivated and moving.  Trust me and ask others, once you start you will only continue to expand every year... it's addictive.  So what are you waiting for?  Go plan and start your vegetable garden today!

During a visit with my wife's grand parents, who have lived in the country all their lives, I was reminded at how life was lived not too long ago.  At 80+ years old, they were still picking apples from their apple trees, proudly displayed cherry trees and even offered some seedlings for our Urban Homestead.  Their vegetable garden growing Canadian staples such as Green Beans, Corn and Potatoes looked great surrounded by gooseberries and raspberries bushes.  A quick visit in the root cellar to raid their canning shelf really brought the message back home... you can grow a great abundance of your own food!

The first step in moving towards a more self sufficient lifestyle is to start a vegetable garden.  Starting slow and working at your own pace.  The problem is the world got itself is such a hurry that it forgot the road from whence it came.

As first time gardeners, the key is to start slow.  Do not overwhelm yourself by turning your entire backyard into one huge garden, you will be wrought with disappointment.  There is a learning curve.  Take your time and get a good understanding of what works and what doesn't.  Here's a few ideas to get started...

Start small.  A raised bed garden four feet by eight feet would be sufficient. Start with two of them if you are ambitious.  You can mark off a section of your yard for feet by 12 feet if raised beds are not for you.  You can buy some peat moss and some composted manure to help the health of your soil as well.  Check your local gardening store for soil tests and take appropriate guided action.

Vegetable selection.  Again ask your neighbours or your local gardening store for vegetables that are easy to grow in your area.  In Eastern Canada these are Green Beans, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Onions, Green Peppers, Carrots and Potatoes to name a few.  Green Beans are great and the easiest to preserve by canning, same with Tomatoes.

Preserving yield.  There are many methods to preserve your crop to last you well into the winter.  Canning and freezing being the most prevalent.  You can also dehydrate some vegetables as well.  Being your first few years, you will most likely not have much to preserve and will most likely eating and sharing.  Once you know what and how to grow, as well as how much yield per crop to expect, you can expand your vegetable garden and plan your preservatives to hold you over winter.

If anything at all, gardening brings a sense of community as you share and learn knowledge and produce with your friends and neighbours.  Even though this is being written at the end of the this years growing season, that only means that next years planning is ready to start.  Keep tuned for tips on fall garden prep and cleanup as well as next season planning.

Keep it Green!

Before you start digging up your backyard to plant your garden, a plan should be made to ensure the best use of your available land and effective selection of vegetables and plants to get the most of your garden layout. The first thing to do is decide how much space you can dedicate to your garden plans. This choice is based on both the amount of yard you want to give up as well as the amount of space required by your selected crops. These two work hand in hand. If you are planning to grow a lot of large vegetables, your garden layout needs to reflect that.

The best way to start your garden is to take measurements of your backyard, decide on the crops you wish to grow and draw out your plans on paper. This will help while planting your garden as well as selecting the best logical location for your items such as compost bin, crops proximity to rain catcher and potting shed or green house if you have one.

Garden Plan

If you decide to change your crop or add anything to your plans, this is normal and at least you will have your general layout, look and feel. Adjustments can always be made as your plans are not set in stone. Having a fluid, functional garden is what you want, not chaos. So take your time in planning and research the space required for the yield of crop you wish to harvest.

Some of the other things to consider when laying out your vegetable garden plans include:

• Do you have pets that will be running around the yard? If so, think about fencing your garden off or planning your garden layout so they can't run through your freshly-planted crops.

• The same goes for children. If your kids are playing soccer or baseball in the backyard, you don't want them running through your garden.

• Think about how much time you have to water and maintain your garden. Don't plant an entire field of vegetables if you can only spend hour working on it every couple of days.

• Think about where your water faucets, or even better, the location of your rain catchers. You'll need to water your garden regularly, so it should be somewhere that is within reach of your hose.

These tips are just a primer of some things you need to keep in mind before jumping into planting your vegetable garden. Remember planning makes perfect and the same for your garden. Hopefully it is where you will be spending lots of time so make it functional.

Most of all have fun... Keep it Green!