Last year’s fruit garden plan

Last year I was struck with either the greatest – or the stupidest – idea I’ve ever had. To grow some of our own food. Little did I know I gardening is not a hobby. It is an obsession.

It’s been one year since we first laid out our plan for our fruit garden (pictured above).  While we laid out our plans with the very best of intentions, we only managed to plant last year the raspberries, the strawberries and the wild currants. Here’s what I learned:

• Strawberries – The first year we were supposed to pinch the blooms off to make a hardier plant. This meant each family member only got to eat one homegrown strawberry last year. All the other blooms were pinched.
• Raspberries – I was pretty sure none of our raspberry plants were going to make it. Again, we each got to eat one raspberry apiece – that was it. They were all red raspberries – none of the yellow produced.
• Rhubarb – I missed the window. I was supposed to plant the rhubarb in April and by the time the weather and my schedule permitted, it was too late in the season. So, I had to wait until this year.
• Currants – Despite finding these on Craig’s list, driving about 30 minutes away then digging them up to relocate to our backyard, they did ok. No fruit though.
• White Pumpkins – I did plant these last year, but I moved them to a different location.

So how is the fruit garden this year?

So far, the fruit garden is happy!

The strawberries have tons of blooms and the fruit is starting to set. If we can beat the birds and the racoons, we will actually get to enjoy our own homegrown strawberries this year.

The raspberries are back and are spreading. I think in the future I am going to need a plan on how to best train (or is that restrain?) them. However, this usually involves roping my husband into a home improvement project he has no desire to do. So, I’m letting them grow wild in the meantime.

Hard to see against the big green bush behind them, my currants have survived being transplanted and look like they are filling out. I really don’t hold out any hope that we will have currants this year. So, we’ll wait.

I planted rhubarb but it is totally ticked off. I don’t know if I missed a watering, if I neglected to add enough compost, or if the weather got too cold. Whatever. It is NOT happy. Here’s the deal with rhubarb – you shouldn’t harvest it until the third year. So if it doesn’t make it, it could be 2015 before I ever get to eat any homegrown rhubarb. Crazy isn’t it? So those of you with a patch that you inherited with the home you bought (wasn’t it a prerequisite in the 70′s to plant rhubarb?) treasure it!

Greatest lesson learned? If you want to eat homegrown fruit, you need patience in spades. (pun so totally intended) While I do expect to being eating raspberries and strawberries, gardening is a crap shoot. So the best advice I have? Don’t wait! If you have ever wanted your own little fruit patch, you need to act now.

This is my flower garden in full bloom at about the end of July. One of my favorite flowers that comes back year after year is my lavender. It smells so wonderful, I clip a small vase to go by our bedsides throughout it’s blooming period in hopes of bringing sweet dreams.

If you are planning your summer garden, right now, you can get lavender plants that are “guaranteed to grow, thrive and are perfect for patios and decks.” If you don’t have a good local source for lavender, you can Buy 3 Plants, Get 3 Plants – only $10 + S&H. A screaming good deal! Click Here to get the complete details.

Did you see it? The new upscale Agrarian Line from a major retailer who shall remain nameless but begins with a “W” and ends with a “Sonoma”?

I am thrilled to see the real food at home movement has caught the attention of a retail giant. This is big peeps! We are no longer considered the fringe society. We are now mainstream. Happy Day!

The prices associated with becoming mainstream? How shall I put it? Well…chic but expensive comes to mind. And yet, I want them. They all look so pretty and perfect. So what’s a frugal gal to do?

INTRODUCING: The Greenbacks Gal Agrarian Line

Get the look and feel at a fraction of the price!

SPROUTER KIT

Start with seed sprouting. Instead of paying $17 for a kit…let’s not. You can sprout your own seeds with no special equipment required! Here I show you how to grow sprout microgreens. My current favorite seeds to sprout?

Cherry Belle Organic Heirloom Radishes or Gourmet Baby Greens Organic Heirloom Mesculan

In fact, check out all of Botanical Interests heirloom and organic seeds. I’m betting you’ll find something you’ll love for just a few dollars.

FRESH HERBS

You don’t need to pay over $12 for a fresh herb plant. What should you pay?

Add about .50 worth of burlap:

TA-DA!!!! Not only did this cost me under $5, but I didn’t pay a shipping fee either. Winning!

KOMBUCHA AND FERMENTING SUPPLIES

Cultures for Health has a Kombucha Tea Starter for only $11.99. And if you don’t really know what you are doing, you can get their FREE ebooks when you sign up for their newsletter.

HEALTHY KITCHEN GADGETS

I found a Stainless Steel Food Mill on sale for only $34.95 at GreenCupboards – an eco-friendly retailer. That is a $15 savings! And they also have the Tribest 7 jar Yogurt Maker for only $39.95

That’s another $10 in savings.

{Confession time here – I’d buy any of the KitchenAid accessories and not even blink at the price. Best gift my hubby could have bought me!}

CANNING AND PRESERVING

I’m a fan of classic Ball Mason Jars – Made in America. They can be purchased almost anywhere. Why would I pay more for a foreign brand? If you can’t find them, you can purchase them through Target, they are eligible for FREE shipping if you spend $50.

BTW – Mangoes are cheap right now. It’s the perfect time to make my Mango Lime Jam – just beware of the hidden dangers of canning.

RAISED BED PLANTERS

I’ve got some suggestions on ways to save money on your garden. And I’ve used Craig’s List for Cheap Plants. However, I’m new to gardening, so my best resource for ways to save on gardens has been you my readers! You can see the start of my garden here- and I’ll be updating you on our quest to grow our own organic food soon! In the meantime – check out this Upcycle Idea for your garden. It’s my most popular post – and you can do it for FREE!

BOOKS

They have picked some of the BEST books ever for their Agrarian Line. I own so many of them. However, one I would add would be:

The Garden Primer is one of my favorite gardening resources. To me, it embraces what I need, “Keep it Simple Stupid.” It has really great instructions that are easy to understand.

And, if you aren’t familiar with the cookbook they recommend -Super Natural Every Day – it is the cookbook from the blog 101 Cookbooks. Heidi has tons of FREE recipes on her site.

Honestly? Now that I’ve made this list, I feel like perhaps The Greenbacks Gal has been agrarian all along.  Think about it…I have raised beds – they want to start selling raised beds. I sprout my own microgreens – they have sprouting kits. I feel in love with canning last year – they have a whole section devoted to canning and preserving. What a minute…Super Natural Every Day is sitting on my cookbook stand right now…. MAKING MYSELF PARANOID NOW!

Seriously, “agrarian” is not what I ever thought I do here. But if they want to label it so, that’s cool. The difference will be – I think agrarian means a more frugal, down-to-earth lifestyle – not a trendy, expensive one.

What do you think?

And just FYI  – I’ve started a Real Food Resources Pinterest board I hope you’ll want to follow.

BTW ~ This post does include affiliate links. See my Disclosure Policy.

Linked to Centsational Girl

Growing herbs inside was my gateway drug to growing an outdoor vegetable garden. It all started innocently enough. Sick of buying the expensive pre-cut and washed basil, I bought a single basil plant. Once I had the satisfaction of using my fresh basil in my cooking, I moved on. And now I grow basil, lemon balm, mint, oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage, and parsley. Growing herbs successfully made me feel invincible. Like I could grow anything. And the taste of “fresh” had me hooked. So I had to move on to bigger plants, more addictive plants. Fresh grown tomato plants.

Economically? It just makes sense. Take this price comparison of buying prepackaged herbs versus growing your own:

 It just doesn’t seem worth it to buy the packets of fresh herbs when you can have a whole plant! Besides, if you are anything like me, you’ll buy the packet and use the amount your recipe calls for. The extra goes back in the fridge for the next recipe. Except …. you don’t actually have a next recipe in mind. Which means it gets shoved to the back of the fridge until eventually, two weeks later, you find an interesting mold experiment that used to be fresh herbs.

How can you successfully develop your own fresh herb habit?

Plants versus Seeds: The quick answer: Plants. Plants don’t have the same light, water and warmth requirements that germinating seeds do. Plus, you will most likely find that the plants you can buy are the right varieties for growing on a windowsill.

Light: How much light do herbs need? As much light as you can give them. South facing windows are best, but any sunny location is the ideal place for your herbs. How will you know if you have enough light? Buy a $3.99 herb and give it a try.

Watering: Herbs require more water than a typical houseplant. However, you do want the soil to dry out between watering. How do you know when to water? Stick your fingers in. Seriously. In gardening – even indoor gardening – you need to get a little soil under your nails. Also, you want to make sure you water at the base of the plant on the soil – not on the leaves of your herbs. This makes no sense to me given that in nature herbs get their water from rain, and it doesn’t rain on the soil only – it definitely hits the leaves. All I know is if your water hits the leaves of the herbs you are growing indoors, you are likely to get mildew. So water the soil.

Pruning: Invest in a pair of kitchen shears or pruning shears for your herbs. Just like with humans – a clean cut has less chance of infection. For herbs like lemon balm, mint, thyme, and oregano, you can cut from the bottom, outside of the plant. Basil is a bit more finicky. You want to trim right above leaf growth about 3 to 4 inches up the plant – like in the above picture. Basil will then form two new stalks right above the cut, like in the picture below.

Food: When you bring your herb home, be sure to pick up a good quality bag of organic potting mix too. When you plant your herb in it’s new pot, it will be happiest if grown in good soil. You’ll also want to periodically feed your herbs with an organic food such as a fish emulsion.

As with any addict, I’m also a pusher. I want everyone to experience the “high” that is cutting a bit of fresh mint for a cup or tea, or making a compound butter with lemon balm and sage and using it to roast a chicken, or even just running your fingers over a fresh rosemary plant to enjoy the fresh scent. So give it a go and I’m willing to bet you’ll become a pusher too.

Linked to an Oregon Cottage.