April is National Gardening Month

Gardening is fun for the whole family and a great way to get family members, young and old, to try  more healthy foods. April is National Gardening Month, so take time this month to plant a garden with your family.  Gardens can come in many different sizes from small containers to large gardens in the ground.  Choose the size of a garden that will be best for you and plant a garden with your family!

Do you have a small outdoor space and want to grow your own garden?  Try these steps for building a simple garden in a cardboard box!

1. Go to the grocery store and ask for a cardboard box from the produce section.  These boxes are usually sturdy and just the right size for a garden.
2. Line the box with newspaper and fill it with a potting mix from the store.
3. If a box is at least 3 inches deep, you can grow lettuce, spinach, kale, collards, mustard greens, radishes, snap bush beans, or herbs.
4. If a box is at least 8 inches deep, you can plant beets, carrots, onions, or turnips.
5. Place your garden in a sunny spot to grow and water regularly.
6. Enjoy the food from your garden!

Let your kids help with the garden!  They will learn new skills and be more likely to try the foods they have grown.  You can also have a garden taste test.  Pick out some spring veggies like spinach, kale, and collards and have them pick their favorite leafy vegetable!

To learn more about growing your own garden, check our previous blog posts:

April is Gardening Month (from 2014) featuring container gardens in milk jugs

Container Gardening

Planting Seeds and Seedlings

Also, for more information on starting a garden, visit Container Vegetable Gardening on the Grow It, Eat It Website. 

April is Gardening Month

April is National Gardening Month, which is for celebrating gardens, whether they are indoors, outdoors or even on the patio.  If you don't currently have a garden of any kind, this is a great month to get started!

Reduce, Re-Use, Garden!  Start a garden by re-using gallon milk jugs.  You can create lots of different gardens using items that might normally go to the landfill.  To get started:

• Rinse out the milk jug really good.
• Using a sharp knife, cut off the top of the jug.
• Make several small holes in the bottom of the jug for drainage. 
• Fill the jug 3/4 of the way full with potting soil.
• Lightly sprinkle lettuce seeds across the soil, spacing seeds about 1/2 inch apart.
• Cover seeds with approximately 1/8 inch of soil.
• Moisten with water using a spray bottle.
• Place on a cookie sheet or tray to collect water running out of the container.
• Place outdoors in a sunny location or indoors near a sunny window.
• The top half of the jug with the lid removed can be placed over the garden during the first few weeks to protect the seedlings from frost and hold in heat and moisture while the seeds are growing.
• Harvest lettuce by cutting at the base of the plant in 30-45 days.
• Leaves will continue to produce for multiple harvests.

Want to learn more about gardening?  Check out previous posts on Container Gardening and Planting Seeds and Seedlings.



Rinse out a milk jug and cut off the top.

 

Make several holes in the bottom of the milk jug.

 

 

Fill the milk jug 3/4 the way with potting soil.  Sprinkle
seeds across the soil and cover with more soil.

In 30-45 days lettuce will be ready to harvest!

Create a Top-Down Garden with Your Kids

A great way to get your kids to eat more vegetables, reduce waste and start a low-cost indoor garden is to start your own top-down garden. A top down garden uses the top of root vegetables like beets, carrots or radishes to sprout greens.  These greens will not grow new root veggies but the greens can be eaten and fun to grow!

The next time you are planning a meal with carrots, beets, or radishes, buy them with the greens still attached.  To plant a top down garden, re-use a food container such as a pie pan or plastic food container with no holes.

1. Cut the carrots, radishes and/or beets (the part that you would eat), leave some of the vegetable (about 1/4 to 1/2 inch) attached to the top.  Save the cut carrots, radishes and beets for a salad or snack later!
2. Place the veggie tops with leaves attached, cut side down in the container and fill with just enough water to cover the remaining vegetable.
3. Put the top down garden in a warm, sunny window and check daily to make sure the cut side is in the water.  Change the water if it becomes cloudy.  Top down gardens look great when you have several tops in one container. 
4. Keep your garden growing by replacing tops as they are used or start to look droopy.  You can also dress up your garden by adding decorative rocks or marbles.

Once your garden has sprouted new greens, it is time to starting thinking about harvesting them. Baby radish greens are delicious and high in nutrients.  They can be added to salads, sauteed with mustard seeds, added to smoothies, and so much more!  Carrot tops are also high in nutrients and are great in soups, salad, or infused to make a tea. Finally, beet tops are "tops" in salads, but can also be sauteed in olive oil and garlic, or roasted.  If you are growing all three tops in your top-down garden, put them together in a salad for a tasty treat.

Your kids will have fun growing top down gardens and will have the chance to try new foods!

Container Gardening on a Budget

If you have decided to try container gardening this year, you might be wondering, "how much is this going to cost?"  The answer is simple. There are many ways to keep costs down and still have great success growing fruits and vegetables in containers.

1. Start from seed.  If you start your plants from seeds, it will cost a lot less than buying plants.  If you decide to buy plants, however, you can save money by buying small plants.  They will grow fast once they are planted.
2. Share or trade seeds and plants.  You might find that a pack of seeds or a 6-pack of small plants provides more than you need for container gardening.  One way to cut costs and avoid waste is find a gardening friend and share or trade your extras.
3. Buy supplies on sale.  Watch the newspaper for spring sales on seeds and plants.  In the fall when the growing season is drawing to an end, look for sales on containers, potting soil, and other supplies.
4. Be creative.  Shop yard sales and flea markets for inexpensive containers, or look around your house for things that you already have.  An old laundry basket, a pail, or even a child's wagon make fine containers.  Be sure to punch holes in the bottom of any container you use to provide proper drainage.
5. Make your own compost.  Compost provides the nutrients your plants need to grow.  Make your own compost using food waste and grass and plant clippings from your yard.
6. Buy fewer flowers to beautify your yard.  No need to buy lots of flowers to make your hard look great.  Fruits and vegetables grown in containers do "double-duty" -- they not only provide delicious food, they look beautiful, too.  Add just a few flowers to the fruits and vegetables plants in your containers to add color.  You will be surprised how great your yard, steps or balcony will look this year.

For answers to your gardening questions, 

contact the University of Maryland Home and Garden Information Center 

For more information on gardening, visit Grow It, Eat It from University of Maryland Extension 

Thoughts of Spring -- Thoughts of Gardening

Are you getting tired of winter?  Cloudy days, chilly winds, and snow on the ground make spring seem very slow in arriving.  One way to get your mind off winter is to start planning a spring garden so when spring actually arrives, you will be ready.

Maybe you are thinking, "but I don't have room for a garden" or "I don't know much about growing vegetables or flowers".  If this is the case, container gardening might be for you.  Container gardening can be located anywhere, it is inexpensive, and takes very little space.  And there are many, many resources at the library or on the web that provide the information you need to be successful.

Not convinced?  Here are 6 reasons to try container gardening this year.

1. It is easy.  All you need is a container -- any container will do -- some potting soil, and seeds or plants.
2. It is inexpensive.  There is no need to buy costly containers.  You can grow vegetables and flowers in just about anything.  Look around your house and you'll be surprised how many things will work -- an old clothes basket, a pail, your child's old wagon, or even a canvas bag.  You also can find low-cost containers at flea markets or yard sales.
3. Requires only a small space.  Even if you have a small yard or live in an apartment, you can find some space for container gardening.  Containers fit on your front steps, a fire escape, or balcony.
4. Almost all plans do well in a container.  Almost any plan that will grow in an in-ground garden will also do well as a container-grown plant.  Vegetables that do especially well in containers include: tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, green onions, beans, lettuce, squash, radishes, and parsley.
5. Container gardens are beautiful.  Healthy fruits, vegetables and flowers growing in a container add color and beauty to your house or apartment.
6. The whole family can get involved.  Container gardening provides opportunities for parents and kids to work together on a project and have fun doing it.  Many kids love having their own container garden.  Choosing plants, planting and watering help kids learn how things grow and develop responsibility.  Even better, both adults and kids are more likely to eat more fruits and vegetables if they helped to grow and prepare them. 

For more information on container gardening, visit: 

University of Maryland Extension -- Container Vegetable Gardens

Texas A&M Extension -- Vegetable Gardening in Containers