I need some advice. I REALLY want a vegetable garden. I also REALLY don’t have a ton of free time. So, I need help. If any of you are gardeners, specifically vegetable gardeners, how much time do you have to devote to gardening each day? Also, how much experience in gardening do you need to undertake a venture like this? Lastly, am I “too late” in the season to start a garden?
I love giving myself goals but I don’t want to undertake this adventure if I am too much of a novice and especially if I can’t care for the garden like I should.. Please help me with your words of wisdom! Oh – and if you really want to know the honest truth, while I want a vegetable garden, I really want to reap the benefits of the garden with vegetables like the ones pictured below. 😉
Thanks for coming to Addicted to Saving! Here’s a little bit about me so you can know who’s behind all these posts!
My name is Liza and I began my money-saving journey in the Spring of 2009 as a way to stretch a limited household income. I had lost my job and my hubby was self-employed. I launched Addicted to Saving in November of 2009 and it has grown by leaps and bounds. Since then, my hubby and I have struggled with the ups and downs of two failed adoptions and are now LOVING being parents to our little man Asher who we brought home from Ethiopia in August of 2013. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to help you save money. My goal is that you will have FUN and become empowered to save more and more money each week..
I am in upstate ny and we have not started planting yet, not until may-june. We are starting our first garden this year also. From experience with my parents garden, I believe about an hour a day is plenty of time. Water in the afternoon after the sun has gone past its high point and pick the weeds out of the garden so the veggie plants get all the nutrience they need. We always use chicken manuer mixed with black dirt for furtilizer. Hope this helps! Happy Gardening 🙂
It is definitely a lot of work, but also depends on the size garden you have. We have a large one in our backyard and last year it was a lot of work. Harvesting every morning and weeding every night. You just have to be able to keep up with it.
I recommend starting small. This way you aren’t wasting time and money. At this point, you want to buy your plants, because when you start via seed, it should’ve have been started by now. Also, research what your “zone” is to ensure you buy the correct plants for your area.
Hi, I am Rhonda and do a veggy garden. Mine’s organic and in Florida, it takes some doing to stay organic. However, I have found that a really large garden overwhelms me, so I have plots. I use landscape timbers, so they are raised a bit,the plots are 8 X 8, I have 3 of those and one is 8 x 16. There are many ways to make it less time consuming, ie. Last year we bought a drip irrigation system with a timer…so I don’t even have to remember to water. Weeds are a problem, you just have to keep after them. I love my little garden.
NO! You are not too late!! Aren’t we close to each other? I am in New Port Richey FL. I just planted mine this past weekend. The thing about Fl is the sand. You have to add potting soil and top soil and maybe some compost/manure to give the ground something besides sand..lol If you can do raised beds they will FLOURISH. So far I have Purple cowpeas, green beans, regular peas, onions, dill(my son planted it)yellow squash, watermelons, cucumbers and several kinds of tomatoes.. including my prized “Black Prince Heirloom Tomatoes” YUMMY! I have more to plant too I just haven’t made it to it yet.
As far as time invested.. the biggest part of the time thing is the beginning. Once you get them in the dirt, all you have to do is pull weeds maybe once a week or 2 weeks and make sure it’s watered and fed. If you are in Florida I suggest raised beds and to make sure that they are NOT in the sun from the time it comes up till the time it goes down. 6-8 hours of sunlight a day is all it needs. The FL sun is so harsh, my first FL garden last year failed because I did just that. just throw top soil and potting soil into a bed @ about 8 inches deep and plant away.
Sorry, I got sporadic, I just got excited at the idea of another couponer planting a garden. It is yet another AMAZING way of saving those $$$ 🙂
Thanks for your sporadic comment Christina 🙂 Did you plant seeds or plants that have already started growing.. (if that makes sense lol)
LOL, I planted some of both. My “Black Prince” heirloom tomatoes came in plant form from Lowes on Little Road. I couldn’t believe that they actually had them. They are $3.48 for 1 plant but remember when you harvest, you will have plenty of seeds to save for next year. (BLACK TOMATOES!!) Also planted a few yellow squash that were already growing plants but them I found my seeds from last year. 🙂 and I planted some seeds.
The seed part was a little more complicated for me but it still wasn’t hard. I make sort of a seed starter room in an empty cabinet or closet or a big box. I put a florescent light bar in it and throw some seeds in some potting soil in individual containers and close them up in that cabinet. (Don’t forget to water the seeds..lol.. I did at first)I planted my seeds that are actually plants in the ground now only 5-6 days before planting them.(if that made sense) They germinated in 2 days..all of them. It’s sort of like forcing them to germinate since I am giving them light 24 hours a day. after they are above the dirt I take them outside and let them grow for the other 4-5 days while I get that plot ready. By the way, if you want seeds that aren’t too expensive to “try” a garden with, the Dollar tree has them for 4/$1 and Walmart has tomato plants for 58 cents. They have bush tomatoes and Roma tomatoes..not sure if they have any others that cheap. The 4 packs are only $1.67 for 4 plants too so considering what you will harvest that price is nothing. I will share some pics of my “plots” as soon as my camera is fixed. Also, if you have kids they are the PERFECT helpers for gardens like mine. Not too big, not too small. They love seeing something grow because of something they did. Even the kids in my neighborhood come help me. 🙂
I forgot to say to put plastic down before adding the topsoil and potting soil. That way you don’t have to weed as much as most people. You can actually even use the bags that the topsoil came in as a ground cover. Just cut the side out fold open and lay it on the ground. Another way to save money too.. You don’t have to go buy the black plastic. 🙂
if you use seeds to start your plants, use the plastic containers that cookies and such come in from wal-mart’s or publix’s deli. You know the ones with lids. Throw some potting soil in them and seeds water and close the lid. Set it out in the sun and viola.. a little tiny greenhouse 🙂
What about leaf miners? Everything I’ve tried – tomatoes, squash, basil – the leaves get infested with leaf miners. The only exception was jalapenos, which only got attacked very early as sprouts.
Doug, those are some yucky bugs to have on your food. There are ways though to get rid of them. Wasps eat them so do not spray bees if you see them around. Also, see if you have any chickweed or plantain(another weed) anywhere near your garden. These plants are “host plants” to this type of bug larvae. Naturally they will move on to other plants if they are close enough. Here are the remedies I found on the Web. Just check into your city ordinances are before using ANY kind of insecticide.
Controlling Leafminers
Least Toxic: Insecticides are rarely recommend to control leafminers. Since the damage is mostly cosmetic, the remedy is to remove the affected leaves. This does more than improve the appearance of the plant. It also gets rid of the existing leafminers before they become adults and lay more eggs.
Less Toxic: If you know that a certain plant is susceptible to leafminer every year, you can target the adults before they lay their eggs, by spraying early in the spring with an insecticide such as neem.
Last Resort: There are some systemic Insecticides that are labeled for use on leafminers. Insecticides containing acephate (Orthene) or imidacloprid can be effective if used before damage is severe. No systemics are currently available for non-commercial use on edible plants.
We are in central Al and have been growing many veggies in large containers for a few years. We have them on the deck and it is very easy to water them and grab some peppers or tomatoes to cook with. If you just want a few things maybe you could do a few large pots. Just a thought.
I live in the Tarpon Springs area and have given up on growing any type of vegetable garden. Many hours were spent watering and pulling weeds to have all my hard work destroyed by some type of bug. The only luck I have had is the cherry tomato plant.
Lisa, definitely you can still plant. Get the book Square Foot Gardening (revised addition). It is MUCH less work once you get it set up ( which isn’t hard), and you avoid may problems with soil, weeds, and lots of wasted time.
Thanks for all you do!
Lisa L.
Try something easy the first year. I only planted green onion seeds last summer. Spent less than $2, and I had onions into November. You can harvest a lot at once, clean and rinse them, dry them, and then chop. Use a handmade paper funnel to drop them into an empty water bottle. Then freeze. When you need some, just sprinkle them out! Is that ingenious or what?!? Found that handy tip on the internet.
Liza,
Start small and see if you like doing it, no sense in investing your time and money into something you don’t like to do.
I would suggest tomatoes and possibly a few herbs. Since this is your first time, just buy a few plants and keep them in big 5 gallon pots, this will make your life much easier since you will be controlling the type of soil that goes in the pots from the start. It would be cheaper to mix composted cow manure and bagged soil, but it’s pretty fool proof if you buy any of the miracle grow soils since they are already balanced and fertilized. Pick an herb you grow a lot of and buy some seedlings. Oregano is very hearty and difficult to kill (mine lasted the last two Fl winters) also rosemary and chives. I love basil, but never had great luck with it (I think it was because we had really bad soil).
Start small and then next year you can always add more! 🙂
If you dont have room for a garden you can always do earth boxes, you can either buy them premade or you can make your own using storage tubs or recycling bins. My family has done both and we like the Earth boxes mush better. Its less labor work, but it is still rewarding. If you want details I can give them to you, just send me an Email.
Stephanie
I think you will love a garden. Most pests do not like Nasturtiums or Marigolds, so I do my borders with them. You can also throw those petals in salads, or arrange on deserts when entertaining. Geraniums, Lavender, Impatience, Johnny-Jump Ups are also edible when it comes to petals.
Plant’s That Grow Enough to Share: Basil, Peppers, Tomatoes, Zucchini, Coleus, Hydrangeas, and Old Roses
I do find bugs and birds a huge battle in SW FL so fishing line criss crossed above will discourage birds and a natural soap solution turns bugs off. The Japanese caterpillar is a particular pain, but they do not like to crawl over gritty stuff or eat soap.
They say not to grow in straight rows, because nature doesn’t and straight rows make feasting far more easy.
Try growing stuff that is hard to kill year one, so you are encouraged and not discouraged for year two. If you want to have a party, I think everyone here close by would love to come over and dig and start you the most beautiful garden imaginable. I would.
Basil is impossible to kill-perhaps start with an herb garden. And I LOVE water absorbing crystals. Love em. Totally awesome for drought issues and so you do not have to water every minute of your life.
Just be careful where to pick to grow, (sun/shade) have water needs met, and pest plan figured out ahead – because I think those are the biggest pit falls of most new gardeners. Also, keep acid loving and alkaline loving in different areas. Florida has some fantastic storms-they can wipe out your “empire” in one hour. So consider “portability” your first year. Get stuff on wheels you can wheel right into your garage when a big storm is coming. And consider the water retention beads at the bottom of your soil. They hold like 1,000 times their weight in water.
My husband and I just started doing aquaponics. No soil needed. We planted ours over a month ago and everything is growing like crazy. It does take some money and patience to set up but we can not wait to have our own organic produce that is FREE!
Wow! You guys are all amazing! And here I am, so proud of myself for having a single tomato plant in a pot on my lanai : )
You do not have to be an expert to get a vegetable garden up and growing nor do you need a lot of time. Trust me! I suggest contacting Wes Miller (I can provide his contact information) who was in the Tampa Tribue a couple months ago showing how easy and inexpensive container gardening is. I have about 10 boxes going now and exciting to watch it grow. You are never too late for the season as each vegetable has it’s own time frame to be planted so there is always something you can grow. I hope this is helpful and please let me know if I can help you in any way or if you would like to see pictures.
Just to let you know, by using container gardening, you avoid all the sand issues in Florida and avoid the bugs such as nematoads (sp?) as well as having to move your garden from time to time. Also, if you use a combination of molasses, a drop of Dawn, and water sprayed on the plants, most bugs will leave them alone because the leaves are too sweet. Plus, with container gardening you can elevate it so you are not constantly leaning over. All I add is dolomite/lawn lime (a booster) and time release fertilizer.
I’m interested if local vegetable gardeners use reclaimed water in Pinellas County, Fl.? My outside herb garden is thriving with basil, mint, jalapeno peppers not utilized for consumption due to the reclaimed water factor. Largo Reclaimed does not provide adequate information on irrigation for consumption. County water rates are increasing and with the conservation factor to consider on usage, any suggestions would be appreciated.
I am interested in the “Portable Gardening”…in the pots. I have a lanai and it’s big enough for some pots and it’s the perfect place for the veggies. Can someone suggest a book or give me specific info as to where I can get the containers or which containers are the best?
Liza,
You read my mind. I live in Central Florida and, just like you, have been wanting to try to garden but was wondering if I have what it takes and if I’ve waited too long. Thanks everyone for all of the great responses!