Gardening in Hard Times II

Elisabeth — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:16:00 GMT

Gardens get people through hard times. The most obvious way is by providing food. A little less obvious, but still very important, is the psychological and physical value of gardening. America's settlers crossed oceans and frontiers with seeds and cuttings of favorite ornamental as well as edible plants stored in boxes and bags. The sight of a favorite nasturtium or lilac helped remind people of home and inspire them to do the hard work necessary to clear land, plant crops and begin new lives.

Our challenges are different now, but the value of gardening hasn't changed. A previous blog post covered food gardening. Now I want to give a bit of advice to cost conscious gardeners who focus on ornamentals. The following are the best tips for saving money right now:

Page through catalogs and click through websites. Make a list of plants, trees and shrubs that you need and/or want. Prioritize your list. Once that is done, look for early bird specials, free shipping and free plant offers (usually free with purchase). If any of your "must have" plants are offered by vendors with such promotions, take advantage of them
Multiples: If you need or want more than one of something, check for vendors who offer discounts on multiples of a single plant or plant group.
Team up with the neighbors: You can often save plant costs and/or shipping costs by splitting orders with a neighbor or friend. For instance, if you and your neighbor both want daylilies, find a vendor that offers discounts for multiple daylilies, combine your order, divide up the cost, and have the daylilies shipped to one address or the other. You may also save shipping costs this way.
Consider planting "easy" ornamentals (especially annuals) from seed. Even if you don't have the sunny space to start them inside, you can still get them going outside as soon as spring begins. Annuals will bloom later in the summer. It's a lot cheaper to grow 20-40 zinnia plants from a $2.25 pack of seeds than to buy flats at $9-$12 apiece. Check websites and catalogs for discounts on early seed orders. Store seeds in a cool dry place until you are ready to plant them.
Plan ahead and think about plants already in your garden that can be divided. Find a like-minded friend or neighbor and arrange swaps.
Learn more about plant propagation. A great book on the subject is Making More Plants by Ken Druse (Clarkson Potter, 2000). Check it out of your local library or buy it in paperback.
For a little humor plus inspiration on swapping or "passing along" plants, get your hands on Passalong Plants by Steve Bemder and Felder Rushing (University of North Carolina Press, 1993). It is also available in paperback.

Gardening in Hard Times

Elisabeth — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:02:00 GMT

In hard times people turn to their gardens for reasons other than simple recreation and the desire to create beautiful spaces. More and more gardeners are at least considering vegetable gardens for the coming season. If you are one of them, the following factors should affect your decision making about which fruits, vegetables and herbs to raise and how many:

Space: Do you have the space for a dedicated vegetable patch? Bear in mind that most vegetables and fruits need a fair amount of sunlight to thrive and produce maximum yields. "Sunny space" can also mean a collection of pots on a sunny deck, terrace, porch or driveway. If you don't have the space for a dedicated patch, is there room in your beds and borders to tuck in a few food plants. Tomatoes, for example, need more vertical than horizontal space, and are easy to insert into established planting schemes.
Soil: If you soil is extremely compacted, heavy, sandy or otherwise difficult, it may be easier to construct raised beds or grow your vegetables in pots.
Time: Do you have the time to tend your food plants? Some varieties, like peppers and beans, need relatively little care (beyond watering and checking for pests) once they are established. Fruit trees are more complicated and often need spraying, whether you use organic or synthetic pesticides. Strawberries and berry bushes often need to be netted so that birds do not eat the entire crop.
Varmints: Do you have deer, rabbits, groundhogs, racoons or other produce-eating varmints in your area? If so, you need to protect your plants from the very beginning. Companion planting--with mints, marigolds or other plants generally disdained by wild animals--helps a little, but barriers do a better job.To protect against burrowing annimals, sink barriers down a foot in the ground around your vegetable patch. Deer fencing needs to be eight to ten feet high to keep the agile creatures from leaping over it.
End results: Do you intend to eat your harvest as it comes in or preserve it by freezing, canning or drying? If you want to preserve fruits, vegetables or herbs for the winter, do you have freezer or storage space and the appropriate processing equipment and storage containers? Do you have the time to do the appropriate processing? Freezing can be as easy as arranging raspberries on a cookie sheet, placing it in the freezer and then pouring the frozen berries into a larger container. Canning, on the other hand, is generally more involved and time consuming.

Don't let the above discourage you from raising your own food. Like any other kind of gardening, growing food crops can be intensely satisfying. Start with full knowledge of the process and you will have a head start on assuring yourself of ample (and tasty) results.

Growing Wise : gardening in hard times

Gardening in Hard Times II

Gardening in Hard Times