by Maat van Uitert | Sep 6, 2018 | Gardening
Although the gardening season is winding down, you might be wondering “what can I plant in September?”
As long as you have a south-facing cold frame set up (or a hot bed would be better), you have options for crops you can grow through the winter.
(For directions to build a cold frame and a hot bed, check out my bestselling book, Organic By Choice: The (Secret) Rebel’s Guide To Backyard Gardening)
Without a cold frame, unless you live in a warm area (zones 8-11), you’ll not have much success. Even in our area, we can over winter spinach without a cold frame, but not much else.
In this article, I’m going to show you 11 crops you can still grow in September, even though the days are getting shorter and cooler!
Lettuce
Direct sow your lettuce when temperatures inside your cold frame are between 45 F and 65 F. You can sow either individual seeds in rows or broadcast. After sowing, cover the seeds lightly with ¼ inch of soil.
When seedlings are 4” tall, thin to 4 – 16 inches apart depending on the lettuce you’re planting. It’s best to avoid firm headed lettuces and shoot for leaf types.
Radishes
We love growing radishes because they’re as close as you can get to instant gratification in a garden. They’re ready to harvest in about 30 days.
Direct sow radishes by planting seeds ½ inch deep and 1 inch apart. Rows should be 12 inches apart and in full sun.
A week after seedlings emerge, thin radishes to about an inch apart. When crowded, radishes will sprawl and not form round roots. They will be woody and bitter.
Plant consecutively every two weeks for a continuous harvest of radishes.
Beets
Beets are perfect to grow in a cold frame because they can survive frost and temperatures down to 32 degrees (although soil temp needs to be at least 50 degrees for the seeds to germinate).
Before planting, select a sunny site, and incorporate compost into the soil. Test the soil because a pH higher than 6 and lower than 5 makes it difficult for the seeds to sprout.
Soak the seeds for 24 hours before direct sowing them to speed up germination.
Plant seeds ½ inch deep and thin to 2 inches apart when the seedlings are 4 inches tall. Snip the seedlings you’re removing (instead of pulling them out of the soil) so you don’t disturb the soil.
Cabbages
Cabbage prefers to only grow in cold temperatures, and as soon as heat hits our farm, cabbage season is as good as over.
Kale
Kale is an incredibly resilient plant and thrives in colder temperatures, and the funny thing about kale, is it tastes better if it’s been through a frost!
We broadcast kale seeds because they’re so tiny, and the plants thrive well in close quarters as long as you fertilize and water regularly. Cover lightly with dirt and mist regularly. In 3-4 weeks, you should see seedlings.
Be sure to harvest the outer leaves of kale before they get too big to ensure they’re still tender and not bitter.
Leeks
These green treats resemble giant scallions, and are excellent for sub-freezing temperatures – they have proven to be cold-hardy down to approximately 5° Fahrenheit!
Spinach
Spinach needs 6 weeks of cool weather to grow to harvest size properly, so as soon as the soil is workable, sow spinach in a cold frame. Soil temperature should not exceed 70 degrees to ensure your spinach germinates.
Sow spinach ½ inch deep. We broadcast our spinach seeds since they’re so small. To ensure a consistent harvest, plant spinach successively every 2-3 weeks.
Onions
This robust crop can easily withstand freezes and frosts, making them perfect for a cold frame. You can grow onions from seeds or sets; starting with sets is a bit easier.
When planting onions, it’s important to remember that they need full sun in order to grow healthy, so make sure your cold frame is in a sunny location.
Plant in rows 12 inches apart, and about 1 inch deep for sets
Swiss Chard
This crop is quite cold-hardy. Plant seeds ½ inch deep. It’s simplest to broadcast the seeds, then cover lightly with dirt. Succession plant seeds every 2 weeks for a continued harvest.
Cover crops
Cover crops such as clover. This time of year is a good time to think about direct sowing cover crops – they’ll prevent your topsoil from getting blown away and lower the amount of weeds come spring. They’ll also fix nitrogen so your spring crops will get a kickstart thanks to all the nutrients in the soil.
Garlic
Don’t forget to plant your garlic bulbs! You’ll want to plant them now for a summer harvest next June. Start before it gets too cold, and be sure to cover with straw if frost threatens.
Maat van Uitert is a backyard chicken and sustainable living expert. She is also the author of Chickens: Naturally Raising A Sustainable Flock, which was a best seller in it’s Amazon category. Maat has been featured on NBC, CBS, AOL Finance, Community Chickens, the Huffington Post, Chickens magazine, Backyard Poultry, and Countryside Magazine. She lives on her farm in Southeast Missouri with her husband, two children, and about a million chickens and ducks. You can follow Maat on Facebook here and Instagram here.
by Maat van Uitert | Aug 10, 2018 | Farm to Fork, Gardening, Healthy Living, Uncategorized
It’s fall y’all! I LOVE fall especially at the farmer’s market!
I know all anyone can think about this month is pumpkin spice, but I’m over here dreaming about the yummy fruits and vegetables I’ll be able to buy at the farmer’s market in September.
In my area farmer’s markets are in full swing in September and all of the farmers start pulling out all the stops to satisfy everyone’s pumpkin spice and apple cinnamon needs.
I love the farmers market! But I’ve learned over the years that not everyone can navigate the farmer’s market as easily as others. Personally I think that shopping at the farmer’s market is a great experience as long as you go into it with the right expectations. Here are a few things to know before you head out to your local farmers market.
- Your food will not look perfect!
Many of us are used to the picture perfect produce we see at the grocery store. But most of the time the produce you pick up from the farmers market is not going to look perfect, and that’s ok!
2. You won’t find out of season produce.
When you shop at the farmer’s market you have to get used to eating seasonally. So if you live somewhere with cold winters, you’re probably not going to find fresh corn in January. But the great thing about eating seasonally is that it allows you to try out produce you haven’t tried before that’s available locally in your area!
3. You food will taste amazing!
Produce from the farmer’s market are typically picked when they are ripe because they don’t have to be shipped long distances. Because of this your food will taste amazing because it was picked at peak ripeness! Plus it’s fresher than produce you get from the grocery store, so it will taste so much better!
I could keep raving about farmer’s market products all day, but let’s get started. Keep in mind that this is a general guide and it could vary based on where you live. If you want to know exactly what to look for at the farmer’s market in your area check out this website called The Seasonal Food Guide!
So here are some products you should be looking for at your local farmer’s market in September!
Chives
I love chives because they are such a good garnish for food! They add a super yummy flavor to any meal! I am so excited to get some fresh chives so that I can try out this recipe for Chive Biscuits!
Tomatillos
Ok so I’ll admit to being obsessed with salsa. I just can’t stop myself from eating it! And tomatillos make the best salsa! This recipe is for a classic salsa verde made with tomatillos!
Sweet Potatoes
I’ve actually grown to love using sweet potatoes in my meals. I used to think sweet potatoes were disgusting, but now I’m really loving using sweet potatoes in soups like this one. Make sure you pick up some sweet potatoes at the farmer’s market this month!
Onions
Onions are in season in September! I love having fresh onions, but they make my eyes water like crazy! It’s worth it though for the delicious flavor it adds to all of my meals! Growing up we had onions and garlic in EVERYTHING, so it’s definitely a cooking staple for me!
Garlic
Personally, I love to store fresh garlic that I get from the farmer’s market, so that I can eat it all year long! You can read my post about How To Store Garlic Long Term here!
Endive
I’ve never had endive before, but I’ll definitely be looking for it in September at the farmer’s market so that I can try it out! I’m super excited to try this recipe for goat cheese stuffed endive!
Celery
Celery is a classic snack for your kids and I love eating it too! It’s especially good when you get it from the local farmer’s market! Check out my favorite healthy snacks for kids for my favorite ways to make healthy eating fun (and delicious) for your kids!
Brussels Sprouts
I am not a fan of brussels sprouts. But I know there are some people who love them (y’all are crazy because they’re nasty!). If you’re a brussels sprout lover look for some at your local farmer’s market in September!
Grapes
Grapes are also an amazing healthy snack! Locally grown grapes are AMAZING, so see if you can pick some up at your local farmer’s market.
Radicchio
I have never tried radicchio before, but I’m so excited to find it at the farmer’s market! I love trying out new fruits and vegetables especially when I have fun, new recipes to try out like this one for radicchio risotto!
Winter Squash
There are all kinds of varieties of winter squash that I find in my area starting in September. Spaghetti, acorn, and butternut squash seem to be the most popular around here, but keep an eye out for different kinds! And don’t forget pumpkins are a winter squash too! Check out this yummy recipe for pumpkin bread!
Potatoes
I eat a lot of potatoes, especially if they’re fresh potatoes!!! I eat mashed potatoes almost every week and I love to make these southern style mashed potatoes you make in your instant pot!
Apples
I’ve said it before, but I love fresh apples! I always end up grabbing tons of apples when I go to the farmer’s market in September!
Apple Cider
Since I love apples so much, I’m always on the hunt for some good apple cider. In my area there is an amazing local company that makes AWESOME apple cider from their freshly grown apples. It’s not cheap (I’ve seen it as high as $8 a gallon) but I’m obsessed with it. I highly recommend that you look for local apple cider producers in September! It’s the perfect fall drink and it’s even better if it’s bought locally!
What products are you excited to find at the farmer’s market this month? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
Maat van Uitert is a backyard chicken and sustainable living expert. She is also the author of Chickens: Naturally Raising A Sustainable Flock, which was a best seller in it’s Amazon category. Maat has been featured on NBC, CBS, AOL Finance, Community Chickens, the Huffington Post, Chickens magazine, Backyard Poultry, and Countryside Magazine. She lives on her farm in Southeast Missouri with her husband, two children, and about a million chickens and ducks. You can follow Maat on Facebook here and Instagram here.
by Maat van Uitert | Jun 20, 2018 | Gardening
Do you want to garden, but you just don’t have enough time for it? I’m with you.
To be honest with you, after working 40 hours a week, the last thing I want to do is garden. So there’s been many years when I just haven’t planted a garden. I decided that since I’m one who doesn’t have a lot of time for a garden, there’s probably more people out there who need some help on how to get started on a garden without a lot of time.
Here are my tips on how to garden when you don’t have a lot of time
1. Start out small
2. Take it slow
3. Start with container gardening
4. Choose foods that you like
5. Choose easy plants to grow
6. Plan out your garden ahead of time
7. Use a soaker hose
8. Participate in a community garden
My first tip is to start out small.
Don’t try and tear up half your yard and plant a massive garden. Just because you saw a beautiful huge garden design on pinterest, doesn’t mean that’s what is right for you! I always recommend starting out small and maybe just trying a couple of plants at a time. You don’t want to create a massive backyard garden and then realize you actually don’t enjoy gardening at all! I normally suggest that you just choose a small area of your yard to plant a garden in and try it out for a year. If it works out and you love it, then you can get a little bigger the next year. Having a large garden is A LOT of work and it requires a time commitment so you don’t want to get yourself into too so much that it ends up stressing you out!
Take it slow
Along the same lines as my last tip, if you don’t have a lot of time you need to take it slow. I suggest starting small and then slowly increasing your garden size each year. You don’t want to jump into a huge garden too quickly because you’ll likely end up getting pretty stressed which is not what gardening is supposed to do! I use gardening as a way to relieve my stress and spend some time outdoors, but I also know how much I can handle and I don’t try and do too much.
Start with container gardening
Container gardening is a great way to garden that’s easy and doesn’t take a lot of time. You can start with container gardening and then branch out as you get more time to garden!
Check out this how to guide with 35 of the easiest plants you can grow in a pot or container. This post gives some great information on what plants you can grow in a container and what you will need to be successful at container gardening. Also for my apartment dwellers, check out this how to guide on how to grow plants in your windowsill. It’s easy and you don’t even have to leave your house or your apartment!
Start out with an herb garden
So I love herbs and they are some of my favorite plants to grow because they’re pretty easy and incredibly useful. There are TONS of diy herb gardens out there that you can make and I love this guide that has tons of different diy herb gardens you can choose from.
Choose foods that you like
Trust me, when you don’t have a lot of time you want to choose to grow plants that produce vegetables or fruit that you actually like. Especially when you are just starting out you don’t want to plant jicama (it’s a really good, but also a fairly unknown vegetable, at least in my area) when you have no idea what to do with it. And if you grow things you don’t like you’re less likely to enjoy gardening and you’ll get discouraged. Before you plant something in your garden you should know how you’re going to use it! Look up a couple of recipes that use that vegetable that look good to you, so you know how you’re going to use it once you’ve grown it. Don’t waste time planting vegetables or fruits that you don’t like and won’t use!
Choose the easy plants
I HIGHLY recommend that especially for beginners you start out with the easy plants. They’re a little bit more forgiving, of potential mistakes and if you don’t have a lot of time it’s very easy to make mistakes (like forgetting to water for a long time) Some of my favorite easy plants to grow are:
Cucumbers:
Green Beans
Peas
Tomatoes
Mint
Zucchini: Seriously you can’t get these things to STOP producing. You’ll have more zucchini than you know what to do with
Summer Squash: Same with summer squash. It grows like CRAZY
Bell Peppers
Spinach
The Tower Garden has an amazing how to guide to help you choose plants, and seeds that will work best for your garden and are easy to grow. Check it out here
Plan out your garden ahead of time
Trust me. If you don’t plan out your garden you’ll probably regret it. You might think that you’re saving time by not planning, but when you realize you planted your tomatoes directly in the shade of a tree you’ll wish you had. Plant your plants in the right spot! Look up the sun and water requirements for each plant and then plant accordingly. Put low water plants together and full sun plants together. You’ll save yourself tons of time watering when all of your plants that need a lot of water are together, and all of your low water plants are together. It makes things simpler, easier, and faster.
Use a soaker hose
I LOVE soaker hoses. Once they’re set up in your garden they will save you so much time because you can just leave them on and let your garden to soak. Beats watering with a watering can am I right? I also feel like using a soaker hose is WAY more effective and saves water.
Get the right tools
So I normally keep things pretty simple here at the homestead, but there are some new, fancy homesteading and gardening tools that are huge time savers. I highly recommend a no kink hose (like this one) because getting kinks out of a 100 ft long hose is a pain! So look around and find the best tools that will work for your garden, and save you the most time! Also a great tool you can use are self watering containers. Check out these amazing diy self watering containers! If you’re anything like me, you forget to water your plants A LOT. So I love these diy self watering containers because they save tons of time and prevent me from accidentally killing my plants.
Find (or create) a community garden
Personally, I think community gardens are a huge timesaver. The work of gardening is divided up among a bunch of people, so there’s less work for everyone involved. Which is a HUGE timesaver. Look around your community and see if there is a community garden near you that you can participate in. Or see if some of your neighbors would be willing to help you create one!
Go to your closest farmers market
Ok so I understand that for some of us there just isn’t enough time in the day for gardening. And that’s ok! One of my favorite gardening alternatives are farmers markets or farm shares. You can head to your local farmers market and pick up some amazing fruits and vegetables that are delicious and fresh! I also suggest that you contact local farmers and see if they do farm shares. There are several farms in my area that do farm shares and they are awesome! Basically with most farm shares you pay a certain amount up front and then you pick up certain fruits and vegetables each week. I LOVE farm shares because they’re a great way to support local farmers and you get to try out different yummy fruits and vegetables each week!
Do you need some extra help getting started with your garden? Check out my book all about backyard gardening!
Are you a really busy person? How do you make time for gardening? Help me out and share your time-saving gardening tips in the comments below!
Maat van Uitert is a backyard chicken and sustainable living expert. She is also the author of Chickens: Naturally Raising A Sustainable Flock, which was a best seller in it’s Amazon category. Maat has been featured on NBC, CBS, AOL Finance, Community Chickens, the Huffington Post, Chickens magazine, Backyard Poultry, and Countryside Magazine. She lives on her farm in Southeast Missouri with her husband, two children, and about a million chickens and ducks. You can follow Maat on Facebook here and Instagram here.
by Maat van Uitert | Jun 5, 2018 | Gardening, Gardening, Sustainable Living
It maybe June (can you believe we’re halfway through the year?), but there’s still plenty you can plant for a late summer/fall harvest!
(This is an excerpt from my #1 Amazon Bestselling book Organic By Choice: The (Secret) Rebel’s Guide To Backyard Gardening. If you want a great resource to help you grow everything listed below, grab it on Amazon right here!)
Believe me when I say that there’s veggies on this list I’ll be planting myself – I just cleaned out the greenhouses, spread rabbit manure to add nutrients to the soil, and I’ll be planting some beans, beets, and greens I hope to overwinter!
Even if you haven’t started your garden, don’t despair – there’s still plenty of time!
Here’s 17 plants you can still start this month!
Beans
Lots of varieties love the warmer weather! You can harvest some varieties in as little as 45 days. In hotter areas, stick with bush varieties to conserve water. Direct sow every two weeks for a continued harvest well into fall. Plant 10-15 plants per person in your family.
Beets
You can grow beets for either the roots or the greens. Direct sow in the soil now, and they’ll be ready to harvest in 45-60 days. Pickle them to preserve them!
Bok Choy
I love bok choy because it’s mild (aka not bitter), you can harvest it when it’s still young for a super nutritious addition to any sandwich or salad.
Broccoli
While you might not connect broccoli with something you should grow in June, especially in climates with a shorter growing season, you can start it now so it’s ready to harvest when the nights start to dip below 50 degrees.
Cabbage
If you plant cabbage now, you can harvest well into cooler weather (cabbage loves lower temperatures!) It takes a bit of time to grow big enough for harvest, so make sure it has a dedicated space you won’t need for anything else.
Calendula (C. officinalis)
This medicinal herb/flower can be used for so many purposes, from giving chickens golden egg yolks to creating healing salves for your family. Direct sow, and seeds will germinate in about 2 weeks.
Carrots
If you start your carrots now, you can still get an early fall crop – and they can hang out in the garden well into late fall.
Corn
Corn grows fairly quickly, but it needs full sun and lots of water. You can harvest it in as little as 70 days if you choose a fast-maturing variety. If you want to harvest enough for your whole family, plan on 12 – 15 ears per person.
Cucumbers
Consider bush cucumbers to save space and water. You can harvest them when they’re small for sweet pickles.
Eggplant
Eggplant loves heat, and you can see purple eggplants starting to form in as little as 60 days. Choose a fast-growing variety. If your family loves eggplant, you should plan on 3 plants per person.
Herbs
There’s plenty of herbs you can start right now, including:
- Basil (grow several plants for a winter full of pesto)
- Oregano (Greek oregano has great, large leaves)
- Thyme
- Sage (grow 7-10 plants for smudge sticks)
- Dill (grow 3-4 plants for leaves, 10 or more for dill seed for pickling)
- Parsley
- Cilantro
- Lavender
You can plant herbs outside or in pots so you can bring them in at the end of season. Remember you will need time to dry them – so don’t plant too many and get overwhelmed.
Melons
Now is a great time to start watermelons and cantaloupe! Plan on 3 – 4 plants per person in your family.
Peas
Count on 20 plants per person.
Squash
Squash loves heat, and will grow quickly in the higher temperatures. Yellow summer squash is a great variety, as are gourd varieties.
Sunflowers
You can let them go to seed for a healthy snack or harvest them for cut flowers.
Swiss Chard
Perfect if you have a shady spot in your garden, which will help the leaves from bolting and becoming bitter.
Turnips
Plant for greens and/or the roots. You will be able to harvest them long into the fall.
I’d like to hear from you!
What are you planting right now? Leave a comment below!
Maat van Uitert is a backyard chicken and sustainable living expert. She is also the author of Chickens: Naturally Raising A Sustainable Flock, which was a best seller in it’s Amazon category. Maat has been featured on NBC, CBS, AOL Finance, Community Chickens, the Huffington Post, Chickens magazine, Backyard Poultry, and Countryside Magazine. She lives on her farm in Southeast Missouri with her husband, two children, and about a million chickens and ducks. You can follow Maat on Facebook here and Instagram here.
by Maat van Uitert | May 18, 2018 | Gardening, Gardening, Sustainable Living
Sometimes your plants might need a little bit of a head start before they will be able to grow outside in your garden.
These crops might need just a little bit longer to grow before they are ready to be planted outside. Plants that have smaller seeds are especially important to start indoors because if they are planted outdoors they could be overwhelmed by the harsh environment. I definitely want all of your plants to be able to grow to their full potential, so it is important that you learn about the importance of seed starting.
So let’s talk about seedlings.
Seedlings are planted in individual pots and grown indoors before they are moved into the garden later after they have had a chance to develop. This ensures that your plant will have the best chance of growing and producing successfully!
There a lot of seed starting kits out there to choose from. I can help you decide using the following tips and a list of the most popular starting kit products on the market today.
How to Select the Right Seed-Starting System
So, when you’re choosing a seed-starting system you need to consider 3 things:
1. Choosing a good growing medium
2. Providing adequate sunlight
3. Maintaining the right amount of moisture in the soil throughout the seeds’ growing period.
But what kind of seed container will take into account all of these? Don’t worry, you’ve got options. From milk cartons to paper cups and other biodegradable or recycled containers, the list goes on and on.
My recommendation, especially for first-time gardeners, is to invest in seed starting kits.
When choosing the right starting kit for your seedlings, it’s important to keep certain characteristics of your plant in mind, such as, how long your plant takes to grow, the root depth of the plant, and the size of the seed.
Seeds vary from ones that grow very quickly to others that are more difficult to grow (or require a longer period of time to grow before being transferred to the outside garden).
In plants that grow slowly, you need to maintain consistent moisture in the soil to enhance growth. You also need to make sure your plants get the right amount of light and air to avoid diseases.
Certain plants need to have their roots intact when they are transplanted outside into the garden. The best seed starting kits for these plants are the specifically designed for plants with deep-roots.
While slower-growing seeds such as peppers, onions, and perennial herbs will thrive in long-term, small housing, fast-growing seeds such as tomatoes and zinnias will outgrow smaller pots quickly. Because of this it is important to make sure you don’t keep fast-growing plants in small pots for longer than necessary because it could ruin your plant!
Another characteristic that is important to keep in mind is the size of your seed. While planting a large seed is easy, planting tiny seeds can be difficult! I recommend that instead of trying to plant just one of these tiny seeds, you plant a small pinch of seeds. This makes it so much easier! After the plants start growing you can gradually thin them out.
Suggested Seed Starting Kits
I have learned that gardening is a continuous learning process and that expertise comes from experience, time, and patience. The same is true in matching seeds to the right growing systems. Experiment with these different seed starting kits to find the one that works best for you and the plants you choose.
- GrowEase Self Watering Seed Starter Kit
These environmentally friendly plastic pots from GrowEase are 100% recycled, but they are also heavy duty. I love that this seed starter kit is designed with a self-watering system that prevents over and under watering. This makes seed starting SO MUCH EASIER, especially for beginners!
- AeroGarden LED Grow Light Panel
This artificial lighting panel will help nurture your plants to grow with the right amount of light and warmth. This light panel comes with a stand and hanging kit that fits most standard size seed starting trays. This light panel uses a 45-Watt LED which makes it energy efficient, so the lights can last for up to 30,000 hours!
- KORAM Seedling Starter Tray Kit with Dome and Base
This kit is a little mini greenhouse for your seeds. This tray comes with a dome that controls humidity. This helps to reduce water evaporation and keep the soil moist. The base tray also provides the seeds with warmth and maintains moisture levels in the plant bed.
- Indoor Grow Light 3-Tier Stand with Plant Trays
This compact 3-level light stand is perfect for starting seeds indoors. The plants are lit and heated and the lights can be adjusted to the correct height above the plants. I also love that this product made here in the United States!
- Jiffy 42mm Professional Greenhouse 25-Plant Starter Kit
This professional greenhouse seed starter kit is made from recyclable plastic which is awesome and eco-friendly! Most importantly, the 25-cell count allows you to grow variety of seedlings. It is great for starting tomatoes and other vegetables indoors.
Big things come in small packages, or so they say. Do you use a seed starting kit? If so, which seed starting kits do you recommend?
Maat van Uitert is a backyard chicken and sustainable living expert. She is also the author of Chickens: Naturally Raising A Sustainable Flock, which was a best seller in it’s Amazon category. Maat has been featured on NBC, CBS, AOL Finance, Community Chickens, the Huffington Post, Chickens magazine, Backyard Poultry, and Countryside Magazine. She lives on her farm in Southeast Missouri with her husband, two children, and about a million chickens and ducks. You can follow Maat on Facebook here and Instagram here.
by Maat van Uitert | May 12, 2018 | Gardening, Uncategorized
Ok, so gardening can be really hard for beginners.
The first year I started gardening I remember being so frustrated that my garden wasn’t producing like I wanted it to. Gardening takes A LOT of work and patience and so it can be really frustrating for beginners when their garden isn’t doing exactly what they want it to.
That’s why I’ve decided to share a gardening tip with you every single month, so that your garden can be just a little bit healthier this year! I love it when there are simple tricks I can use that can make my garden more productive! I used these simple hacks and it helped my tomatoes to grow so much healthier last year!
And these simple hacks are something you can easily do at home! And I love that these hacks are cheap and DIY!
So let’s talk about the soil in your garden.
Your soil is obviously very important in helping your plants grow. But you have to do more than just digging a hole and plopping your plants down inside. My first time gardening ended in disaster because I didn’t do anything to my soil to help my plants grow correctly. I didn’t know that I needed to give my plants a little bit of a head start by adding nutrients to the soil, so they could be more productive.
Tomatoes are really popular plants especially for first time gardeners.
Because who doesn’t love fresh salsa? So my hacks today are going to focus specifically on growing tomatoes, but they’re useful for other plants too!
My first tips is to use ground egg shells as a natural fertilizer for your tomatoes! I love using egg shells in my soil because it’s natural, I have tons of them, and they’re a great fertilizer.
Egg shells are full of calcium which is great for plants, especially plants such as tomatoes and peppers! I also have TONS of egg shells because we have around 200 chickens right now. So this hack is awesome for me! I highly recommend this hack for all chicken owners because it’s a frugal way to add nutrients to your soil!
What I do is grind up my egg shells leftover from my boiled eggs (which are my favorite by the way). I normally use a mortar and pestle like this one to grind up the shells. I grind the shells because grinding the shells up helps them to decompose faster than if you just put them in the soil as is.
It does take time for egg shells to decompose, so I recommend tilling your egg shells into your garden in the fall and then again in the spring! Adding egg shells to your tomato bed is a great way to give your tomatoes the nutrients in their soil that they need!
My next hack is a classic.
Try putting a banana peel in your soil to help your tomatoes grow! Ok, so I know this trick is pretty common for experienced gardeners, but I want to make sure all of you first time gardeners learn this hack because it’s awesome! This hack really is classic. I remember watching my grandpa carefully place banana peels in the bottom of each hole before he planted his tomatoes. And he always grew the best tomatoes, so it must work right?
Here’s what I do:
First off, I always buy organic bananas, especially if I’m planning on using the peels in my garden. I don’t use pesticides in my garden, so I don’t want to introduce any harmful chemicals into my garden that were on the banana peel. I would rather be safe than sorry! And at least in my area organic bananas are only a couple cents more than conventionally grown ones, so it’s worth the splurge when I’m planning on using them in my garden.
So after I eat my banana, I clean off the peel with water and baking soda. I love using baking soda to clean off my vegetables because I feel like due to the grittiness of baking soda it gets off anything from the peel that is potentially harmful. Again, I would rather be safe than sorry!
Next dig your hole for your tomato plant. After you finish digging your hole simply place your banana peel in the bottom of the hole and then plant your tomato on top of it! It’s so simple, but the nutrients from the banana peel will help your tomato to grow better!
After using this simple hack all you need to do is sit back and relax and enjoy the yummy homemade salsa made from your delicious tomatoes.
Are you a first time gardener just starting out? Check out my book about backyard gardening!
Do you have any gardening hacks? Help a sister out and share them with me in the comments below!
Maat van Uitert is a backyard chicken and sustainable living expert. She is also the author of Chickens: Naturally Raising A Sustainable Flock, which was a best seller in it’s Amazon category. Maat has been featured on NBC, CBS, AOL Finance, Community Chickens, the Huffington Post, Chickens magazine, Backyard Poultry, and Countryside Magazine. She lives on her farm in Southeast Missouri with her husband, two children, and about a million chickens and ducks. You can follow Maat on Facebook here and Instagram here.
