Everything...Family Guide: August 2014

We have been super busy this spring and summer (which is soon to end...SIGH...). This year we tried our hand at vegetable gardening. After doing some research, we have learned that for a crop-producing garden it is best to start planting our seeds and bulbs in early spring. We had a late winter this year, and so we started our vegetable patch in mid-May. In warmer places, it is suitable to start in April.

Here is what we did:

We chose the sunniest spot in our garden because we were only planting for the summer and you need around 8-10 hours of sunlight for the healthy growth of your plants (this process of converting light to reusable energy for the plant is called photosynthesis). We started off by digging an area of the garden that was about 2 feet tall and 7 feet wide. We dug up the earth and loosened the dirt to add in our organic soil. We used two whole, large bags of good quality organic soil and mixed it up with the loosened dirt. Tip: it's best to get rid of any weed, grass, rocks and pebbles from the garden patch, as they can interfere with the growth of the crop and its roots.
Then, we purchased organic seeds and vegetables from our local garden. My friends advised me to use fresh root vegetables (like green onions, onions, potatoes with suds, garlic, ginger, etc.), with their dried roots still visible. Using fresh vegetables for herbs that have roots usually yields good growth results.
We made little holes with our spade to drop in our seeds and vegetables. Then we planted the vegetables and seeds in a row with a 3 to 5 inch gap between each vegetable (on the side, and in the back and front). After dropping in our seeds and vegetables, we closed the gap by covering it with dirt around the hole. Tip: don't be tempted to put in too much seeds or vegetables in a hole, as this can result in tiny or no growth.
Next, came the CARE. We watered the plants everyday in taking care to use a watering spray, instead of a direct watering hose or can. Too much water pressure can make the plants stems slanted, weak or get damaged in the process. Thus, it is important to use a watering spray with low water pressure from the hose. Occasionally, I would visit the patch to pull out any weed or grass growth in or around the garden patch.

So towards the end of the summer and during beginning of fall, we decided to harvest our vegetables. Here is what we found (our hard earned results):

Turnips - We used seeds to plant turnips. They grew the largest in our garden, with a fresh/crisp scent and vibrant colors. We knew they were ready because once they grow, they start to come up from the ground to the point that you can see turnip heads attached to the leafy part of the plant. Once they were cut, we found some kind of an infestations inside the vegetable and had to throw it out. Just a note to add, the turnip leaves are very leafy and wide/large.
Radishes - We planted the radish using seeds. Although, the plant grew large leaves, the radishes were hard and raw tasting on the inside. Maybe, they needed more time in the ground, as some were kind of green on the inside.
Potatoes - We used our pantry potatoes that grown white heads or sprouts. Potatoes need a lot of water and the leaves and stems should be trimmed often. The leaves are big and grow in clumps. Also, due to a lack of water or high heat/long sun hours, the leaves can burn or turn yellow. Two months into the growth, if the potato roots don't have room to grow or won't grow anymore, then you may begin to see little white flowers bloom from the potatoes stems/leaves bush. This is an indicator that there is no more growth of the potato root. The potatoes we harvested were tiny, but tasted and looked great!
Carrots - We planted carrots seeds and the carrot leaves sprouted from the ground later than the other vegetables. The leaves looked very delicate and fine. The carrots we harvested were very tiny, but crunchy and sweet.
Ginger - We used fresh ginger root and were not successful with growing anything during this season. The ginger root did grow some tiny roots on its head (this is an indicator that maybe we needed to plant them for a longer time). We planted the ginger root with a little bit of it peeking out for better growth.
Green Onions - We planted fresh green onions with the onion root in the ground. They took a while, but once they strengthened they grew really tall and strong. After harvesting, we found the green onion bulbs and stems to be very large, yet crunchy and fresh in our salad.
Onions - We also planted fresh, organic onions with the root side in the ground. They also grew thin, green sprouts similar to green onions. When we harvested them, we found them to be very tiny, yet fresh.

I was aiming at doing everything organic (sans the fertilizers and pesticides). I think that when people do gardening at a grand scale (for business or education then they may need to use fertilizers to up their crop production and keep bugs/pests at bay). For me and my kids, this was just a learning experience and we did learn many things; some things we did right, while others needed improvement. On another note, I want to add that we harvested a little early because we sometimes get early cold weather here in our city during August, with Fall right around the corner.

Overall, gardening is a committed job, but the yields make everyone feel so excited and proud of their accomplishments (after all the TLC). Next year, we will try some of the same vegetables but in a new way as we all learn from our mistakes. Below is our garden in pictures: