10 Rules For A Self-Sufficient Veggie Garden
Advice From A Gardener
Rule #1: Plant what you eat
There’s no point in planting a bunch of broccoli if you don’t eat it. Unless you have a neighbor who loves it but can’t grow it.
This is something I struggle a bit with each year. There are so many things I’d like to plant, but I’m limited by the sandy soil that is more gravel than anything and storage options. We eat a lot of potatoes, but I don’t have barrels of sand to store them in. How do I get around this? This year, we put in and augmented an asparagus bed. Next fall we’ll tackle garlic. This year, we grew potatoes in plastic garbage cans. One had been used for potatoes last year, the other hadn’t been used at all. Our experiment with potatoes went so well last year, we added another can this year. I couldn’t believe the size of the spuds we got! Next year, my plan will also include carrots grown in buckets.
Rule #2: Plant what you can reliably grow under adverse conditions
We have horrible soil, as I mentioned above, so a lot of my experimentation and plantings include container planting. You can grow a lot more than you think in containers with a little creativity! The other advice I have for you is to look at your growing season. Is it getting wetter? Drier? Are there more hardy types of what you’ve been planting that might yield more? There’s no point in continuing to plant types of tomatoes, say, if they’re tender and need most of the year to grow if your growing seasons are getting shorter. Take an honest look at your growing conditions and the varieties of what you grow.
Rule #3: Diversify
Can you grow 2 different types of squash (or whatever your favorite veggie is) far enough apart that they won’t cross-pollinate? Try it. You might find you prefer the taste of 1 over the other, or 1 may withstand unstable weather better than the other.
Rule #4: Preservation
We have extensive plans for preservation. Dehydrating, freezing, canning, powders (more about that later). I’d love a root cellar, but it’s not feasible here.
Rule #5: Plant more than you think you’ll need
With 6 or 7 people to feed, exactly how many pounds of potatoes does that work out to? How many tomatoes plants does that translate to? If I’m the only one who likes radishes, should I even bother? This is where your research will pay off. Spend the time learning the answers to your produce requirement questions before you plant, and you won’t be disappointed or overwhelmed later.
Rule #6: Save your own seed
It’s one thing to successfully grow your tomatoes from the seed you’ve purchased, but it’s a whole other level of satisfaction if you can do so from the seed you saved yourself from last year’s harvest. There are a number of seeds that can be easily saved with a little research and elbow grease. Try it, you might be surprised! Another good reason to do this is that since COVID has hit us all so hard, there are seed varieties that are nearly non-existent in garden catalogues now. If you learn how to save your favorite seed, these shortages won’t affect you. You might even help keep a vegetable variety from becoming extinct. It’s happened more than you think.
Rule #7: Don’t forget the specialty items
For me, that means tobacco, sweetgrass and sage. For you, it might be different. For someone else, it might mean green cover crops or a plant they can cut and give their chickens.
Rule #8: Stay organic
Because I have a sensitivity to pesticides, organic was my goal all the way along. I have incredibly poor soil, so I’ve been learning all I can about green manure crops, compost and eggshells and coffee grounds in the soil, as well as the benefits of biochar. There are all kinds of ways to have an organic garden. Here too, is where research pays off.
Rule #9: Don’t try to do it all in the first year
Be realistic. Are you the only one willing to get out there and weed or dig new beds or water when the heat is crushing? Be realistic and you’ll set yourself up for success, not heartbreak.
Rule #10: Time is your friend, not your enemy
It takes time to learn, time to grow and time to experiment to learn what will work best for you. Don’t rush the process. You’ll appreciate your harvest more.
