How to Grow a Garden That Gives You Bountiful Harvests All Year

When people lay down a garden, they have traditionally planted a few plants to make it beautiful. Some hobby gardeners plant healthy produce as well. However, these plants and flowers are usually seasonal. Most gardens generally have grass or other low-maintenance plants in them. These look presentable and don’t need much upkeep.

However, gardeners are becoming much savvier now. Those with a green thumb are now open to growing food like fruits and vegetables in their homes. Those who don’t want to be associated with GMOs or pesticides supplement their weekly menu with some free produce they grew themselves. So how do you go about setting this system up? Let’s find out.

Weather

The first thing you have to account for is the weather and climate. Check the weather where you live and see what the environment is suitable for supporting. You can’t grow all plants in all types of weather. Thus, the temperature in north Hollywood supports different kinds of vegetables and fruits than the weather in New York.

Since you’re growing naturally, you should try and stick to local produce as much as possible. Commit to your organic pledge by buying heirloom seeds or seeds from local farmers. Try mixing up the seeds you plant, so you grow many of the same fruits and vegetables in your garden. This would also help you improve your health through food.

Fertilizer

If you want to eat the fruits and vegetables that your garden produces, you need to give them food. Your plants need fertile soil, water, sunlight, and air to grow as well as store-bought food. However, most fertilizer products are not organic. In this case, you should fall back on traditional and innovative gardening techniques.

You can make your living soil. You can practice crop rotation and enrich your soil naturally. You can also set up a composting system at home to get healthy, homemade fertilizer for free. But, of course, you can also create your fertilizer following traditional Korean techniques too! Search for a method that fits your budget and the effort you want to put in.

Variety

When you set up your healthy garden, you shouldn’t focus on just fruits and vegetables. You should plant seeds for a variety of culinary uses. You can have edible flowers, herbs, and along with that, your leading food of fruits and vegetables. This would allow you to use your garden for many different healthy recipes for your weekly menu.

By planting herbs and flowers, you expand your menu and turn your pantry into an exotic food store. But, if you experience harsh winters, don’t fret! You can go to a hydroponics store and set up an indoor hydroponics system that will give you produce all year round, unaffected by the weather. While hydroponics may not be associated with organic food, it is still better than pesticide-laden produce for the health-conscious.

Permanent Installations

There are some parts of your garden that will be annual. But you should put up a few permanent installations in your garden that will help you grow fruits and vegetables for years. Raised garden beds come to mind, along with permanent positions for a few fruit trees. You could also put in a permanent trellis for creepers like different gourds and squashes.

You can plant different vegetables and fruit seeds in different seasons, but you wouldn’t need to build the structures repeatedly. You can even think of installing a small pond as a permanent aquaponics system so that you can be associated with worldwide urban farming. Search for local gardening communities in your area if you need help setting these up.

Harvest Storage

People underestimate the amount of fruits and vegetables you can get from heirloom seeds, clean water, and healthy soil. This means that when harvest season comes around, you will generally need a prominent place to store the freshly harvested fruits and vegetables from your garden. If you have a huge garden, you should build separate storage for your harvest.

For those with a smaller garden, you can harvest your homegrown fruits and vegetables in parts. This way, you pick only what you need for your weekly menu and leave the rest of the vegetables and fruits on the plants till next week. You can also search for different ways humans store their harvest across the world and take tips from indigenous communities as well.