Gardens Growing Everywhere!

It’s officially summertime and there are gardens growing everywhere! It’s beautiful to see them popping up at motels, churches, apartment complexes, rec centers, schools, front yards, backyards, all over town… The reasons to garden far outnumber the reasons NOT to, and I’m here to tell you that ANYONE can do it!

I live in an apartment complex with my parents and my husband in Branson, Missouri currently. It’s a little tourist town, famous for it’s country music shows. We started growing here about 3 years ago in just one little patch in the landscaping. All we did was ask the management if we could grow a few things because I love to garden and beautify the landscape. They said as long as we maintain it and keep it clean, they would love it! Never be afraid to ask…

Three years later we now have one large bed and 3 small ones, our patio is covered in 5 gallons buckets with plants, and we have planted flowers all around the building.

It’s incredible how much we can grow in our small space! We have squash, a melon, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, carrots, lettuce, radishes, herbs, flowers, cauliflower, broccoli… the list goes on. If you have never gardened before, start small and grow with it. Don’t be scared to get some dirt under your nails!

My friend Christie, a local radio show host at www.souljourneysradio.com, came over and made a video of our apartment garden. Hopefully it will inspire you.

This article was originally posted on ecoetsy.com

What’s Growing in the Apartment Garden, #2

Things are growing beautifully here at home! We have lots planted and still space for more. There is a new weed coming up a lot that I have never seen before with a big, annoying taproot… I’m not a fan. Besides that, things are perfect and lovely!

The snap peas are growing fast. Today I’m going to tie some twine up the patio railing there so our little babies can climb up easily. They are so cute and will look beautiful once they start flowering!

This is a brand new strawberry patch that we just planted. We probably won’t get much fruit this year, but it’s growing well! Arugula in the bottom right and radishes growing behind the strawberries.

Radishes and carrots are growing slowly but surely in the wacky temperatures we’ve been having. Over on the right, take a look at that awesome Red Clover!! Almost time to harvest some flowers from her.

Sweet little poppy flowers are coming up in the lettuce patch! They will look gorgeous in a few weeks. Last year I had one poppy flower, let the seeds fall and overwinter, and now we have so many coming up! Poppy seeds like to overwinter.

I’m just starting to get things growing in our patio pots again. I planted cilantro, marigolds, and in a 5 gallon bucket I put a tomato, carrots, and calendula! It’s amazing to see what plants can grow harmoniously together in a small space and benefit eachother!

What do you have growing in your garden so far?

What’s Growing in the Apartment Garden

Spring is here in full swing and the garden is full of bounty and beauty! I’m so thrilled that I took the time to go out in the cold of fall and winter and throw seeds around here and there, because so many of the babies I planted are coming up now! Many varieties of annual plants can overwinter their seeds in the midwest and then they are the first to come up in the Spring. I threw around lettuce, arugula, marigolds, and morning glory among other things…

lettuce patch next to our patio

lettuce patch #2

lettuce patch #3

We thinned one lettuce patch and all of our little heads of lettuce made it. They did lose some outer leaves, but they are going strong! Notice the weeds growing all over our garden… I like to leave the weeds until I decide to thin or plant something in it’s place because they are there for a reason. Weeds grow to put nutrients into the soil and having something covering the ground is a really good thing. Whenever I pull the weeds, I either lay them down on the ground or turn them under to decompose.

baby cilantro

dry birdhouse gourds

I grew these last year and now it’s time to drill holes so the birds can use them. Then I’ll preserve them with clay, decoupage, or paint… haven’t decided yet.

beautiful soapwort

radishes

Our radishes are growing so fast this year!! Last year it took forever because the soil at our apartment complex was mainly compact clay and rock. We practice no till methods so we just put some manure, straw, and compost on top of the soil. The simple act of building the earth a couple inches and growing things in it (including weeds) has made a fluffy, delightful soil in just a couple years!

Our new neighbor planted zinnias!

kale going to seed

We planted these dwarf kale in late Spring and reaped the bounty of them throughout the Fall and WInter. Now they are going to seed and the little flowering tops taste just like broccoli!!

Although our apartment management is incredibly pretentious and closed minded about many things, I am forever grateful to have the opportunity to grow a beautiful garden here! I truly believe that almost any apartment management would be willing to allow tenants to BEAUTIFY the garden spaces. Without the flowers and plants, this place would be so dull! I recommend that anyone interested in gardening and living in an apartment should ask the management if they can beautify their home. The worst that can happen is a no. Go for it!

Rejoicing in the Springtime

Spring is here and the beautiful, perfect days just keep coming!!! We keep having these amazing mornings that start off with a light rain and then all afternoon we are blessed with a warm sunny day, and sometimes we get another rain or thunderstorm at night. Thank you mama nature!

We have lettuce popping up all over the garden, thanks to my throwing old seeds all over the place just for fun. The other day I went out and thinned them and was actually able to save every single one and they are growing so happily!

valerian – a wonderful herb

Valerian is a unique herb whose roots are used as a natural sedative and body / mind relaxer. The aroma and flavor are fantastic! I will let this grow all spring summer and harvest some of the root in the fall.

delicious cabbage!

Today I made a little ladybug friend. She was climbing up the radish sprout and it was oh so cute!!

I’m so excited to be gardening again and I know this year is going to be GREAT! I learned a lot from last year and will be able to plant even more in our small apartment garden this year. Yay!! We’ll be incorporating more vertical gardens later on this spring, so stay tuned!

What have you started growing so far?

a warm winter day …

Today was an absolutely beautiful day in the Ozarks and inspired me to get a jump on spring! The day whispered “early spring planting” in my ear as the breeze blew past and the sun shined on my face.

drilling holes for bunching onions

 

the holes

oregano handles the chills so well & loves the sunny day

carrots for dinner!

What are you planting?

 

Give a man a fish and he’ll be fed for a day. Teach a man to grow tomatoes and he’ll feed the whole community!

My wonderful soul partner said this to me the other day… I think he got it from Grow Food Not Lawns. 🙂 I love it!!!