The Simple Home Garden Blueprint
Like clockwork, when the calendar rolls over to March and we have the first 70+ degree day, my mind instantly goes to outdoor living.
“I need to wash off the patio.”
“Oh look! What is this sprouting up in my containers?!”
“Let’s go buy some chickens and turn this place into a farm!”
Okay, so maybe not that last one. But then again, may-be! ;)
Visions of barns and farmhouses swirl in my head, but grounding it down to the here and now is the vision of a garden. Lemme just start there.
Nothing complicated. Just a simple patch of dirt to grow some veggies.
Back story #1
Last year, I attempted my first raised bed garden design.
And it went pretty good. emphasis on pretty good, not really good
My spring DIY project was 3 raised beds: 2 for herbs and 1 for veggies. The herbs did great! The veggies were so-so.
The section of our yard and our raised beds get about 2-3 hours of sunlight a day. This is a fact that I forget (often) in the winter when there are no leaves on the trees and the sunlight seems so abundant!
Back story #2
I grew up on gardens. I remember the days of bountiful harvests being passed around from neighbor to neighbor. I remember having to pick green beans with my MawMaw Bryant (and also hiding in the rows because the bees were freaking me out).
My parents had a small garden at their house for years and it was my job to water it, weed it, and pick the tomatoes and peppers when they were ready. I really hated the bees and bugs but my love for those fresh veggies trumped any and all fears of getting stung.
Current Proposition
A few weeks ago I make an offer to my grandparents and my dad regarding my garden plans and vision. My grandparents have the perfect spot in their yard for a small garden and my dad has a wonderful tool called a tiller to make my dreams come to life.
So I asked, “PawPaw, what do you think of my having a small garden in your yard. I will till, plant, and water - you won’t need to do a thing.” He replied with an affirmative saying it would be less grass for him to mow. Perfect.
Now to propose the tilling project to my dad, “Daddy, if PawPaw agrees (which he did) to a garden at his house, will you till it up for me so I can plant my veggies?” He replied with an affirmative, possibly hoping that my grandpaw would say no.
Planning Time
Since I got the green light for both, I realized that I needed to plan out this little project if it is to happen at all. Since I don’t shy away from all things planners and organizers, I thought now would be the perfect time to create something that I can use year after year.
My hope is that you will use it too!
I’m not much for seed starting (at least not at this point in my journey to farm life) so I plan to buy starter plants for everything, which condenses the timeline and the to-do list drastically.
I’ve always wanted to try my hand at a cut flower garden, so I’ve mapped out a small section to do just that. Those will however be seeds rather than starter plants. (bought from Lidl)
To follow along, be sure to tune in to my Instagram.
FREE PRINTABLES
To download my Simple Home Garden Blueprint, just click HERE. I plan to file this away in my Tickler File until April; at that time I will schedule in the to-dos along with a few shopping days. One thing I learned last year, get your plants early! Otherwise you are left with a bunch of scraggly looking leftovers by the end of the month.
Now tell me, are you team garden or team grocery store?
SIDE NOTE: If you are all for local veggies but don’t want to grow your own, then farmers markets are a great place to get them during the summer. HOWEVER, I’ve also learned that if you don’t get up at the crack of dawn and go to the farmers market then there won’t be any produce left come lunchtime. CSA (community supported agriculture) is great for planners who aren’t all for the farmers market hustle and bustle. We signed up for the CSA Summer Baskets through Bush-N-Vine a few years ago and loved it! Click HERE to learn more about their program.
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