Hi Mr. Chance, thank you for your offer to help me, I tend to kill every green thing in my path accept the weeds. I don't really like to garden but I think it would be good to learn how. We recently moved to Southern IL from MO where the ground was mostly clay. We haven't tried gardening at our new home. I think my husband is kind of discouraged and I'm not much help. I remember many years ago when we had a pretty good start on the garden I tried to help my husband and ended up "weeding" the young plants instead of the actual weeds.After that my husband said "thanks but no thanks" to my offers of help. Bless his heart he was so disappointed but he knew I didn't do it on purpose. Now I'm afraid some of my physical limitations won't lend much help in a traditional garden but I am always looking for ways to adapt my life as I am now. I am thinking a garden higher up in a raised box might work. I would like to grow tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots to start. Do you know if I could try to grow those in big potted planters? Maybe that won't be so overwhelming to start with??? Blessings on your evening. ~Lindy
Good Morning. One man's prized plant is another man's weed! Lol My wife wasn't into gardening either, except on facebook, until she watched the work she put into the soil culminate in the sprouting of food. I think then it became a mix of anticipation and pride. Indiana is a great gardening state. Almost anything can be grown in a pot. The only drawback is the harvest size. Several years ago I built a raised bed garden using the cedar slats from an old fence row I tore down. The area I built it in faced the south where I got the longest sunlight. It was an area about 25 ft x 26 ft. I fenced it in with a large hole, garden fence. You can buy a roll pretty darn cheap. I put he slats on their sides so they were about 6 inches above the ground. I didn't burry them at all, just layed them out. I ended up with 4 foot wide by whatever fit, long rectangles. I left enough room between to get my lawn mower between the rows. Along the fence, I layed out the wood all along the bottom and then about 2 feet out from the fence. I ended up with three raised beds inside the fence and a 2 foot one all the way around except where I had placed the gate. I staked the corners of the beds so they wouldn't move. I bought a combination of manure, compost, and potting soil at the garden center and using a mixture, half filled all the beds. I then tilled it all into the beds.
It was alot of work, not much money, and they lasted me about 9 years and produced an abundance of food. The beds were 4 foot wide so I could reach from either side of the bed to perform any task necessary. I planted along the fence, about 3 inches out. I used the fence to grow pole beans, peas, cucumbers, winter squash, and in a few spots tomato's I could tie to the fence. In front of those plantings in the same bed, I planted carrots, beets, chard, radishes, garlic, and parsnips. Also along the back side I planted summer squash, which gets big and prickly, brussel sprouts and made an asparagus bed. In the center beds I planted bush beans, onions, potatoes, shallots, garlic, peppers, kholrabi, and radishes. As many as fit depending on final mature size. Also in one corner I planted horseradish. You have to bury a barrier around the horseradish or it will spread like wildfire. I used double deep cedar slats, about 12 inches deep. Now you can work your way around the beds to plant and tend your plants. Also you only have to water in the beds, which saves water. We made a seperate bed in another spot. About 12 by 4 foot. we worked in amendments as in the garden. We planted oregano, basil, parsley, mint (another spreader), creeping thyme, rosemary, cilantro, chives, and dill.
We went around the neighborhood and gave everyone a list of our herbs and told them to help themselves to what they needed when they were cooking. They loved it and used it often without abuse. I added a few soil amendments every year. even ended up making a small strwberry bed in one spot. The asparagus got better every year, and the horseradish filled the bed. Love fresh horseradish! lol This garden provided the majority of vegetables we used in a year. we learned how to preserve most by canning, drying, freezing, or just cold storage. We are still eating turnips and carrots from last years garden now. Just cold storage.
Pots are great too. Look up soil prep for what you want to grow for each pot. Place your pots according to the plants light needs, and look for heavy yeilding varieties designed for pots. I bought my wife a clay strwberry pot last year and it works great except for the birds. We had to build a tee pee net to keep them out! lol When you come up with the specific varieties you want to grow. Let me know what they are and I'll tell you what I know about them. I think you will end up loving gardening. Great stress reliever and the gratification of eting your own grown food is .....well, indescribable! Don't feel overwhelmed, and start at whatever level you are comfortable with. What you learn now will serve you later Lindy. BTW, many young plants do not look like the plant they will become, but you will learn this with experience. Ususally the 2nd set of leaves define the plant better. So don't be discouraged by your mishap. Got to get ready for work. Have Great Day and TTYS!
