Grow Your Own

Tomato Bushes

Yes, garden. With a little encouragement anyone can do it! You can manage some plants with little space or even just pots. Gardens are the best way to bring the freshest, most naturally grown vegetables to your dinner table, not to mention the most local! With a garden you have the freedom to plant whatever it is you love; heirloom lettuces, golden cherry tomatoes, arugula, lacinato kale. The choices are endless and the joy of watching your veggies grow from seed, to sprout, to flowering, to producing fruit is priceless. The best part, eating a meal with your own grown vegetables. There's nothing quite like it.

Celery

Now is the time to get your plants in the ground if you haven't already. It's a little late but summer crops will go for months. Some common garden vegetables that grow nice and easy are lettuces, zuchinni, kale, chard, beets, and of course tomatoes. Some plants will produce fruit over and over like kale. You can pick the leaves off whenever they are ready and you'll notice they just keep producing. Some plants like head lettuces and beets after you pull them up will not reproduce, you have to replant them. Herbs are a wonderful addition to any garden or potted in any yard. Basil, cilantro, parsley and thyme are just a few. These will add flavor and health benefits to any meal.

When just starting out it's easiest to buy from seedlings, venture into starting from seed later on. Buy from a locally owned nursery and find organic and heirloom varieties to get the most out of having your own garden. Don't be afraid to try something new and different, like crookneck squashes or persian cucumbers. Be sure to buy organic soil and add in plenty of your own compost. Water gently, lots of love and you'll have some beautiful vegetables in the months to come.

Heirloom Lettuce

Heirloom Red Lettuce

My favorite local nursery is Island Seed and Feed where I purchased all of these plants you see pictured. They supply plenty of seedlings of many different varieties. They have a wonderful selection of seeds, soil, compost, and your other garden needs.