A 15 by 15 feet garden can produce more than 100 pounds of garden-fresh vegetables and herbs.

(ARA) – The economy is tanking, grocery bills are climbing and food safety scares are on the rise. For the 43 million Americans planning a vegetable garden this year, growing your own is a matter of dollars and sense.

Food gardening will jump 19 percent this year over last year, according to a new survey by the National Gardening Association (NGA). Homeowners with shrinking household budgets are looking for help in their own backyards. Can planting a veggie patch really save you money? Government agencies and gardening organizations say yes.

Every $100 spent on vegetable gardening yields $1,000 to $1,700 worth of produce, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates. That’s a serious hedge against skyrocketing food prices, expected to jump another 5 percent this year.

Your backyard can become your own personal grocery store, producing enough vegetables to feed your entire family all season long.

You’ll get a half-pound of edibles from every square foot of ground devoted to backyard crops, NGA experts say. Even a modest garden (15 by 15 feet) can produce more than 100 pounds of garden-fresh tomatoes, salad greens, vegetables and herbs. Better flavor and bragging rights come with the harvest.

Planting a vegetable plot and keeping it productive isn’t that hard if you start small, keep the basics in mind and plant reliable varieties. Take it step by step:

Lead with Location — A sunny, well-drained spot close to a water spigot is ideal. Leafy greens tolerate some shade, but other crops want eight hours of sun daily.

Suitable Soil — Adding organic material is the key to an easy-care garden. It loosens stiff soil, helps retain moisture and nourishes important soil organisms. Good “ingredients” include manure, humus and chopped-up leaves. Spread a 4-inch layer of amendments on your plot and till into the top 9 to 12 inches.

Fertilize Faithfully — All edible plants remove some nutrients from the soil, and can quickly exhaust the soil without the help of a fertilizer. Always follow the rates given on the label when deciding how much to use.

Water Wisely — One inch of water weekly is adequate for most vegetables. Soaker hoses or drip systems deliver water efficiently and keep foliage dry, fending off leaf diseases.

Patrol for Pests — Monitor insect damage but try to keep your crops pesticide-free. Hand-pick pests or dislodge them with a jet of water, then let natural predators do the rest. If you must spray, do it late in the day when beneficial insects are less active.

Pick the Right Plants — Flower gardeners gravitate to the newest, showiest varieties, but smart food gardeners appreciate the tried-and-true. Bonnie Plants, available coast to coast, are time-tested varieties selected to suit regional conditions. For best results you’ll need to choose veggie and herb varieties suitable to your geographical location. Because Bonnie’s varieties are distributed regionally, you will automatically have suitable varieties available to you at retail locations in your area.

Look for Bonnie Plants in eco-friendly biodegradable pots that not only keep tons of plastic pots from ending up in landfills, but also reduce transplant shock. Just tear off the bottom, set the pot in the ground and water.

If you’re ready to try your hand at creating your own backyard grocery garden, here are 10 easy crops to plant:

Basil — Perfect with tomatoes. Choose sweet basil or the compact ”Spicy Globe.”

Beans — Bush beans like “Bush Blue Lake’”are easier to pick, but tall “pole” beans have higher yields.

Bell peppers — Harvest green or red, when vitamin levels are higher. Try “Bonnie Bell” or the new, hot bell pepper “Mexibell.”

Chard — This leafy green tolerates cool temperatures well. Varieties like “Bright Lights” have brilliantly colored stems.

Cucumber — Plant after the weather warms. Choose the mild Japanese cucumber or the old favorite “Burpless Bush Hybrid.”

Eggplant — A much-loved favorite, eggplant thrives in hot weather. Try “Black Beauty” or the white-skinned “Cloud Nine.”

Lettuce — Go for easy “leaf” lettuces like “Buttercrunch,” “Red Sails,” or Romaine.

Parsley — Pick curly types or flat Italian parsley. This herb is rich in vitamins and a breath-sweetener, too.

Summer squash — Squash are very productive plants and easy to grow. Try zucchini “Black Beauty” or yellow crook-necked squash.

Tomatoes — These crimson favorites are the most popular backyard vegetable. Choose disease-resistant “Better Boy,” “Bonnie Original” or the extra-easy cherry tomato “Sweet 100.”

For gardening tips and more herb and vegetable varieties, visit www.bonnieplants.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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But enough of winter, the snow will be upon us (or some of us) soon enough and we’ll be relegated to indoor gardening or greenhouses for those of us who have them.  Late summer has a number of tasks that should be done in the garden and below is a helpful list.

• Weed your flower gardens and continue with the general maintenance of your garden by dead heading all the flowers and removing pests.  Check out our post on organic weed control.
• Fertilize any plants that seem to need it. 
• Plant any bulbs that you have that bloom in the fall.
• Sow any of the vegetables from your garden that are ready in the late summer.  Another task for your vegetable garden is to dry off your onions and store them.
• Harvest your herb garden (if you have one) and dry the herbs.  See our article on “Do It Yourself Microwave Herb Drying”
• If you are planning to have strawberries next year, this is the preferred season to plant them.

And lastly, enjoy the last few weeks of summer.

Sirena Van Schaik

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I find, personally, that it is better to look at a garden in small bursts.  Sure there are many things that I will need to do throughout the summer when it comes to keeping my garden healthy and eventually getting ready to bed it down for the winter but when there are only a few jobs to do at each period of time, the amount of work put into a garden seems almost insignificant to the amount of enjoyment you get out of it.

So here is a list of a few garden tasks that you should do in early summer:

The Flower Garden:

• Place supports in the garden for any perennials that need it.
• Fertilize the plants
• Remove all the deadheads from the plants
• Water regularly
• Prune any plants that need to be pruned.  Most will only need to be pruned after flowering, depending on the plant.
• Deal with any pests if they are present in the garden.
• With any shrubs and perennials, you can take softwood cuttings.
• Thin out the annuals
• Weed the beds.

The Vegetable Garden

This depends on what plants you have in your garden.

• Weed the garden.
• Thin out any plants that need to be.
• Provide supports for plants that require them such as beans, and tomatoes.
• fertilize the vegetable garden.
• Place up screens to protect vegetables from pests.
• Water regularly
• Sow any plants that require sowing

And these are just a few jobs to make summer gardening a little easier and you will find that you spend more time enjoying your garden then struggling to keep up with its care.

Sirena Van Schaik

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Choosing your Crops
The first step in creating kid-friendly vegetable gardens is to select crops that you both enjoy growing. You can choose vegetables that your kids like to eat, so they can create an entire vegetable garden filled with the foods that they love. You can also select fast growing crops, like lettuce and radishes that will offer more immediate gratification for their planting efforts. Finally, create your vegetable garden around a theme, such as a pizza garden that contains tomatoes, peppers and basil.

Get Real
Keep in mind that when kids get involved with vegetable gardens, you may be giving up your ability to enjoy nice straight rows of crops. Your lettuce may sprout up among your beans and your carrots may crop up all over your garden bed! However, the lessons that you child will learn will far outweigh the compromise in aesthetic quality and organization that you might be required to make. And you may find that it’s rather fun to wait and see where your various crops end up!

Allowing them to Help
Vegetable gardens do not end with the planting of the seeds; once those seedlings begin to emerge, there is watering, fertilizing and weeding that must take place. Get the kids involved with these chores as much as you can, as long as they can tell a difference between the weeds and the beans and you keep an eye on their watering efforts. With the proper guidance, your children will learn what is required in creating a happy, healthy garden, and you will both benefit from the time that you spend outdoors together.

Give them their Own Space
Older kids may enjoy cultivating their own small plot of land, or creating their own gardens in pots that are the perfect size for them. Allow them to choose the crops for their very own miniature vegetable garden, and they will receive the ultimate satisfaction of growing and harvesting their very own crops.

Kids and vegetable gardens go hand in hand as long as you take the time to teach those half-pints the finer points of your own green thumb. This year, get down and dirty in the garden with your kids; you are guaranteed to reap much more than vegetables!

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