HOW TO START AND PLAN YOUR VEGGIE GARDEN

You wake up in the morning to the beautiful sounds of geese honking, the sun is shining through the window.  You look outside and the white stuff is almost gone... yup spring is almost here!  I've only been a gardening enthusiast for a couple years but I really love it - and love knowing where my food is coming from.  How awesome is it seeing your little girl in your garden picking a juicy red tomato and taking a big bite of it.... and it's totally ok!  You know you bought high quality seeds, planted from seedlings, didn't ever use chemical.  That tomato grew with love and care and now your family can enjoy all the health benefits of fresh garden produce in your backyard!!

Here are some tips that have helped me in growing my first backyard veggie garden!

•  Figure out what you'd like to plant in your garden and if you'd be buying plants when planting (like tomato's, squash or peppers) or starting some of your seed inside.

• Think about what your family enjoys eating and what you'd like to freeze or preserve.
• Choose plants according to your space.  If you have raised beds or smaller space - don't take up the space with a large zucchini plant or corn.

• Order your seed online or purchase at your local greenhouse.  I buy my seed from www.heritageharvestseed.com - the seeds are open pollinated, non-gmo, non hybrid, untreated and naturally heirloom seed.

• Some of my favourite seed - Cucumber - Lyluk (great if you like pickling) or Longfellow (great for slicing and salads), Onion - Yellow of Parma (seriously the same as you'd see in the grocery store), Pepper - Bullnose, Carrots - Scarlet Nanties (large with sweet crunchy taste), Tomato - Italian Heirloom (large tomato - great for canning) or Charlie Red Staker.

• If starting some of your garden from seed - create a indoor planting calendar.

• I always consider May long weekend my "last frost" weekend (southern Manitoba).  On your seed packets it will let you know to plant XX weeks before last frost.  Count backwards from May long and mark that weekend as your indoor planting weekend.  So for example - Onions are planting approx 10 weeks before last frost.    So I mark in my calendar to plant those inside the 2nd weekend of March.
• I'll do another post on how to plant indoors

• Start saving compost

• Compost is amazing to work into soil in spring.  This will give your garden the nutrients and vitamins it needs for your plants to thrive.  Think eggshells, coffee grounds, fruit and veggie scraps.  I keep a little composter in my kitchen - and when it's full I put it in a large green composter outside.  In spring we'll dump it in our garden plot and till it in.
• If you can't compost - don't worry.  My first couple years I had no compost, another alternative would be to use some leaves and grass clippings - those also work great.

• Plan your garden plot

• Pick a place with sun exposure that has great drainage.  You also want to make sure it's not a high traffic spot for kids or animals. 
• I'll do another post on how to prepare your garden plot

Now the waiting game!!  Stay tuned!