Home Gardeners Growing Vegetables, Herbs, Fruit

There are 7 million more households involved in home vegetable gardening in 2009, compared to last year, says the National Gardening Association. Last year, home gardeners spent $2.5 billion on seeds, plants, fertilizer, supplies and garden tools to grow their own food.

Given the investment, on average, a well-maintained home garden yields a $500 return. These findings come from the January 2009 Impact of Home and Community Gardening in American study, which surveyed 2,559 households.

Most households spent about $70 on seeds, soil, garden supplies and garden tools this year, but their produce savings totaled over $500! Home gardeners in 36 million households grew vegetables (23%), herbs (12%), fruit trees (10%) and berries (6%). Vegetable growers spent about $53 to get started, while fruit tree owners spent $61, herb growers spent $30 and berry growers spent $29.

All in all, $1.4 billion went toward vegetable gardening spending, $538 million toward fruit trees, $138 million toward berry growing and $391 million toward herb growing. Truly, these industries are growing in America.

The National Gardening Association wondered, "Just what type of food gardens do Americans have?" Are they big sprawling acres of produce or are they little windowsill boxes of herbs? The study found that half of all home gardeners grow food in containers, as well as growing food in the ground.

The overwhelming majority of households (91%) grow food at their own home, while another 2 million grow at a friend, relative or neighbor's house, and another 1 million grow in a community garden.

The average garden size was about 600 square-feet, although 57% had gardens of 100 square-feet or less. The National Gardening Association invites all these new growers to visit their website at www.garden.org to learn gardening information, receive gardening advice and gain valuable home vegetable gardening tips.

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Garden Tips Online With Garden Guides

A lot of garden tips and advice arrives to us on some hard-to-read, garden blog with a beastly background, pop up ads, advertisements littering the text and cheesy midi music playing in the background.

It's enough to send any serious gardener to the book store to find an appropriate tome instead. However, every once in awhile, you can find an excellent website dedicated to answering gardening questions and providing insightful advice, hints and ideas for creating the perfect garden, whether for fruit, vegetables or flowers. One such site is www.gardenguides.com.

Other garden tips revolve around plant species and varieties. Beginners may want to read about getting started with perennials or annuals.

For instance, if you click on the tab for perennial flower gardening, you'll learn how to choose the right flowers, how to plant and grow them, how to cut and dry them, how to prepare the perennials for winter, how to propagate and troubleshoot them, and you'll get lists of perennial flowers and plants.

Visitors to the site can read about rose gardening and caring for cacti, or read up on spreading moss and ivy covers. Even if you're just curious about planting some new grass, you'll find valuable information here.

In addition to providing you with helpful garden tips, www.gardenguides.com also has a social network community right on the site, where you can share your passion for gardening with other gardeners.

You can post gardening blog entries and pictures, meet new friends and get involved in forum discussions. With 500 new members and many more rooted members, you're bound to find interesting green thumbs to talk to.

Perhaps you'll even receive positive accolades on the beauty of your garden and learn some helpful hints from the forums.

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Vegetable Gardening Ideas For Your Garden

According to a 2009 study conducted by the National Gardening Association, it was discovered that the average vegetable gardening household saved just over $500 per year by growing plants and cultivating their own harvest.

Most couples used just $70 to get started with their garden supplies, seeds and garden tools. It is estimated that 34% of all American households now grow some of their own food -- a number that rose 10% from 2007-2008, and another 19% from 2008-2009.

First you must plan how large your garden will be. Usually, several beds in a 20 x 20 plot for space hogging vegetables like corn, tomatoes or squash is good, or a 12 x 16 plot for cucumbers, peppers and herbs.

Once you plot out your garden, you'll need a few garden supplies, such as a tape measure, string, 12 to 18-inch stakes and a hammer. Situate the rows running from east to west, with the taller plants on the north end. Stake down the four corners of your garden and then set to work roto-tilling to turn up the soil.

Get rid of all the weeds and test the soil before your vegetable gardening can officially commence. Ideally, you want a pH between 6 and 6.8. For low pH, use limestone. For high pH, use sulfur.

There are several strategies when it comes to choosing which plants to use in your vegetable gardening endeavor. Some vegetables are grown from seeds in a method known as "direct-sow."

A few weeks before the last frost (check the Farmer's Almanac to get this date), sow your beets, carrots, parsnips, peas, radishes, chard, turnips and salad greens. After the last frost, sow your beans, corn, squash and herbs like dill and cilantro.

Next, you may want to use some transplants for broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, parsley, peppers and tomatoes. Your summer squash, lettuce and broccoli will grow equally well from seeds or transplants, so that choice is up to you.

Growing plants like beets, chard, green beans, lettuce, parsley, peppers, tomatoes, radishes and summer squash is rather easy in most parts of the country, so you may want to include a lot of these crops to start.

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Growing Garden Plants In The Winter

Garden plants can boost your mood all year round with carefully chosen colors and varieties. Some plants, like hyacinths, pansies, daisies, crocuses and forget-me-nots blossom early in April; while others, like gladioluses, dahlias, black-eyed Susan and asters bloom in late August or September.

You can fill the months in between with narcissuses (May), peonies/carnations/poppies (June), and irises/lilies/hand bells/petunias/delphiniums (July). Read on for more gardening advice to ensure you have year-round enjoyment.

Mulching is essential to help your garden plants survive the winter. In late October/early November, you should begin prepping your garden for the cold rains, the winds and the frosts ahead.

When you mulch, you're insulating the plants, protecting the root systems, discouraging weeds, reducing moisture evaporation during dry spells and preventing the soil from eroding away during the wet storms.

Conventional garden advice says to use peat moss or shredded newspapers. Bark and sawdust can also be used, but you must ensure there is adequate nitrogen from mulch material in the soil.

Mulching is especially important for rutabagas, turnips, parsnips, onions, carrots and beets. Every so often, you'll need to dig down into the soil to check for sufficient moisture. In the summer, you should brush away some of the remaining mulch to enable the sunshine to penetrate the soil.

Whether you're into vegetable garden plants or perennial flower gardening, these tips should help you create a beautiful and productive winter ensemble. Many people are saving money during the recession by growing their own edible foods, while also improving their moods with fresh cut flowers on the table all year round.

Flowers in a winter garden can add a bit of excitement and wonderment, a dash of fragrance and a splash of color to your yard.

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