The Benefits Of A Backyard Garden

Gardening is in my blood. I would say that gardening goes back to my roots, but that would be a silly pun, given the subject… I guess I said it anyways. As LONG as I can remember, my family has had a garden. My great grandparents, my grandparents, my parents, and now myself and my husband plant a garden every Spring. I wanted to share some personal stories today, of exactly WHY I value gardening, and some of the benefits from growing a backyard garden. I’ll also share some of my favorite tips and tricks for what we have seen to work, (and not work) in our own journey.

Our family also made a VLOG of our planting process, plus a 2 week update, I am linking that video down at the bottom of this post!

My Gardening History

I have learned almost all of what I know in gardening from my grandpa and my dad. My grandparents have always had a successful garden year round. Growing up Grandma always had the best fresh fruits and vegetables available to eat. Every dinner at her house included a tray of freshly sliced tomatoes, and whatever other veggies were in season at the time. She would always enthusiastically tell us “everything on your plate is from the garden!” We would laugh because she would say it like it was a new announcement, when in fact almost EVERY meal from them was ALWAYS exclusively from the garden.

My grandma and grandpa showed me “farm to table” long before it became a trending decoration sign at Hobby Lobby. I’m grateful that they taught me how to plant, harvest, can, and prepare the foods that they grew. My grandpa had a radio in his window sill that he would listen to daily, and a lot of the time it was on a gardening show. (Yes they exist!) I still call my grandpa if I have a question about a plant. My dad continued on their tradition by planting a garden at our own home, and I like to think that I am carrrying on the tradition as well with my own family. Now I will share some of my favorite benefits of our gardening!

Gardening Benefits

First, for me, gardening goes much further beyond just putting food on the table. Gardening is a way to spend time with family. It’s a way to teach your children the value of reaping the harvest of your hard work. It’s a way to help your family be sustainable for yourselves, and for your extended family and neighbors.

Secondly, obviously, is the fresh food at your finger tips! Need a tomato for a salad? Head out to the garden. Need a side for your main dish? Go pick some squash. I am writing this post during a time that grocery shopping is tricky. Shelves are bare, or picked over, and the act of going to the grocery store can feel downright stresssful. Having all of the fresh food you could want in your backyard, is a blessing.

Third, you are being kind to the earth, and to the animals in the ecosystem. Every time our garden starts to bloom, I see butterflies, insects, and birds all visit. Working through the soil, I see earth worms burrowing through the dirt. It may sound like a weird way to describe it, but I almost feel like we are doing our part in working the ground how God intended it to be. My love for plants goes deep. (Pun intended again, haha!)

My Best Tips For Gardening

I want to start this next part of the post by saying, I am NOT an expert. I have had my share of failed plants, black thumb moments, and overall not great garden turnout. So my advice comes from a place of strictly experience. I welcome some opinions if you have some tips or tricks for your gardens as well!

First step, pick a location that is VERY sunny. A little bit of shade for partial part of the day would be okay, but the majority of the time you want full sun on your plants. The location also needs to be somewhere that you can set up water easily. Whether it’s near a sprinkler system, or can be reached by water hose.

Secondly, bring in some good gardening soil. These soils typically have been mixed with compost, and other nutrients mixed in the soil that are beneficial for plants to grow and thrive. You may live in an area that naturally has some good soil to work with, but be sure to break up the existing soil, either by tiller or hand with rake/hoe, and it never hurts to work in some extra nutrients.

Third, if animals are an issue, be sure to put up a barrier around your garden space. When we lived in the hill country, we had to have a high fence to keep the deer out. This past year we planted a garden with a new puppy, and he helped himself to quite a few of my plants. We lived and learned, and put up a barrier for him to stay out this year.

Fourth, plan out your layout as best as you can, BEFORE going to buy your plants. We like to get a sheet of paper and draw out where we can picture the plants growing. If you don’t know what the plant will look like when grown, it can be helpful to look it up so that you can place it in the garden accordingly. (For example you may put taller plants back behind a smaller bush type plant. Plan a climbing plant near your barrier fence if you have one. Before planting, we lay down plastic in areas that are not being used (to reduce weeds from popping up).

Fifth, gather seeds and plants to plant! We have bought our plants and seeds from a variety of places. Some options include local nurseries, the grocery store, hardware/farm stores, Home Depot, and Lowes. On the actual seed packets and plant markers, you will find directions that are helpful for planting. After planting you can apply mulch or leaves around the plants to help keep weeds down, and moisture in!

This brings me to my next topic. Do you buy seeds or plants?

When you set out to purchase your plants, you will find that you have an option to buy seeds or plants that are already started. So how do you know what to choose? It will vary depending on the area you live in, but on the seed packet you will find the words “direct sow” or “start indoors”.

[Direct sow] plants are good to buy in seed form, because you can put them straight in the ground and they’ll come up on their own. [Start indoors] plants, are the ones that are convenient to buy in plant form from the store. They typically take a little longer, and need a favorable “head start” environment to get going, The stores have already done that work for you, in providing plants ready to go.

For my family personally, we buy the following in seed form:
Carrots
Cucumbers
Okra
Squash & Zuchinni
Green Beans
Lettuce Mix
I always have great success growing these plant types from seeds.

The following list we usually buy in plant form:
Tomatoes
Peppers (All varieties)
Egg Plant
Herbs (Including Cilantro, Dill, Parsley, Chives, and Rosemary)
Lettuce (Some varieties I like to buy with a head start! However I have had success with both seed and plant variety.

Now that you have planned, prepared, and planted your garden…

My sixth tip is to set a timer for your water. Life will happen, things will get busy, you will forget. A timer is the best thing we have invested in for our garden. We usually water every other day for 30 mins a day, especially when it gets very hot here in Texas. You can adjust your schedule however you need, but setting the timer takes away the pressure of having to remember it daily.

Seventh and final tip. Enjoy!!! There is NOTHING like watching seeds sprout through the earth, that YOU placed there. There’s nothing like watching a tomato go from a flower bud to a full piece of fruit in a matter of a week. Watch your time and efforts GROW! Most of your hard work is done. Now it’s time to watch it, pull any weeds that try to sneak in, and keep the water on it regularly!

I don’t usually recommend any type of fertilizer early on, as you don’t want to burn the delicate roots. My grandpa always told me that you can fertilize after the plant provides it’s first harvest. We buy an organic fertilizer blend, however if you have animals, you can utilize manure. Fun fact, I did a science project in elementary school titled “Which Manure Makes The Best Fertilizer?”
My 3 sources were horse, chicken, and rabbit. The horse was least effective, chicken was slightly acidic and you have to be cautious that it does not burn your plants, and rabbit manure was the winner. So, if you have someone with rabbits near you… Might be worth checking if they want some manure cleaned!

Keep an eye out for bugs as well. Some bugs and insects are beneficial to keeping your plants pollinated, however there are some that will destroy a plant overnight. (The squash bug is a particular nasty one!) We sprinkle some Diatomaceous earth anytime we see evidence of destructive bugs.

I hope you enjoyed this post, and that it had some helpful tips! If you have a tip you would like to share, comment below, or tag me on Instagram or Facebook!

Check out the VLOG below of our garden planting process this year!