There has never been a better time to start growing your own food.

Let's face it - food is getting more expensive and we all could use a way to make our dollar stretch farther and gardening is a way to do that.

But I can already hear you saying "It takes too much time" or "I don't have the money" or "I don't know where to start". Those were the exact words I had when I thought about gardening in the past. You want to know something, my husband started the garden, not me. He was so excited to have enough land to plant on a large plot that he created a garden in the corner of our yard. He bought a bunch of plants from the local big box store - 2 of each and dropped them straight in the dirt. I bet you are going to think - that's how you got a large luscious garden. You would be very wrong. It actually did not go very well, our plantings got blight (a environmental virus that plants can get) and we got very little harvest from it. I even told him - that's your garden and you handle it. Then I saw the potential and how it flopped. I realized - I really wanted to grow more than grass. Don't get me wrong we had a few things that harvested so we saw what it could be.

Picture of our first garden

So I started researching and researching more. I watched videos, joined social media groups, read posts, asked questions and absorbed as much as I can. Most of the tips and tricks that I learned gave me helpful information. People want to share their knowledge and see you be successful. What I did not see in all of this content is how to start and maintain a garden on a budget. And not the budget that others think but a true budget that works for the everyday working person. I want to make having a garden possible and achievable.

Picture of broccoli from our beginning garden

How do I start?

During my day job I am a consultant - in simple terms I either tell people the best way to solve a problem OR I help them discover what the solution or strategy to that problem. The question I ask the most often is "What is your goal?". So how would you answer this? Is it to eat healthier? Is it to save on your groceries? Is it to have quick access to certain foods regularly at your home? Answering those questions will help you discover what you want to plant and how much to plant.

GIF of Elizabeth Olsen in front of bottles of hot sauce asking "Where should we start?"

Questions to specifically ask:

1. How much time do I have to commit to caring for plants? (Per plant expect 3-4 minutes per week for basic watering and visualizing to check for growth and any issues).

2. Do I have at least $25 to begin a garden. (Don't forget this is just a beginning and you can add to this)

3. Where am I planting? Options are Inside in a windowsill, inside under a grow light, outside in the ground, outside in containers or outside in a bed. (These were listed in order of projected expense from least to greatest)

4. What do I like to eat - is it herbs? is it vegetables? do I want some fruit?

5. If I am planting outside, do I have an area that gets at least 6-8 hours of sun?

6. If I am planting inside, do I have a windowsill that gets plenty of sun during the day?

7. What is the climate in your area? Does it get very cold over the winter or get extremely hot over the summer? Are there long stretches of rain or drought?

8. Do I have garden tools (or can borrow some) or access to alternative options to tools?

After going through that list of questions, hopefully you have a better idea. This is a big topic so we will definitely need to do this over a series of posts. Don't worry - it's still very early in the preparation for spring growing so there is plenty of time.

In the next post, I am going to tackle the budget and show you how to start a garden for a little as $25.