Bring a plant into the house, I kill it. Plant a vegetable garden outside, I grow veggies. What’s the message here? Even with a green thumb, it’s never too late to start vegetable gardening like a boss. I’m living proof, dolls. Living proof.
Start vegetable gardening like the boss you are
I’m not an expert at gardening, or vegetables. All I know: I can grow some shit in my summer vegetable garden. Not actual shit, mind you. Vegetables. Tomatoes. Eggplant. Green peppers. Spaghetti squash.
Choose the right spot (so you remember to water the veggie garden)
Real talk: my garden is in my front yard. My driveway is GIGANTIC, and right smack in the center of it is a square of dirt. After chatting with a neighbor, I found out there used to be a tree there. The previous owners decided to expand their driveway. When they expanded, they created a huge garden around a tree. Awesome. It works for us, and it helps absorb rain water when downpours happen, so it stays.
The best part? It gets a ton of sun. When we moved in, no tree. Just a big, crazy garden with a ground cover cactus growing in it. After much thought, we cleared the garden out and created the vegetable garden. There’s no way we forget watering the garden, as it’s the first thing we see each time we:
- walk out of the house
- drive up to the house
- walk towards the house after a long walk around the lake
Perfect spot for a small veggie garden! Moral of the story: choose the right spot for your veggie garden, so you never forget to water it.
Prep the soil
Since we use the same plot of land each year, we’re kind of stuck prepping our soil. Growing plants in it strips it of nutrients, according to science. Real talk: we wing it. A few months before planting, compost with some old veggies (honestly, a lot of our old veggies fall off the vines, and we mix them into the soil. We also add old scraps from our kitchen). A few days prior to planting:
- turn over soil with a rototiller
- rake in some organic fertilizer
- add a little quality soil
- let it sit for a couple of days
- plant your veggie plants
Screw starting with seeds, just buy starter plants
The urge to start with seeds is real for many. Screw it. Tried it. We even tried starting vegetable from scraps. Didn’t work well. Stick with the starter plants. Less stress, less cursing, less aggravation.
Put the kids to work
Do you think I tackle this nonsense all alone? Hell, no. I don’t even like tomatoes unless the tomatoes are creating tomato sauce! It’s why we have children, isn’t it? Free labor. Send them out to water the garden you walk by every day. Let them know when to weed it, if necessary. Definitely show them how to pick the veggies without tearing down the entire plant (not that this happened to anyone in our house).
See, it isn’t difficult! Anyone can garden like a boss. Go for it. I grow tomatoes, along with green bell peppers, and white eggplant (less seeds than purple ones). In previous years: spaghetti squash, watermelon, corn, and melon.
