Hi I am sorry to post this here. I have absolutely no skills when it comes to gardening or herb growing. In fact I am not the out doors' type of person. I hate getting dirty and I hate bugs but in this day and age I need to become independent away from big box stores, grocery and the poisonous products they sell not to mention what they do to our produce. If there is anyone I can PM to ask some questions to that would be great. I don't want to clog up this board with my inabilities to be self sufficient but this is the best place to ask people as I know there are many skilled people on this forum.
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I am not a master gardener, but I'll answer any questions I can. I have kept a garden for a number of years now.
I can't say I'm an expert in anything, but I do know the best way to start learning is just to start doing. Watch a few videos and research exactly what you want to do, but then just do it. Last year I started a garden from seed for the first time and it was my best garden ever (not that that is saying much). Buy seeds from a reputable seed company (I used seed savers exchange) and then plant at the right time for when they can be transferred outside. There are so many helpful youtubers to help you on your way, and it doesn't take long to learn really helpful information.
Now that I've started from seed, I have learned a few more things along the way to make it even better next year, but I would not have know what I needed to know without actually having done it in the first place.
You can do it! Start with little manageable chunks and before you know it you will have something to eat that you grew!
Am Horticulture director at a large collective. Would love to help. Right off the bat, best general advice is KISS "keep it simple stupid." If you live in an area with fertile native soil, you can almost literally just throw a seed in the ground and with very little maintenance have a bounty
Lol, I actually live in an apartment and have a covered deck. The roof has slats so my garden will get wet. With that being said here are some questions. What type of containers should I grow in? What type of soil? I plan on growing zucchini, lettuce, cherry tomatoes and possibly carrots? Is that even possible? I live on the East Coast so we have summer, spring, winter, fall. We are in the winter season. When should I start planting? As for the herbs and medicinal herbs, can I do that inside and start now? If so, what type of pots, soil, nutrients etc. would I need? Thank you so much, you have no idea how much this means to me. This will be a challenge for me but a good one and I think it will be therapeutic as well.
Most store bought potting soil comes rich and ready to do. Don't need to add anything for your first time. if no raised bed, try fabric containers. They are more friendly to vigorous roots and come in all sizes
When you purchase your seeds, most packets contain the information for what climate zones should be planted when for each particular vegetable or fruit. There is a diagram that shows what kind of climate zone you live in. they are numbered. You can start anything inside, but i would suggest doing it a little closer to when your last frost occurs outside. For me in the central PNW our final frost is generally early to mid march.
Do you have a large deck? Because the zucchini plant gets quite large. Maybe it won’t since you are using pots? Carrots do well in loose soil
A couple of tips:
I don't grow herbs, but I grow tomatoes, various types of fruit trees, and rare tropical orchids. The main comment I feel I should make, after reading your post, is to trim back your expectations a bit. There's simply no way you're going to be able to become independent from grocery stores by what you might be able to grow.
First, are soil deficiencies, requiring fertilizer. Second, pests: insects and/or mice, rats, raccoons, possums, rabbits...you get the picture. And finally, if you are growing a seasonal crop (not the case with herbs), recognize that you only benefit once per year, if you are lucky.
This isn't meant to discourage you, by any means. There's a lot of joy that comes from growing something yourself. Just don't put any pressure on it that it has to sustain you and/or replace what you purchase from the grocery store.
Check out Square Foot Gardening. It's a technique for growing a lot of food in a small space. Id focus on what you actually eat, but also veggies (root veggies) which store for a while.
That said, gardening is a wonderful pasttime, but I would urge you to store food and water as well. That's a whole separate convo.
And OK to PM me.
Oh, I thought you were talking about herb.
After killing several Rosemary plants over the years, I finally have had one grow to 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide. It likes the east side of my house nestled between a rosebush and some daylillies. It leans onto the house which shelters it some from winds and hot sun.
Rosemary tries to take over our garden. It's already 6 feet tall.
I know right ..Rosemary is the plant that is the easiest to grow and hardest to kill? .... ??