My Favorite Tools for Starting a Garden

If you are a faithful follower of the blog you will know that I am into gardening, especially growing your own fruits and veggies!  January and February are the months I spend planning my summer garden and buying seeds to plant out after our last frost (mid to late May here) and others to start indoors around the middle of March.  With that in mind here is a collage of my favorite tools for starting a garden!

1.  Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew - I haven't used the book much, but the idea of square foot gardening is the cornerstone of my garden.  I have raised beds that are 1 foot high and are 4 feet by 6 feet and I can grow 24 tomato plants in one box!  Trust me that is enough tomatoes for anyone.  I also have shorter beds that are longer, only 6 inches high and 4 feet by 16 feet.  These are great for vining plants like pumpkins and squashes as well as corn and potatoes.  I divide all my boxes up each spring and plant the maximum number of plants I can per foot.  Not only does this give me plenty of produce, it reduces weeds after the plants get going because they are often out competed.  If you don't want to go all out for a book the Square Foot Gardening Foundation website and the Gardeners Supply Kitchen Garden Planner can get you going just fine.

2.  The Seed-Starters Handbook by Nancy Bubel - This book I use EVERY year.  It has a great section for troubleshooting the whats or whys of starting seeds yourself.  It will also help you through getting light and heat amounts right for your seedlings and how to create a seed starting setup that doesn't cost a ton with fancy rigging and grow lights.  I use regular shop lights and then buy both warm and cool fluorescent bulbs which provide the full spectrum of light needed for growing plants.

3.  Gardeners Supply Company - What would I do without this website?!  I have bought a multitude of items for my garden from this company...seed starting systems, germinating mixes, trellises, tub trugs, boots, watering systems, the list goes on.  They have quality things at reasonably affordable prices and I've acquired quite the collection over the years.  If you want to start successfully, start there.  If perhaps you're not quite in the place for a full on garden they have a great variety of grow bags that can be placed on a patio and then picked up and moved when you do!

4 and 6.  Germinating Mix and Deep Root Seedstarting Kit - To start seeds you'll definitely need these two items.  A seed starting kit is fairly essential and this is the one I use.  It has a self-watering tray underneath with a reservoir that you can fill up and not have to refill for a day or two.  The lid fits on tightly to create the warm, humid environment seeds need to get started and then the deep wells allow seeds to grow long healthy roots.  The germinating mix is also key as the soil is very light and airy, but it isn't terribly nutrient rich so transplanting to another pot (usually some 3 inch peat pots) with a good grow mix is essential.

5.  Craftsman Carry-All - I received one of these for a Christmas present a year ago (thank you Kiersten!) and it is so handy!  I used it all last year when I needed to haul my stuff out to the garden and it was super handy for seed planting.  All my seeds went in along with my notebook, pencil and camera!  And when it started to rain it was simple to pick it all up and head in.  You can use it for all sorts of things but it sure is awesome for gardening.

7 and 8.  Territorial Seed Company and Irish Eyes Seeds - These are my two favorite seed companies to buy from!  Both grow a lot of their seeds locally and both are close to my location, meaning the seeds are used to the type of climate I will be growing them in.  I feel that they do better and are more reliable than some of the seeds I've bought in the past.  This could be the crazy talking but it also makes me feel better to buy from smaller companies.  That doesn't mean you shouldn't try Burpee or Park Seed!  Buy whatever you like from wherever you like, even if it's the local hardware store!  All seeds are good if you know what you want.

9.  Notebooks - Any kind of notebook will do, but I like the pretty ones!  ;)  I use them to draw out my garden and decide where I want to put what.  It's important to rotate your garden beds every year so that diseases don't propagate in the soil and my notebook has all the gardens I've planted back to 2010 when I started.  It's easy to flip back and see what was where and then move the beds accordingly.  There are some plants that don't do well when planted near each other so the notebook helps me keep companion plants together.  I also take an inventory of the seeds I have at the beginning of the year so I don't over buy on something I already have.  I only keep my seeds two years and then toss them.  I also have information that I've gained from websites and Master Gardener classes in it.  Look up your own local gardening classes!  You can get inspired and have lots of questions answered!

I hope that everyone would give gardening a try!  You don't have to have a ton of plants, maybe just a tomato plant this year or a pepper plant, just something that you would eat.  Maybe you love salsa?  Grow some jalapeño peppers and cilantro!  Do you enjoy cucumbers in salads?  Grow one in a pot with a trellis behind it!  Maybe your more of a cherry tomato person?  Sun gold cherry tomatoes that have been home grown are a thousand times tastier than those ones in the store!  Start a plant and put it on the patio, it will be your summer oasis!