GARDEN

Growing your own anticipation!

Believe it. Small growing efforts can begin to help your budget and your life! No really! Growing your own herbs and vegetables can not only make an impact on your grocery bill, but it can also provide an entertaining focus for the family. It's easy to grasp the grocery bill-reducer part, you say, but providing entertainment for the family sounds a bit out there!

Hear me out. Watching plants grow and being a part of their care is a fun challenge, stimulates curiosity, and provides daily bonding time for the whole family, even tweens and teens. Plus, there is an energizing “Anticipation Factor.” It happens naturally. Anticipation builds as you begin to look forward to picking and eating your very own herbs, tomatoes, onions, peppers, green beans, zucchini, etc. Not only that, you get to use them to "green-up" and enhance the taste of special homemade recipes, transforming them into fantastic comfort foods! Can you smell the aroma of freshly picked zucchini and tomatoes, sautéed with fresh basil and garlic, coming from the family dinner table?

So, do you want to consider greening up, saving on produce, and boosting the "Anticipation Factor" at your house? Here are a few simple options:

• In April you can start seeds indoors. Later, plant them outdoors when they are a few inches tall.
  
  
• Buy small herb and vegetable plants.  Either plant them in your garden or in pots in a sunny spot.   For pots use potting soil laced with fertilizer.  Here's the SECRET...ALWAYS water and fertilize your hole before placing the plant in the soil, even if your soil has fertilizer already! It gives the plant roots a terrific jump start!  You will see amazing results.
  
  
• For an interesting arrangement, place three different heights of herb-filled pots on a sunny deck, balcony, patio, or garden bed. It's practical for watering and creates a dramatic focal point anywhere you put it.
  
  
• Place a window box full of herbs near the kitchen door. It will be a snap to pick a few herbs to add to the pot while you are cooking. How fresh is that!
  
  
• You can also mix herbs into flower boxes.  Their leaf shape and color variations will punch up the color plan, add texture, and give a special bonus of tantalizing smells.  What a treat!
  
  
• Take a few minutes to observe your plants daily. WATER EVERY DAY unless it rains. No missing. It's critical. You will be amazed how fast they grow!

Choose one or all of these simple steps to get you started. You may find yourself sharing some fresh pickings with your friends and neighbors after they've tasted those yummy homemade dishes at your house. You may even find yourself trading your herbs and veggies for other varieties from friends doing the same thing. Who knows? You may even go so far as rallying your friends to start a neighborhood plot for next year!

Growing your own can start from a simple step. Need some encouragement? Come to Pickering and we'll help you get started right away. Pickering will be sure to thank you. Your family and friends, and maybe even your community, will thank you too!