1. Grow High-Value Crops. “Value” is subjective, though growing
things that would be costly to buy makes good sense, provided the crops are
well-suited to your climate. But value can also be about flavor, which may mean
earmarking space for your favorite tomato varieties and fresh herbs first, and
then considering how much money you could save by growing other crops at
home.
2. Start Early, End Late. Use cloches, cold frames, tunnels and other
season-stretching devices to move your spring salad season up by a month or
more. In fall, use row covers to protect fall crops from frost and deer while
extending the harvest season for a wide assortment of cold-tolerant greens and
root crops.
3. Grow the “Shoulder Season” Fruits. You can usually pick and stash June-bearing
strawberries and early raspberries in the freezer before your garden’s
vegetables take over your kitchen. Raspberries that bear in the fall and
late-ripening apples are also less likely to compete with summer-ripening
vegetables for your food preservation time.
4. Emphasize What Grows Well for You. Crops that are easy to grow in
one climate or soil type may be huge challenges in others, so aim to repeat
your successes. For example, my carrots are seldom spectacular but my beets are
robust, so I keep carrot plantings small and grow as many beets as my family
can eat. When you find vegetables that excel in your garden, growing as much of
them as your family can eat will take you a huge step closer to food
self-sufficiency. And don’t overlook the wisdom of your gardening
neighbors.
5. Grow Good Things to Drink. In addition to growing what you eat,
try growing tasty beverages. I allow rampant apple mint to cover a hillside
because it’s such a great tea plant, and rhubarb stalk tea makes a tart
substitute for lemonade. Freeze or can the juices of berries and tree fruits,
or make them into soda, hard cider or wine. These days, well-made apple,
blueberry or strawberry wines start at $12 a bottle, so learning how to make
your own can yield huge dividends.
6. Plant Perennials. Edible plants that come back year after year
save planting time, and maintenance is usually limited to annual weeding,
fertilizing and mulching. Asparagus and rhubarb thrive where winters are cold,
sorrel is a terrific perennial salad green, Jerusalem artichokes and
horseradish grow almost anywhere, and gardeners in climates with mild winters
can grow bunching onions or even bamboo shoots as perennial garden crops.
7. Choose High-Yielding Crops and Varieties. Few things are more
disappointing than nurturing a tomato plant for three months only to harvest
three fruits from it. Don’t let this happen to you! Network with local
gardeners to find varieties known to grow well in your area, or see our list of
the best regional varieties, and give them a try. Keep your mind open to
classic, traditionally bred hybrids as well as superior open-pollinated
varieties. With sweet peppers, for example, many gardeners need the disease
resistance and fast maturation of hybrid varieties to make a good crop. The
opposite is true with beans, lettuce, peas, winter squash and many other
vegetables that don’t require hybridization to make them more productive.
8. Include Essential Kitchen Herbs. When we conducted our online
mega-survey of the best garden crops, many gardeners told us about the rewards
of growing culinary herbs such as basil, dill, mint and parsley, which are easy
to grow yet pricey to buy.
No comments:
Post a Comment