Vegetable Gardening for Beginners

raised bedYou may have read several posts on this blog relating to the non-spring-like weather we have been experiencing here in the Midwest. Well, it’s still cold, but the weather has to break sooner or later and that concept has me so excited to get my garden going! Have you ever considered gardening? Are you new to gardening? You may have considered it and gotten overwhelmed by the details- What class should I take? What books should I read? What do I do?

I am here to tell you to Just Do It! There is nothing like watching your own food grow and then eating it. Things have been growing in the dirt since the beginning of time with no help from humans, so if you approach your garden project with this in mind and just aim to take it lightly, gardening can be really fun! I got started about four years ago only because someone at work left a flat full of different seedlings and a sign that said help yourself. I waited until the end of the day and only a few disappeared, so I carried the whole flat home on the bus and got started with just a 4´ × 4´ plot. Here are some beginner tips; just things I’ve learned over the last few years, that may help you get started. All these tips will be from a Madison, WI, perspective, but should be applicable anywhere in the midwest. Continue reading “Vegetable Gardening for Beginners”

How Does Your Garden Grow? Why, Naturally, Of Course!

How does your garden grow? Well, normally, I would tell you that it doesn’t, not until late May anyway. But this year, the grass is green, the trees are flowering and the garden is already tilled in early April! Unseasonably warm temperatures come with questions: Is this global warming? The 2012 apocalypse? When can I start planting???

I fell in love with vegetable gardening about three years ago when a coworker brought in some extra seedlings. There is nothing like watching food grow up from a mere seed and then harvesting and eating! At Promega, we have some community garden space, which is great since my black walnut tree at home kills all my tomatoes. We are attempting to keep this garden space organic. As a new gardener, I am still learning what this means, so I thought I would share some of my new-found information. Continue reading “How Does Your Garden Grow? Why, Naturally, Of Course!”

Our Glorious Kitchen Garden

Having never grown a vegetable garden, I took advantage of some planting space in the Promega community garden in June 2010. Since most of my yard is shaded, this was the first time I had the opportunity to dig up soil, sow seeds, weed, water and harvest produce. I now have a greater appreciation for the effort it takes to place a ripe, beefsteak tomato on my plate. During this experience I learned that 1) I thankfully had two garden experts in my department, 2) not all winter squash is as edible as it appears on the seed package, 3) one gallon of water weighs 8.34 lbs. or 3.79 kgs, and 4) mosquitoes can form mushroom clouds when you disturb their shady garden retreats.

Looking toward the 2011 growing season, I was a bit skeptical when I heard that Promega’s Manager, Culinary Experience and new Head Chef, Nate Herndon, was overseeing the preparations of the employee community garden in addition to a new kitchen garden. Little did I know what culinary inspirations Nate and his staff would create for our three on-site cafeterias.  Continue reading “Our Glorious Kitchen Garden”