Deck Garden Journal

Gardening is going to be one of the most important ways that we can save a few dollars, and also improve the health and quality of the food that we have in our homes even if it's just a few bits of food during the day.

Last year we didn't end up doing a garden on our deck, though we did have a few herb plants, so maybe that counts? At any rate though, we wanted to make sure that we took care of it this year and put a small garden together! We are going to expand it a little bit this weekend with another couple plants but definitely enjoying the progress that we've made so far!

With the garden that we've got, we have mostly tomato plants, which are a staple food in the summer for us, and some herbs. We also tried our hand at some peppers this year, because we also frequently eat them in our salads and for snacks at night for the little man. We may add some cucumbers if we can find ones that are already started, but that is questionable at the moment. A lot of the plants that are already grown are tomatoes and herbs, which is okay with us.

Since we signed up for the CSA program years ago, we certainly don't rely as heavily on buying food every week but we do get some things as we need them. With getting a small garden going, we are trying to offset the things that we can! I think next year we are going to increase this a little bit earlier, but we've made some good progress as it is.

I think the main challenge for us and the garden is that we don't have anyone to water the plants for us when we are away for a day or two. We do like to take day trips when we can, and this means we water the plants in the morning and hope for the best when we get home. If we go away for 2 days then often the plants are completely dead when we get home lol. We could ask one of our neighbors to do it.. but the challenge with that is we don't have anyone we really want to give a key to our place to. Yeah it may sound silly but in the days we live in, you never know sadly.

This means that the garden we have is on the smaller side at least but we are enjoying what we are growing! The cherry tomatoes are a favorite with the little man, he has been watching them grow nicely over the past few weeks and they've gotten to the point where they can finally be harvested one or two at a time every day. This is a great thing, because he LOVES cherry tomatoes. These are the best as well because they are allowed to fully ripen before being picked! So many of the foods at the grocery store are picked very immature because they have to be shipped for such a distance sadly.

With the tomato plants that we've got on the deck, letting them grow to their fullest extent possible before going bad has been such a great improvement! The little man absolutely loves the tomatoes and comments at how delicious and full of flavor they are every time he eats one. It's one of those things that everyone can enjoy, the fruits and delicious nature of the labor of love that is gardening. I know that when we eventually get a house, we will definitely be doing a garden and a bigger one than we've got now. I would love to put in a dome garden, the way someone the other day has shared. That gives us the ability to start the dome garden later in the year and let it grow into the autumn and winter for fresh foods. I think this combination of regular outdoor and dome gardening would be a wonderful way to get some good food sources for us!

A beautiful view of the precious American flag is also important and warranted. Gardens in years past, especially during the world wars and depression were called Freedom Gardens because they supplied a lot of the food that the people needed without having to go to a store, and allowed more food to be directed towards the soldiers which is a good thing for them. War itself is questionable, because regular people are fighting against two groups at the top vying for control but that is a topic for a different discussion..

What about you, do you have a garden? If not, would you be interested in growing even a few small things like herbs? Let me know in the comments!