My First Summer Gardening and DIY reflections
This past summer, I decided to take on the challenge of growing my vegetables. Having never done anything like this before, I was a little bit nervous, but also excited to learn and see how it would go.
Deciding to grow tomatoes, potatoes, onions, peppers, and a couple of carrots. I also planted some herbs, like basil, oregano, and thyme. I figured these would grow well in my climate so I started to read up on how to plant and care for my vegetables. Once I had a good understanding of what I was doing, I started to plan my garden.
I wanted to start small since I am working full-time. I didn’t want to dig up the backyard and have to worry about sectioning it off to keep the dog out. So I decided to use 5-gallon buckets to grow in using a soil and compost mixture to help improve drainage and nutrient content. This made it easier to work in and to keep the soil healthy.
My seeds were started in the late spring inside of my garage, sprouting a few weeks later. I was so excited to see my little seedlings growing! To my dismay, I don’t believe that they were getting enough light, though, as they sprouted tall but flimsy.
After transferring them to the buckets I watered them regularly and fertilized them a few times a month. I also used a natural pest control solution to keep the bugs away. I learned though that I should have followed the tips about thinning the plants out. Apparently, my thought of growing multiple tomato plants in one bucket was not the way to go.
Now I had several buckets of growing plants all spread out on my back patio. I had to come up with a solution to keep my new garden under control. So I decided to build a rack that could hold up to 8 buckets. This solution worked out great because now I didn’t have to bend over to tend to my tomatoes.
Living on the grid I am on city water. This is not the best solution for growing any plants because of the chemicals the water company has to add to make it “safe” for us to drink. Also, I am on their sewer system as well which I have to pay based on the water used. Any water the plant drank I would have to pay three times more for the sewer that I am not using.
Seeking a budget-friendly option, purchasing a rain barrel was out of reach. Repurposing an old garbage can with a lid became the solution. After a thorough cleaning, a hole was cut, connecting it to the gutters—resulting in a homemade rain catchment system. Here in East Tennessee, it provided enough water that I only had to use the spigot once the entire summer even though the weather was hot.
My vegetables started to ripen in the summer, and I was so proud of myself for growing them. I didn’t have too many issues with bugs for most of the summer. Late in the season, however, I did start seeing some issues in my plants as they probably could have used some more cultivation of the soil and more of my natural bug deterrent spray.
I ate fresh vegetables, well mostly tomatoes all summer long. I had plenty of peppers for myself off of two plants. They seemed to be more attracted to the bugs though and I am not sure why.
My potatoes never took off for me. Every time I would dig for them they were just tiny little things. So I would cover them back up and continue to wait. After everything was pretty much done for the summer I finally harvested my potatoes which turned out to be enough for a couple of nights of mashed potatoes at dinner. I realize now my issues were because of overcrowding.
Growing my vegetables was a lot of work, but it was also very rewarding. I learned a lot about gardening, and I had a lot of fun doing it. I’m already looking forward to next summer when I can grow even more vegetables!
DIY Projects
In addition to growing vegetables, I also did a few DIY projects this summer. I built a new raised bed for my garden, which over the winter I planted onions and lettuce in it. I also built two small planters for my front porch last summer. The winter time brought some new challenges as we started a complete kitchen remodel. That one has been fun and exhausting mentally and physically.
I enjoyed doing these DIY projects. It was fun to learn new skills, and it was also satisfying to see my projects come together. I’m looking forward to doing more DIY projects in the future.
I am so glad that I decided to do these things this year. It was a rewarding experience through all of the hard work. It may have cost more to grow those vegetables than it would have cost to buy them, but it would not have been as fulfilling.
What’s in Store for this coming summer? I plan on expanding the garden several times over. First I have to move the backyard fencing to extend the area of our backyard so I can add two or three raised beds. I will be adding a structure by the beds for rain collection as well. My focus this summer will be the outside of my house including replacing my back porch and greatly improving our landscaping.
I am also planning on writing here more often as well as posting some videos to our Youtube Page
These are all things that my wife and I can and plan to do. The hardest part is finding the time to do all of this and finding a better work-life balance to enjoy my summer more.
Stick around and follow my adventures this summer. Go through this journey with me while I learn how to be more self-sustaining, You never know, you may learn something along the way as well.
Until Next Time
