Home Gardener’s
Weekly
Issue
No. 48
November
03, 2023
Weekly Garden Tip
When you’re mapping your shadows and sunlight hours to ensure your plants get 6-8 hours of sunlight, you only count the sunlight time where there is FULL sun without any shade at all. If you count dappled sunlight towards your sunlight hours, you may find that your plants take a long time to mature and your harvests aren’t as abundant or healthy.
This week’s highlighted video continues our delve into the Habits of a Green Thumb Grower. We believe that anyone can learn to have a green thumb with the right mindset and habits. This video covers the second habit, which is all about starting with what you know.
✅ Free Resource: Stage 1 Compost Checklist
If you’re struggling to get your compost pile to make compost, you’re not alone! COMPOST is the third step in the Circle of Awesome. To help you achieve success, discover the key pieces of knowledge that you need to know about your compost to grow an abundant garden in this week’s free resource!
Be sure to watch for another Stage 1 Checklist in next week’s newsletter!
What’s Your 2024 Garden Dream?
Can you believe that there are only about 8 more weeks left in 2023?! As we approach the end of the year, many start to think about their goals for the new year. Are you also thinking about your 2024 gardening goals? What do you want from your garden this year?
To help you think about your gardening goals, we have created a worksheet to help you organize your garden dreams and goals. Download your copy of the free worksheet HERE.
Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.” In 2024, we want to help you use your energy to PLAN!
Recognizing and organizing your garden goals is the start to crop planning. You may think that crop planning is something that is hard, but it’s not—especially when you take advantage of our Crop Planning course.
In the Crop Planning course, you learn the full 7-Step Process that simplifies crop planning and teaches you to adapt the process to your specific area…no matter your garden size…no matter where you live!
By planning your next garden, you will:
🧑🌾 Garden smarter by knowing exactly what to do and when
🧑🌾 Garden abundantly by filling your table with fresh-picked food
🧑🌾 Garden easier by knowing that everything is mapped out
🧑🌾 Garden efficiently by predicting exactly what you need
What's Happening in Harvest Club
This month’s Harvest Today newsletter focuses on the final part of our exploration of permaculture. Also, get tips for creating a remembrance garden, spice up your 2024 garden with unique greens, grow your own tea, and more. All inside your Harvest Club portal.
Not a member of our garden membership Harvest Club? You can get a one-time complimentary two month membership with any of our courses. Harvest Club has tons of resources to help you thrive. Plus, you get access to ongoing garden support through email. Learn more here.
💡 Five Tips for Higher Garden Yields
No gardener wants to see wasted garden space. Empty space means less food to harvest and less food on your table. Luckily, we have some great ways to share for you to get more fresh food on your plate. Learn about five garden tricks that result in higher garden yields and healthier plants in this week’s feature blog.
Dear Arti,
Question: How can I have a good harvest with container gardening? – Cherie S.
Answer: Hi Cherie, this is such a great question! Container gardening can be challenging because you’re not only limiting the soil space, you have a finite amount of nutrients as well.
Many people look at container gardening like a contained soil garden. Actually, it’s closer to hydroponic gardening than it is soil gardening. That’s something to keep in mind when you’re thinking about your container garden.
For increasing container garden yields, there are two main components: understanding container gardening and crop planning. Luckily, we have micro courses on each! Here is a link to the Container Garden course, and here is one to the Beginner Crop Planning course.
In the meantime, here’s a few tips to get you started:
To maximize your yields in your containers, you can space more tightly together if you mix plants that have different root depths and different above ground growing habits. For example, in a 5 gallon food-grade bucket, you can only grow one tomato. But if you grow an indeterminate tomato, you can prune the lower leaves off to let light onto the surface of the soil substrate where the stem isn’t growing. Then on the remaining surface of the soil substrate, you can grow lettuces because their roots are very shallow, whereas the tomato roots generally grow deeper into the soil.
Another way to maximize container garden yields is to create a proper crop plan with successions. For example, in the early spring, you might grow cool crops, planting a few kale that have a medium root depth and grow up and then planting radish around it. Radishes grow close to the surface and have more of a compact foliage growth.
One trick to planting closer together is to harvest more often. For example, kale and chard can get huge leaves! If you harvest more often and only leave 3-5 leaves on the plant at once, not only are you leaving space for other food, but your leaves will be more tender since they won’t be as aged. That helps keep the pests and disease deterred since there is less for them to attack.
As the weather cools and the temperatures begin dipping below freezing, GYOV CEO and Lifestyle Gardener Denise Beins has moved her potted lemongrass plant indoors. If you’re not familiar with lemongrass, it’s a great additive for sauces, soups, and teas.
The flavor of lemongrass is light and does not overpower the other flavors in a meal. Most find lemongrass to simultaneously provide the taste of lemon, ginger, and floral, and it is often used as a substitute for lemon in dishes. Lemongrass is very common in Thai food.
Besides being a delicious additive, lemongrass is a multipurpose natural remedy. It is widely used for digestive issues, neurological problems, and high blood pressure. It also contains antibacterial and antifungal properties and has been utilized as a pain reliever and fever reducer.
Do you also grow lemongrass? Post in the GYOV Garden Adventure Facebook Group and let us know. Pictures are even better!
On a lighter note…
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