I Planted a Garden

Many years ago when I lived in Los Angeles, I became a master gardner. The master gardner program is offered at UCLA, and after three months of intensive education, we went out in the community and helped people plant their own garden in community gardens. It was very rewarding work, and helped teach people some valuable skills. Plus, the crops raised saved families a lot of money. Today everyone is getting into vegetable gardening, from the first family to my family. Here are a few ideas for planting that will bring you great results, fresh vegetables, and lots of savings.

1. Plant vegetables that are expensive in the market. I planted tomatoes, yellow crookneck squash, japanese eggplant, basil and flat parsley. (i have a very small area) Vegetables like carrots and radishes and green onions which are relatively inexpensive, I did not plant.

2. Plant in containers or the ground, it does not matter. Tomatoes do very well in containers, as do herbs. Many of us have a small space, or only a patio, so container gardening is great.

3. Do not crowd your plants. Tomatoes get very large, so plan for them to need 2-3 feet in diameter. Use either a cage or a trellis or a wall to tie up plants as they mature. You do not want your tomatoes dragging on the ground. Squash does very well, and is very prolific. One zucchini plant will give you more than you can eat.

4. Most vegetables need full sun, the exception being lettuce. I have grown lettuce very successfully, but it may need to be shaded from full sun or it can burn. You can make a little sunblocker to go over it.

5. For best results, plant vegetables a few weeks apart. For example, if you are planting three tomato plants, plant one now, another in three weeks, and so on. This will keep your crop going well into the fall.

Other vegetables that do well in southern california are artichokes (they are perennials and take a while to get started), swiss chard, pole beans, cucumbers, all squash, peppers, most herbs.

I believe that with a small garden you can save hundreds of dollars over the course of a summer and of course eat the freshest vegetables. Finally, the satisfaction you will get from growing your own food is PRICELESS!