Grow Your Own Vegetables

DIY urban gardening has become a huge part of our local and national culture in recent years. The economy has surely played a part in this idea of growing your own food and it can be an incredibly simple and sensible way to save money on groceries. For those of you with little to no experience on the vegetable gardening front, I’m on your side. This will be my third year with a local garden plot in Kadish Park, and I hope to have more success than last year when I put a little too much of my faith in Mother Nature.

This year, I’m most excited to try my hand at growing tomatillos for one of my favorite summer recipes: salsa verde. I try to keep my plot simple with a few different herbs, flowers, tomatoes and peppers. Each year, my goal is to throw a new plant into the mix and hopefully learn from any mistakes or successes.

This year is also the first year that I’ve started my own seedlings. It’s such a joy to watch those silly little seeds burst into beautiful green sprouts. I planted the seedlings in DOT Pots, which are Organic Biodegradable Seed Starting Pots. This way, you plant the whole pot write in your garden eliminating any waste.

The most rewarding part about starting your own garden is literally enjoying the fruits of your labor and knowing exactly where your nutrition is coming from. I believe it is such an important idea for the community to share in the gardening process and witness the growth of food from just a few seeds. The transformation feels almost magical and gets me every time. For help getting a garden bed started in your own backyard, to rent a community plot, or to donate a garden bed to a family in need, please visit the Victory Garden Initiative website. This is a great local nonprofit working hard to expand Milwaukee’s urban, edible forest. They provide all the resources you need to help you start growing your own food.

Don’t feel like growing vegetables but still want to get a little dirty? Look around your house for an old glass vase, bottle or container and make your own terrarium. Use a little dirt, sand, moss, rocks, figurines and whatever plants you might have laying around and create your own miniature world. Terrariums are stupendous! Check out the slug and the squirrel  for some inspiration and stop the Garden Room in Shorewood for all the supplies you need to help get your terrarium started. Put those green thumbs to work people!

Photo courtesy: the slug and the squirrel