Growing up my dad did not take me hunting, teach me about cars, or let me explore in the garden.
Those were not my childhood interests. As I have grown older, I have found myself wanting to learn more about these important and satisfying parts of life. I think part of this desire has grown because of my time living overseas.
So I need your help. I know that there are a lot of great gardeners and homesteaders on Steemit. I would love to hear from anyone that has an opinion.
Current Situation
Here are some relevant facts.
- I am a newbie. I am not stupid, but I lack experience so please keep things simple.
- I want a small win. I don't need a large garden or anything fancy. I am looking for a project where I can see results so that I can build confidence as I plan for the future.
- My family and I will be moving in the next few months. Portable is not absolutely required, but it is preferred.
Why start gardening now?
My main reason to start a garden is that I want to connect with food - understand it, not just eat it. I have always struggled with overeating. Like many things in the United States, there is a disconnect between where food comes from and how it arrives on our table. And I am interested in teaching my family the benefits of "real food." I am tired of over processed, sugar-filled, life-taking junk that I have so often placed on my table.
I want to the satisfaction of reaping a harvest. Gardening is hard work, and I want to be satisfied with that work. I also hope that gardening will be therapeutic. I have seen my Dad put a lot of time and effort into his garden. His labor seems to melt away a lot of daily stress.
My First Experiment
This is not a picture of soup. I am regrowing green onions.
- I cut off the green stalks.
- I placed the white roots in some water. This is 2-3 days of regrowth.
- Based on the information I have received, I will see 6-8 inches of growth in the next few weeks.
My Questions
Feel free to answer any or all of the following questions?
- Would you recommend growing fruits, vegetables, or herbs first?
- Is there something that I can grow indoors?
- Is there something that I can grow in pots?
- What advice would you give a wanna-a-be gardener?
As always thanks for stopping by. I look forward to reading your comments.
@SumatraNate
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Oh you are gonna love it! I love gardening, though I do not have my own. I only on a balcony where I keep mostly flowers and some herbs. But I always help my mum when I visit. I used to spend all summers in a garden.
From what I saw you can grow almost ANYTHING in a pot or larger container. If you have the space on some terrace/balcony or a patio put it there. They will always enjoy the fresh air and attract polinators if you decide to have something that needs it.
You can start from cherry tomatoes, strawberries, scallions, chilies, lettuce even beans :) And of course herbs: mint, sage, rosemary, thyme... those are super easy and will always come handy :)
Thanks for all of the visit. It is nice that you have been able to help your mom with her garden. My dad has a garden now. I really enjoy helping him and watching my girls help too.
Basil is easy to grow and very prolific, also lemon balm and most of the mint family are easy to grow and are perennials
I will be sure to check out your suggestions.
Saya sangat senang berkebun dan saya melakukannya fiwaktu luang saya. Saya rekomendasikan pertama kali sebaiknya menanam sayuran karena mudah tumbuh dan bisa ditanam langsung ditanah. Dalam berkebun ilmu dan pengalaman sangat penting, sebaiknya @sumatranate mempelajari beberapa buku tentang berkebun dan menanyakan pengalaman orang-orang yang ahli dibidang ini. Thanks
Trims atas sarannya!
Coba dengan menanam secara hidroponik .Banyak jenis sayuran yang bisa ditanam secara hidroponik seperti bayam, sawi, kangkung. tidak ada ruang, cukup dalam ruangan, dan mudah perawatannya.
Hidroponik adalah konsep menarik bagi tapi saya mau coba yang lain duluan.
Is there something that I can grow indoors?
I have almost everything indoors right now. I have two grow tents: tomatoes, all kinds of herbs, even my seedlings that'll be heading outside once winter leaves for good. But to start... do herbs. Oregano, basil is super easy, lemon balm, maybe some thyme or rosemary- it just depends on what you and your household will use.
Is there something that I can grow in pots? LOTS of things.... my two tomato plants inside are in pots.
This picture is from last month- two mater plants in the back on the right, everything is herbs- lemon balm, catnip, marjoram, dill, chives, etc nad my Aloe Vera
Thanks for the advice and photo proof that this is possible. I appreciate all of the suggestions.
saya pernah menanam sayur dalam pot, saya menanam sawi, cabe (chilli), tomat, dan menanam bayam di pekarangan belakang rumah saya, hasil nya lumayan bisa buat makanan keluarga kami, menurut saya anda bisa memulainya dari menanam sayur seperti saya
Itu penting bagiku. Saya harap keluargaku bisa makan hasilnya.
saya belum pernah berkebun, saya baru akan memulainya, rencana saya mau menanam pepaya di kebun saya, istri saya @steemitnatural sering berkebun di pekarangan rumah saya, saya lihat dia berhasil dengan kebun kecilnya, hasil nya bisa buat kami makan bersama, saya hanya sesekali membantunya,
menurut saya kalau anda punya kebun yang luas tanam lah sebanyak mungkin, tapi kalau anda ingin memulai dari rumah anda, cobalah dengan sayur untuk kali pertama,,
semoga berhasil @sumatranate, saya menunggu kabar kebun anda selanjutnya
Pepaya tidak bisa tanah disini. Semoga sukses!
Yawwww....finally you get something from inside of you I think, the green onion just need to plant into the soil, no need to put it directly to the ground, put in the pots (or something you can change to be pot)
look at this pics, hope you will have more idea:
you can start it with 10 mineral water glasses, wish you luck @sumatranate
Great post! I have some of the same questions and am a newbie as well. Super cool that you're regrowing green onions. We don't eat onions or that would be a cool experiment and first step for us. I just keep throwing seeds outside. I hear that's what it takes here in Panama in rainy season (which just started). Ha. ;)
I wish it were as easy as just throwing seed. I feel like it was that easy in Indonesia, especially during the rainy season. In Indonesia, we call the rainy season "musim hujan." What do you call it in Panama?
They call it "winter" here (invierno). Winter lasts from April to December. The other season, "summer," (verano) lasts from December to April. So around Christmas they start talking about summer coming and all the beach supplies (and hotel prices) go up.
I defenitely encourage you to start your own garden.Organic and eco foods are really hard to find these days and the ones you find, are super expensive. If you have the time and motivation and a bit of experience (but this is something that you would 'earn' in no time, believe me), than you must try some gardening. Its really relaxing and gives you a real happy feeling and something that have to do with self-esteem. I think you should try with what pleases you the most because the happier you are doing this, the better benefits will be. But neah....maybe its easier to start with herbs, like parsley, basil, spinach. These are easy to grow. Have fun!
I am not just interested in the food but also the theraputic side of things. Thanks for bring that point up.
Yeah, I read the other reasons why you want to start gardening, but like I already said, beside the fact you'll have organic "real food", gardening is also relaxing and gives you a beautiful feeling.:)
What a great idea to grow the onions like that. A friend of mine gave me a bag of onions to plant, and I have planted some. I think I’ll put the rest in water like you did here!
Herbs are great to grow. I have a huge rosemary bush that came just from a cutting. It leaves a lovely aroma by our front door. Every year I plant basil and it grows well throughout the summer.
Tomatoes grow well in pots, as do herbs. You even get those tomatoes that grow upside down from hanging baskets. It all depends on your climate though. Some things grow better in some areas of the world! 😊
Thanks for the advice. A rosemary bush sounds great. You are correct that different plants grow better in different areas. I look forward to trying things out.
Cool! Green onions! We've done that in the same manner, but somehow they will grow a bit, then dry up and then we have to throw them out. Hopefully you have better luck or care with it.... Don't know the answer to your other questions, unfortunately.
Thanks for giving me a heads up. I will do my best to keep the leaves from drying up.
You seem to already be on the right path. I was born and raised in NYC and the surrounding metropolitan areas, mostly suburbs and inner city. Although I was a Boy Scout and did spend a lot of time camping and learning some survival, I never got my hands all that dirty and never really grew much. My wife and I started growing in our very small backyard in the suburbs about 5 years ago. Had a ton of success with tomatoes. Now we live on a one acre micro-farm with 2 greenhouses. We're lucky to live with and work with several expert growers, particularly cannabis. But we're all learning a lot together and all hands on. It's really the best way. Trial and error. Do it now small scale while you can afford to make mistakes since you're not relying on your garden to eat. Regrowing scallions form the supermarket is a great little experiment. We did that 5 years ago and haven't had to buy any since. Feel free to reach out to me on Discord - Movement19#0266. I'm in PAL a lot and I'll be hosting a podcast you may like starting next week. For now check out our farm's blog www.eyeheartorganic.com
Also, I can relate to how you feel about food. I struggled with a sugar addiction all my life. I've done a lot better in recent years and managed to lose 100 pounds. It's still a struggle. We can do this together!
Thanks for the encouragement and advice. Here are the high points I gathered from your comment.
Accountability, hadn't even thought of it that way. One thing that really bothers me about society, primarily in the US, is that a cop will pull someone over and arrest them for possession of a harmless substance like cannabis or cocaine, but no one seems worried about a 300 pound parent driving while smoking cigarettes with thier children in the backseat eating McDonalds.
Hi @sumatranate, I see that you are fasih dalam bahasa Indonesia, I'm impressed!
Back to your questions:
I would suggest on Herbs & Vegetables first. Like the green onion you have there, try to move to soil after they started to grow, the process will be faster. Herbs are super easy to grow because you don't need the root, just cut a stem and replant it to soil, it will grow naturally. You can also start with tomatoes, cut up a tomato and throw to the soil, you might get few growing soon.
Both herbs and vegetable can be planted in a pot and grow indoor, just make sure they have enough sunlight everyday and not over water them.
My last advice would be, don't be afraid to try out everything, trial and error, have fun doing it, eventually you will understand the nature of things and great at it. Cheers!
Saya bisa bercakap-cakap dlm bhs Indonesia.
Thanks for your suggestions. We are trying to grow a few herbs right now. I hope that they grow well.
Good luck on that, keep us updated ya.
I’m also doing the same thing. I’m also starting with green onions and bean sprouts because they grow faster. I’ve also read that herbs and salad greens are easier to take care. You can plant them in a pot or much better a hanging one. You could have salad anytime when they grow.
Best of luck as you start your adventure. I think it is exciting that we can eat the food that we have grown ourselves.
i'm gonna be looking forward to your post so that i can also learn.
i also love gardening. 😊
I look forward to sharing more about what I am learning.
I am not good with gardening. So I guess I am the last person you would wanna ask me about gardening. I think @littlenewthings @joelai would be able to help more.
Thank you @elizacheng for the mention.
Will help out whatever I can. :)
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I know this is an old post, please let me know if you’re still looking for info and I’ll be happy to help! Market farming is kind of my jam.