Spring Gardening Resources

If you have ever dreamed of growing a garden, it can be a daunting task. However, there are many resources that can help you plan and grow and a garden, whether it is a container garden or a whole field of fruit, vegetables, flowers, and more. Today, I plan to share a plethora of good Spring gardening resources that can help you in growing your gardening skills.

Websites

• Proven Winners
• Better Homes and Gardens
• Martha Stewart
• Southern Living Plants
• The Homestead Challenge
• The Spruce
• Almanac
• Purdue
• Martha Stewart
• Trend Spot
• The Spruce
• USDA
• Kids Gardening
• Purdue
• Hoosier Gardener
• Purdue – Advice for First Time Gardeners
• Hoosier Gardener – Resources
• The Indy Public Library Seed Library
• Garden Club of Indiana
• IU Spring Gardening Tips
• Marion County Indiana Master Gardeners Association
• Indiana Native Plants
• IU The Green Staffer
• Indiana Grown
• My Indiana Home
• The Indy Public Library Blog
• Save the Dunes

News

• Good Morning America
• Indiana Public Media
• Bob Vila
• Country Living
• National Park Service

Books and Magazines

• Spring Gardening Magazine Issue 32
• Midwest Fruit and Vegetable Gardening
• The Joy of Raised Bed Gardening for Beginners
• All New Square Foot Gardening
• Gardening Know How – The Complete Guide to Vegetable Gardening
• Four Season Food Gardening
• The First Time Gardener – Container Food Gardening
• Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio Month By Month Gardening
• The Vegetable Garden Pest Handbook
• Beginner’s Guide to Growing Fruit Trees Fast and Easy
• Container Gardening The Permaculture Way
• Kitchen Garden Revival
• The First Time Gardener Spring Edition
• The Family Garden Plan
• Bird Friendly Gardening
• Complete Container Herb Gardening
• Indoor Kitchen Gardening
• The Layered Edible Garden
• The Cottage Garden
• Midwest Gardener’s Handbook
• The Elegant and Edible Garden

Starting Seeds Indoors

• My Experience Starting Seeds with the Jiffy Tomato & Vegetable Greenhouse: Part 1
• My Experience: Starting Seeds in Cardboard Egg Cartons

Where to Find Free Seeds

• Save seeds from foods you use in the kitchen (tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash).
• Save onion bottoms with the roots from foods you use in the kitchen.
• Host or attend a seed exchange at your local library.
• Free Heirloom Seeds – I have gotten some seeds from this website before.
• Robin Greenfield Seeds for the People
• Everbloom Seeds
• Just Bee
• Step by Step Inc.
• Charlotte Noar

Join in on the conversation!

I always love hearing from my readers, so feel free to comment on this post. Or start a conversation on X.com/sarahderinger88.

• Are you struggling with knowing where and how to start gardening?
• Do you find yourself wishing you could grow things all year round rather than being stunted by the growing season?
• What are some other resources that you would recommend for learning about gardening year-round?
• What are some other resources that you would recommend for beginning gardening or spring gardening?
• Where else do you know of that you can get free seeds?

Gardening Resources

It is almost time to start your garden. Do you have a plan? Are you a newbie to gardening? Do you hope to grow food this year to ensure your family will be prepared for any economic hardships you may happen upon in the new few months to a year? Gardening is a lot of work, but it is worth every minute because you can reap a harvest if you do not give up.

One of the first things you need is land or dirt. Do you have a sunny spot in your backyard available for a garden? Here are some tips for spotting the best gardening plots:

• Keep it somewhat close to your house. This will encourage animals not to eat your vegetables if you keep your garden somewhat close to your house because your human smells will scare them away.
• Keep it close to a water spigot. Lugging around a heavy watering can gets old pretty fast. By keeping your garden within reach of a garden hose, you will make your gardening and watering a whole lot easier.
• Is your ground somewhat flat? If you plant on a hill, which is doable under certain circumstances, it can have erosion problems, especially when it rains heavily.
• Is your garden southward facing? This is where your garden will get the most sun, and it will help it grow better.

Another idea to look into while gardening is the Victory Gardens, which was a garden that lots of people created during the World Wars. Because of the impending recession this year, a victory garden may be the right type of garden for your family. Morningchores.com has a great history and tutorial on victory gardens as well as information on square foot gardens for those without much space for a garden.

If you live in an apartment or do not have a great gardening place, you can go with a couple of other options:

• Pots – I used pots for some of my vegetable plants last summer, and they made gardening so much easier because I could keep them closer to our house.
• Window boxes – I also tried some herbs in my indoor window boxes. These worked out well.
• Raised flower bed boxes
• Community gardens – If you do not have any other options, you might try to find a local community garden. Even in my rural small town, they have a community garden. I have seen them grow lots of things there, including sunflowers and corn.

There are all sorts of genius ideas that you can try to have your own garden, no matter how much land you have access to.

Then, you need to figure out what you would like to grow. What kinds of vegetables, fruits, flowers, or other plants would you like to grow? I shared what I am planning to grow this year in a previous post if you would like to read it: My Experience Starting Seeds with the Jiffy Tomato & Vegetable Greenhouse: Part 1.

You can order seeds through a variety of places, such as your local Walmart, Tractor Supply, or greenhouse. You can also try getting seeds from a Farmer’s Market or a seed swap. Make sure to check out USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map to see if the plants your would like to grow is in your climate zone. After that you will need to check on what the best dates are for planting. If you plant too early and a frost or freeze comes, your plants will die or be stunted. Therefore, find the approximate date your area will be completely frost-free before planting. A great chart for finding your planting date is found at Farmers’ Almanac.

You can start some seeds inside early to get a jumpstart on growing season. I have done that with tomatoes before.

When it is time to plant them outside, till up the garden or prep the dirt you will use. Dig about 1″ holes (or what your seed packets say), or a seed trench for the seeds. Place the seeds in and lightly cover them up. Give them a little water. Have patience to see results. If it does not rain often, you will have to give them some water probably every other day unless it is really dry.

Here are some other great resources to look for gardening tips, tricks, and tools:

• Mother Earth News
• Harvest To Table
• Pandemic Gardening
• Kids Gardening
• Better Homes & Gardens
• Old Farmer’s Almanac
• Community Gardening Resources from Seed Money
• Indoor Gardening

Join in on the conversation!

I always love hearing from my readers, so feel free to comment on this post. Are you starting a garden this year? What are some things you have learned from gardening? What are some gardening resources that you would add to this list? What hardiness zone are you in?

A Book on My To Read List that I Haven’t Read Yet

A few members of my family know that I enjoy “The Secret Garden,” so much so that for this year’s Trunk-N-Treat event at church, I have decided to make the theme for our family’s trunk “The Secret Garden” and connect it with 1 Peter 1:24-25.

“for

“All flesh is like grass
    and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
    and the flower falls,
but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

And this word is the good news that was preached to you.” – 1 Peter 1:24-25

Even though I enjoy “The Secret Garden”, I have only watched the 1993 movie. The secret is out! I have had this book on my “To Read” list for a long time, but I have not had time to read it fully yet. I have downloaded this book through the OverDrive app once, and I read a few chapters but ran out of time to finish it. Therefore, my goal is to finish this book in 2019.

However, I will not put “The Secret Garden” ahead of my Bible reading. While I enjoy reading for fun, reading the Bible is more important because it is to be our daily bread.

“But he [Jesus] answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” – Matthew 4:4

In this section of Scripture, Jesus has been fasting for forty days. Therefore, Satan decides to tempt Jesus, who is the Son of God, the Christ, the Messiah, the sinless One sent to save the world in obedience to God the Father. Satan has asked if Jesus is the Son of God and that He should turn the stones into bread for food. Jesus replies with Scripture, a quote from Deuteronomy 8:3.

In Deuteronomy 8:3, the Israelites were commanded to remember the Lord God, that He had brought them out of Egypt and taken them through the desert. He had given them manna and quail while in the wilderness, but He humbled them and did not let them enter the Promised Land for forty years so that they would learn to rely on Him and trust in Him. He ultimately humbled them so that they would understand that:

“And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” – Deuteronomy 8:3

We can learn a lot from Jesus in this passage of Scripture, such as:

• We need to read the Bible so that we can combat sin and temptation.
• Memorizing Scripture is not a negative thing, and it can help us while we combat sin and temptation.
• Because Christ was tempted in every way, we can go to Him as our High Priest in our time of need. He intercedes for us (praying to God the Father on our behalf) that we can persevere in our walk of faith. See Hebrews 4:14-16 and Hebrews 8 for more insight onto how Christ is our High Priest.

Comment Below

Do you have a book that has been on your “To Read” list for a long time? What is stopping you from reading that book? How much importance do you place on Bible reading? Where do you need encouragement in your Bible study / reading time? How may I help you to read and study your Bible more? May I pray for you?

Garden Update

The weather has become dry; for awhile there, we wondered if we should start building an ark. However, now it does not rain much, and there was a heat advisory over the weekend. Therefore, I have been packing water to my plants to keep them growing.

The cherry tomatoes have been ripening fairly quickly. I have had about five bigger tomatoes ripen so far. Because of the cherry tomatoes, I have been able to have tomatoes about once a day for the past week or so. I am thankful for the progress that the tomatoes have done so far.

The Kentucky Wonder green beans are also growing enough to pick some. I have had green beans for dinner for the past couple of nights. I also planted a second crop of the green beans so in a month or so I may start seeing a second crop of green beans.

The corn has not grown enough this year. While it made the “knee high by the 4th of July” goal, it does not look like we will get sweet corn this year from the garden. Dad says that it is most likely due to not having enough nitrogen in the ground; therefore, our plan is to buy some nitrogen next year to plant sweet corn again.

The squash is starting to produce. I just had four sauteed squash on Saturday night, and I look forward to having more squash later this summer.

I have two spaghetti squash growing right now, and as soon as they ripen to a golden color, I will be able to harvest them too.

Gardening is hard work, but it is nice to know where your food comes from and that it is clean.

Comment Below

Do you have a garden? What are your gardening tips? What are your favorite plants, vegetables, and fruits to grow? Would you consider yourself to be a beginner at gardening, like me?

My Summer 2019 Bucket List

God gave us this life to enjoy along with glorifying Him, and that is what I intend to do. We also only have so much time each season to get things done, so we have to plan ahead and try our best to manage our time wisely. I have so many plans or hopes for this summer; this is my summer 2019 bucket list.

• Indianapolis Zoo: Mom and I completed this one on May 27. We had a great time! Read up on my Best Tips for Visiting the Indianapolis Zoo.

• Vacation Bible School (VBS): Serving in the craft area this week at church for VBS. The theme this year is “In the Wild.”

• The New Bridge in Gatlinburg, TN: It just opened up, and Mom and I are hoping that we can take some time to walk across it.
• “Picnic at the Park”: My family has a fun tradition of getting food to-go and eating at Metcalf Bottoms Picnic area. The picnic area has shaded spots to eat as well as sunny places, and it is right beside a stream.
• Walk / hike to a waterfall: I would like to walk to Abrams Falls or Grotto Falls in the Gatlinburg area if we get a chance.
• Take a trip to Clifty Falls near Madison, Indiana.
• See if any of my plants survive over summer. Haha! So far, the strawberry plants have no growth. However, the cilantro, tomato plants, radishes, sweet corn, and other plants have some growth. The cactus that I tried to grow from seed showed no life, so I gave up on those. We will see how things progress over the rest of summer.

Comment Below

What is on your summer bucket list? What are your best tips for walking / hiking to waterfalls? Do you have any family vacation traditions? Is your church doing a VBS? What is your favorite part about summer?

My Experience: Starting Seeds in Cardboard Egg Cartons

This spring and summer, I decided I wanted to see if I have a green thumb or not. So I decided to try starting seeds in egg cartons after I watched a friend try it out first. I’m surprised and pleased to say that I can at least start seeds in egg cartons!

To prepare, I looked up a few articles on starting seeds in egg cartons. These were the articles I looked at:

• Home Guides
• Harvest To Table
• A YouTube Video by The Professional Prepper
• Mother Earth News

I started out with these seeds in egg cartons: cactus, a variety of flowers, cilantro, tomatoes, radishes. So far one set of flowers hasn’t shown much promise, even though there is a sprout or two. I have yet to see any growth from the cactus seeds at all.

After my dad and I were able to plant them outdoors, we also planted sweet corn, summer squash, winter squash, green beans, more tomatoes, turnips, and sunflower seeds. Later on, my mom and I planted the flowers around our house.

Things I learned from starting the seeds in egg cartons:

• If you start the seeds in your home, have a plastic trash bag and maybe even a cardboard box underneath the cartons to catch and hold the water from dripping everywhere. This was a great idea that my dad had.
• Not everything will grow. Sometimes some seeds just won’t grow. Don’t be afraid to try anyway.
• Some seeds need a longer time to grow before you see any growth on the surface. Don’t give up on it too soon.
• You may need to only water them every other day in order not to over-water them.
• When you plant them, you may need to leave each of the seedlings in the egg carton circle because the roots like to grow through the cardboard egg cartons.
• When you move them and plant them outdoors, the bugs will most likely swarm your new plants. A lot of bugs flew around my newly planted cilantro.
• When moving the plants outdoors, the plants will be in shock at first, so expect them to droop a bit. However, before long, they’ll adjust and grow stronger.
• Mark where you plant your flowers and other seedlings with some sort of tag, so you’ll hopefully know what is a weed versus a plant.
• Pay close attention to the description on the label. If the instructions say that your plant likes sun, place your plant in a place that gets lots of sunlight, or get a sun lamp.
• Some seeds don’t grow well with others. Here’s a few great resources to find out which ones pair well and which ones don’t.
  • Farmer’s Almanac
  • Good Housekeeping
  • Country Living
• It’s more fun to plant flowers and seeds with someone else because it’s a lot of work!

The whole process of planting seeds and growing plants is an experiment, and there’s lots of things we can learn. We’ll see what grows!