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OK, my gardening friend, tell me this.
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Why are you gardening? Did you start gardening during
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the pandemic because everything was locked down and you were at
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home all the time and you needed some sort of contact with
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another living thing and that living thing just ended up being
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plants? Or is gardening something that
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you grew up doing and just automatically continued as
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adult? Do you garden to reduce the
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family food budget? Or maybe your goal is to grow
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all of your family's produce for the entire year.
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Maybe it's just a way to get outside and get some fresh air
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and some exercise and it just feels good to tend to something.
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In order to know what we want out of our garden, we have to
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know why we're gardening. That why is going to help us
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determine our goals. It's also going to help dictate
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exactly how ambitious we get in terms of what we grow, how much
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space we use, how much we're willing to invest, the types of
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tools and the supplies we buy, all the things.
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So today on Just Grow Something, we're going to look at our why
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and how knowing the answer can help us set our goals for this
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gardening season and maybe even our budget.
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Let's dig in. Hey, I'm Karen, I started
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gardening in a small corner of my suburban backyard and now 18
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years later, I've got a degree in horticulture and operate a 40
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acre market farm. I believe there is power in food
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and that everyone should know how to grow at least a little
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bit of their own. On this podcast, I share
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evidence based techniques to help you plant, grow, harvest
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and store all your family's favorites.
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Consider me your friend in the garden.
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So grab your garden journal and a cup of coffee and get ready to
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just grow something. Welcome to season 5 of the Just
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Grow Something podcast. Thank you for being here.
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Thank you to my Ogs who have been here from the very
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beginning. And if you're new here, welcome.
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Welcome. This is the time of year when a
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lot of people start looking at New Year's resolutions or
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learning a new skill. So if that's you and that's why
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you found me, welcome to the family and be prepared to have a
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knowledge bombs dropped on you each and every week.
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Lots of things coming in this new season.
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My gardening friends, I have so many irons in the fire right now
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that I've lost count. And they're not all related to
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this podcast, but many, many of them are.
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So be prepared to have access to so much more content from me
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this season. If you have friends who are
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interested in gardening or starting gardening and they need
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a little extra evidence based help to help grow all the
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things, send this podcast their way or send them to my website
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or any of my social media pages. And if you're not in the Just
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Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook group, get in there.
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We just passed 400 members and everybody is so, so helpful.
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I'm actually super excited now when I see that someone asked a
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question and I'm not the first person to go in there and answer
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it. It makes me so happy to see our
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community just helping each other.
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So be a part of that community. If you're on Facebook, the link
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will be in the episode description.
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You just have to answer a couple of questions.
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So we know that you're not a spammer and agree to the rules
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and boom, you are in. So let's make this our best
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gardening year ever together. OK, so I know this whole know
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your why thing might sound like I'm some sort of self help guru
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asking you to journal your intentions to define yourself,
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but that's not where we're going here.
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This is truly about your garden plan.
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But if you do need an assessment for not just your garden goals,
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but also things like your health and your work and your home
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environment and more, there is a whole section in the Girly
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Homesteaders Grow and Flourish Planner that guides you through
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an assessment at the beginning of the year and then like checks
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in with you on those goals throughout the seasons.
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So if you're still looking for a robust planner for your garden
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that also has like weekly task tracking and monthly goals and
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is broken down by season and by month, then that's the planter
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you want. Laura is still offering my
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gardening friends 10% off of their planner by going to
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justforsomethingpodcast.com/planner and using code Just Grow at
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checkout so that link will also be in the show notes.
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There is also space in that planner for drawing your garden
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layout which will come in handy if you plan on joining my plan
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like a Pro course this year, which is opening up next week.
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And one of the things that we start off with in that course is
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determining your garden goals as the foundation of your garden
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plan. This is why your why matters,
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right? OK, so your why helps you set
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your goals. Your goals guide decisions on
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the crops that you're going to grow and the tools that you need
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and the size of your garden. It also helps prevent
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overspending on maybe some things that you might
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necessarily need depending on what those goals are, right?
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So you might be gardening as a hobby.
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And so your goals for that is going to be, you know,
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relaxation, the beauty of your yard, a reconnection with
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nature, just being out in the fresh air.
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Maybe your why is a more practical purpose.
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You're trying to reduce your grocery bills.
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You are providing fresh food for your family or your why is for
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educational or just kind of social reasons.
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So maybe you are teaching kids or grandkids by putting this
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garden together or you are growing to donate produce to a
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food pantry. Whatever it is, your why is
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going to dictate what your goals are, and your goals are going to
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dictate the purchases that you make and the way that you do
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your planning. So a hobby gardener, you know,
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who's out there for the aesthetics and who's out there
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for the fresh air might plant more flowers and herbs for like
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aesthetics and just enjoyment and might focus a little bit
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less on some of the produce versus, you know, somebody who
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is doing it from a more practical standpoint and might
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be prioritizing the higher yielding crops and not be as
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concerned about the flowers and herbs from an aesthetic
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standpoint, but maybe more so from a production standpoint.
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This is where I find myself or have found myself the majority
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of the last, you know, decade plus years that I have been
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doing this is I have been more on the practical side, starting
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out as doing the garden for my family, but then moving into it
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being a business. My focus has always been more on
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the yield and anything in terms of herbs or flowers that have
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been put into the garden have been to that end, right to to
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increase the yield or to prevent pests or diseases.
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And I'm switching things a little bit this year and leaning
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more towards trying to beautify some of the spaces.
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Yes, I still want them to be high yielding, but I also want
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it to look good. So my why is starting to change
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just a little bit, which means my goals are starting to change
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just a little bit. OK.
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These goals based on your why are also going to shape your
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budget, or at least they should. So if you are gardening as a
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hobby and you are tending to focus on aesthetics and just the
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enjoyment of being out there, you mean you want it to be just
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a little bit easier to do things.
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So you might not be spending a ton of money on really high end
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tools. You might just want the basic
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hand tools, but you're going to spend more money on maybe
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decorative pots or, you know, making your raised beds look
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really nice. Your supplies are going to be a
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little bit different in terms of what you need to buy based on
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what you're growing. So your costs for your garden
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might be a little bit lower, you know, if you have a small, low
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maintenance garden versus somebody who is growing for
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those more practical reasons and they are focusing on maximum
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yield and efficiency, Well, they might be buying bigger, more
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expensive tools. So, you know, tillers or drip
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irrigation systems and the seeds for what they're growing might
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be more high end because they might be the hybrids that are
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intended for high yield crops. And those tend to be a little
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bit more expensive. They might be buying more in
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terms of soil amendments or pest management products, you know,
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or things like row cover and, and, and insect netting.
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So the estimated cost for a much larger, you know, garden of that
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type of intensity might be higher, but the decision about
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what to spend is going to be based on what you're trying to
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get out of it too, right? So your I guess expectations are
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going to be adjusted based on your why.
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If you are gardening for recreation, your success is
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going to be measured by how much enjoyment you get out of that
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garden and how much time you got to spend outside, maybe not
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necessarily on your yield, right?
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So your budget for extras might be things like garden
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decorations or specialty plants. But if you are a yield focused
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gardener, your success is likely to be measured more like in
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pounds of produce or savings on your grocery bill.
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And your things that you might budget for that would be
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considered extras would be things like, you know, what it
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would cost to preserve the harvest.
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So canning jars or freezer bags or you know, different systems
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for preserving things, right? You very well may be a mixed
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goal gardener, which is what I'm trying to get to this year.
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I have definitely always been much more on the yield focused
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end of this year. I'm trying to mix those goals a
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little bit. I would like to balance the
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beauty of the garden with practicality.
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So combining those flowers and those vegetables.
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But maybe no, the flowers don't always have to be something that
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is bringing in pollinators or you know, that is that is
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helping to deter an insect pest. Maybe it can just be there just
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to be pretty, right? And I can spend some time
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enjoying that part of it and I can allocate the budget between
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the ornamental plants and the edible plants.
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So maybe let's break this process down just a little bit
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into some actionable steps to help you determine your why so
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that you can set your garden goals for the year.
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So step one would be to actually reflect on your why.
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Your why is the foundation of your gardening plan.
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How many times can I say why in the same sentence?
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But ask yourself these questions.
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What do I hope to achieve with my garden?
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OK, Are you looking to save money on groceries?
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Are you just trying to grow healthier food?
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Are you just simply enjoying the therapeutic act of gardening?
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And then ask yourself, who will benefit from my garden?
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So are you feeding just your household?
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Are you sharing with neighbors? Are you donating to food
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pantries? Or are you just growing it for
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your own personal enjoyment and you're not really sure what
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you're doing with the produce, if anything, right?
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Write these answers down just to clarify your priorities.
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If you have a garden journal, this is the perfect place to
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write down what your why is and the goal that is going along
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with it. So if your why is to save money
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on groceries and your goal is to feed a family of four, write
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that down. Your planning is going to look
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different than if you are, you know, next to somebody who is
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growing for fun or to beautify their yard.
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OK, put it someplace where you can look back at it frequently
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and let it help guide your decisions.
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So once you know your why, the next step is basically deciding
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what to grow. And if we keep the why in mind,
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it makes it easier to scale up or down based on our goals.
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So if you're gardening to reduce the food budget, then you're
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going to look at your favorite foods.
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You're going to make a list of the fruits and the vegetables
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and the herbs that your household loves to eat the most,
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right? If you enjoy cooking with fresh
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tomatoes and adding basil to your pasta, then these are going
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to be high on your list. If you refer back to your why,
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it makes it easier to Curb Your Enthusiasm a little bit when all
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those seed catalogs come rolling in and everything looks so
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interesting to grow and your seed purchase list begins to get
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a little bit out of control and starts to bust the budget.
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OK, refer back to that why and that will help you sort of rein
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yourself in a little bit for hobby gardens, you know,
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exercise or aesthetics. Maybe your focus is on new
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interesting varieties with lots of visual interest, or low
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maintenance plants that allow you time for fresh air but not a
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lot of frustration. If your why is all about
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relaxing in the garden, you don't want to be adding a bunch
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of high maintenance plants that are going to pull the joy out of
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the garden for you. Unless you get joy from spending
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hours pruning ornamental plants and then that's perfectly fine,
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right? Referring back to your why is
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also going to help you to be realistic about how much space
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you need to garden. Does your current space work
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with your goals or do you need to expand or even reduce that
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space? There have been times where I
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have seen that gardeners have jumped in with both feet and,
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you know, maybe purchased 10 raised garden beds and put them
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all together in one season, raring to go.
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And then they very quickly realize they don't need all that
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space. It's not necessary for them.
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So it's not just about terms of do you have enough space, is it,
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do you have too much space and can you scale back a little bit?
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What are the growing conditions in your area?
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And have you chosen crops that thrive in your local climate and
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soil type throughout your season?
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Or have you chosen things that might require season extension
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measures or even indoor seed starting?
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And how does that fit into your why?
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If you're going for low maintenance, you might not want
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to mess with starting seeds indoors or having to worry about
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having frost clothes because you have to start things that are
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earlier or get them earlier into the ground.
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You might just want to say, oh, never mind, I'm not going to do,
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you know, XY and Z because I only want to be out there in the
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garden during the summertime. That's OK.
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That fits your Y, right? Answering these questions for
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yourself not only helps in terms of defining what the garden is
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for you and how much time and energy you are willing to spend,
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but also how much money you are willing to spend.
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Your goals, your why, will influence how much you're
00:15:28
willing to spend in the garden. Again, it's OK for the garden to
00:15:32
be a hobby and it's OK to spend money on that hobby.
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OK, we do this in other areas of our lives, right?
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I'm an endurance athlete and running shoes and weight
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training equipment and race entry fees cost money.
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My husband has taught himself to play guitar over the past three
00:15:50
years and he now owns multiple guitars and the equipment that
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comes with that, that costs money.
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If you have a budget for that hobby, you're good.
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It's when you're not sure what the purpose of the garden is,
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that it can sometimes get out of control.
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When this tool looks really fun and that tool seems like it.
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It's a must have when maybe it really doesn't fit into your
00:16:12
goals. Now, conversely to this, if
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you're gardening to reduce the food budget or replace the
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produce that your family buys for most of the season or even
00:16:20
the entire year, it may be necessary to spend more on tools
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and equipment along the way. If you're gardening and
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gardening intensively for a large portion of the year,
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you're not going to get away with using cheap tools for very
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long. If you were determined to
00:16:36
preserve a lot of what comes out of your garden, it might make
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sense to invest in equipment that makes that easier and more
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efficient and more effective. So again, if you're looking at
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purchasing something for the garden, let your Y be your
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guide. Let's let's think of composting
00:16:52
as an example. So say you see this nice snazzy
00:16:56
compost Tumblr. I know that's not a phrase that
00:16:59
most people say, but go with me on this, OK?
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It looks good. It looks like a convenient and
00:17:04
very mess freeway to turn your kitchen straps into compost for
00:17:09
the garden. And it is.
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And if you're gardening as a way to get some fresh air and maybe
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just have a little bit of extra produce available during the
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summer months, then maybe you only have a couple of raised
00:17:20
beds that you're gardening in. If you're buying compost to
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refresh those beds every year, it's likely not a huge volume,
00:17:26
maybe just a few bags. Well, then the compost Tumblr
00:17:29
might make sense. It's not producing a huge volume
00:17:33
of compost, but maybe enough for your garden and you'll be
00:17:37
diverting your food scraps from the landfill.
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So that's a win win. But if you're a gardener who is
00:17:43
supplying your family with the majority of your fresh produce
00:17:46
for the season and maybe also preserving some for the winter,
00:17:50
you likely have more than just a couple of raised beds.
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And if you're bringing in compost to refresh those beds,
00:17:56
you're likely bringing in closer to like a truckload rather than
00:17:59
just a couple of bags, right? In this instance, the compost
00:18:03
Tumblr might not make sense. It's only going to put a small
00:18:06
dent in what you're buying. So either you'll need to invest
00:18:09
in multiple tumblers, which can be pricey, or you just skip the
00:18:13
Tumblr altogether and go with a larger compost setup that may
00:18:16
involve like 3 bins out behind the garden that you just create
00:18:20
yourself. Different wise, different goals,
00:18:24
different implications. OK.
00:18:27
So some of the things that we are concerned about when it
00:18:31
comes to our budget would maybe be the essential tools and
00:18:35
supplies. So you know, if if you're
00:18:37
gardening for the long term, you might be looking at very
00:18:41
durable, very high quality tools that are going to last for years
00:18:45
that cost a little bit more upfront, but that would save you
00:18:48
money in the long run. But if you're new to gardening
00:18:51
or you are very, very casual gardener, you might want to
00:18:53
start with like the $15 Hori Hori knife instead of the $35
00:18:58
one because you're not sure how it's going to work for you,
00:19:01
right? The second thing would be our
00:19:04
seeds and our plants. You know, if you start with
00:19:06
seeds, they are the most cost effective option.
00:19:09
Seed packets typically contain more than enough for a small
00:19:12
garden. And that is definitely starting
00:19:14
them yourself is definitely less expensive than going out and
00:19:18
buying all of those individual plants.
00:19:20
But again, if you are gardening for, you know, aesthetics or for
00:19:25
convenience or just you want it to be easy, well, you know what,
00:19:29
you might consider those starter plants and just make it easy on
00:19:33
yourself, right? Soil and fertilizer too.
00:19:36
Healthy soil, again, we talk about it all the time.
00:19:38
It is the key to a productive garden.
00:19:39
If your soil needs improvement, you're going to have to budget
00:19:42
for compost and for organic fertilizers and that sort of
00:19:46
thing. So, you know, if your why is,
00:19:49
well, this is a way for me to get outside and get some fresh
00:19:52
air. Then be mindful of the amount of
00:19:54
areas that you're going to have to work with because you are
00:19:56
going to have to add to those areas in terms of your soil and
00:20:00
your fertility. Versus, you know, somebody who
00:20:04
is gardening for production and needs that larger space, it's
00:20:09
going to make sense for them to put that money out.
00:20:12
And then again, you're, you know, a watering system.
00:20:14
So, you know, drip irrigation or soaker hoses may save you water.
00:20:18
It may save you time. This might be a worthwhile
00:20:21
investment for larger gardeners versus if you've got, you know,
00:20:26
one or two raised beds and it doesn't take you very long to
00:20:29
stand out there and water with a hose.
00:20:32
This may not be something that you need to spend money on.
00:20:35
Once again, RY is just determining everything within
00:20:38
our budget. If your budget is tight, you can
00:20:41
look for cost saving options like seed swaps and second hand
00:20:44
tools and you know, DIY kind of garden structures and stuff like
00:20:47
that. But you know, if you're looking
00:20:49
at keeping the costs down, start small, reuse, recycle,
00:20:54
prioritize tools rather than like trendy gadgets that you
00:20:58
might see. Those are usually a better
00:21:00
investment. And then of course, compare your
00:21:03
seed prices. But you can always find
00:21:04
different suppliers that have the same types of seeds.
00:21:08
And you can, you can shop that way to help kind of fit things
00:21:11
into your budget. Just remember, if you see
00:21:14
yourself seeing something that looks really, really cool and it
00:21:20
seems like it would be a great idea for your garden, go back to
00:21:24
your why. Go back to your garden goals and
00:21:27
stay flexible, right? Gardening is full of surprises,
00:21:31
unexpected weather, pests, all kinds of things.
00:21:34
If you stay flexible and you adjust your plan, your goals as
00:21:39
needed, it's going to be a little bit less stressful,
00:21:42
right? So if a crop fails, replant it
00:21:44
with something that's quick growing or try again next year.
00:21:46
It's just the way. It's just the way that the
00:21:48
garden goes, right? So if we keep in mind what our
00:21:52
why is, we may also not be as stressed when those things
00:21:56
happen. Setting clear goals for your
00:22:04
garden will save you time. It will save you money.
00:22:07
It will save you frustration. By understanding your why, we
00:22:12
can set very clear goals and that helps us pick the right
00:22:16
crops and plan appropriately so that we can set ourselves up for
00:22:21
a very successful gardening season.
00:22:24
Don't forget my Plan Like a Pro courses opening registration
00:22:26
next week as my weekly gardening friend.
00:22:29
You can get in there early and get a sneak peek at the course
00:22:32
by going to justgrowsomethingpodcast.com/pro.
00:22:36
We cover so much in that course, from your goals to how to fit it
00:22:40
all in, how to have a complete calendar of what goes where and
00:22:44
when. So we'll talk a little bit about
00:22:46
that next week, or you can jump in early from the link that I
00:22:49
will leave in the show notes. Thanks for being here today.
00:22:51
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to comment
00:22:55
or reach out by e-mail or DM me on social.
00:22:58
You can always find more information about these topics
00:23:01
on my website, justforsomethingpodcast.com.
00:23:04
Until next time, my gardening friends, keep on cultivating
00:23:06
that dream garden, and we'll talk again soon.