Gardening Brown Bag Delivers Style! Viva la Bolsa
We at Brown Bag Delivers have started a new initiative trying to partner up with local and urban farmers to start producing dishes using 100% local ingredients and making menu based on what is in season. I know we are on the right track so we asked the newest addition to the team that has urban farming experience to help us start our own herb garden.
From our very own Eli Seal here is her own gardening adventure:
A culinary herb garden is a great place to begin a gardening adventure. The first garden I planted in Austin was at the Duval House, a hyde park bungalow with no air conditioning. Neither my friends nor I had ever planted a garden ourselves but generally understood that seeds + water + time = plants and hopefully food. Our plants were properly pathetic but still managed to provide us with tons of greens. In the intervening years I took a native plant course at UT, worked at a landscaping company and restarted a new garden every time I've moved around Austin. In the intervening years I've learned a lot and grow most of my own vegetables for my boyfriend and me. I now know that it's not quite that simple and I'll pass on the little I know.
Culinary herbs are easy to grow, offer quick reward and are less expensive to grow than to buy at the store. The biggest benefit though is having truly fresh herbs and being able to pick food and toss it directly into your cooking. For reference, culinary herbs are the plants you use to season your food and add flavor.
We live in Austin where it is hot and dry and summer last ten months out of the year and cold and rain are but far away dreams. We generally get a few hard freezes still which does mean that most plants with green stems will die back. Preparing your soil is the most crucial step to planting and growing here. When you do it properly it cuts down how much you have to water and weed. Naturally made nutrient rich soils take lots of time to develop. These healthy soils have horizontal layers that have different compositions. The lasagna style garden is an attempt to mimic this order.
1) Research what you want to plant. Different plants only grow in certain months or in certain climes. Make sure what you are planting will grow here.
2) Gather materials. This will depend on how you decide to make a barrier and what materials you already have at hand. Write out a list and plan before committing to a setup.
3) Build a barrier. This will keep sod and other weeds from growing into your garden.
4) Lay down a layer of cardboard. Water it down with a hose.
5) Lay down an inch thick layer of peat moss.
6) Okay here there are two different types of layers you can do depending on what you have available. If you have a compost pile you can use your compost. Generally you will have stuff that is less broken down than other parts. The stuff that is unbroken down is referred to green compost. The stuff that has had time to break down and looks more like soil is called brown compost. When you are putting down layers alternate between these two types.
If you do not have compost available you can alternate between store bought soils. Local nurseries sell these and the workers there tend to be extremely knowledgeable.
Soak down each layer after you lay them down.
7) Plant seeds according to directions on packet. If the seeds you are using don't have them google it.
8) Water every day. The ground should never look dry. It is much more likely that you will lose plants to under watering than over watering. Your garden will flourish as long as you continue to check on it and keep watering.
How you like them apples?
