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2009 Casual Gardener “Get It Garden” Challenge

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Welcome to the 2009 Casual Gardener “Get It Garden” Challenge! The idea for the challenge is to create gardens that make a difference in your life and your community.

Because the economy is particularly difficult, I have decided this year I am challenging myself to build a new vegetable garden which will help me feed my family and help educate the community on how to grow a garden – I challenge you to “Get It Garden” too and report back to me. While I am learning to build a veggie garden, I hope you will also tell me about your gardens and give advice. Send photos – send suggestions – send help! We will learn together.

Garden Challenge

Below is a photo of my front yard taken this morning. It is one of the only full sun spots on my property. There is an old crabapple tree which casts shade after 4:00 PM. Most vegetables require eight hours of sun per day, so I think strategically planting most of the vegetables in the area that now has grass on it will do the trick.

With unemployment high and incomes plummeting, our communities need to help each other learn to garden more than ever – both for food and for health reasons.

There are many ways you can help yourself and your community. One idea is to build a vegetable garden and “Plant A Row For The Hungry.” This program is run through www.gardenwriters.org and you can go to their website to learn more about how to make a difference for the hungry in America by planting a garden.

Another idea would be for you to build a therapeutic garden which would bring something very special to your community – better health. Naomi Sachs runs the Therapeutic Landscapes Database and the Therapeutic Landscapes Database Blog which will give you tons of ideas and angles for creating a garden which can heal.

As you build your garden, please send photos and details to me, Shawna Coronado and I will post your successes – and your failures – so we can all learn how to make a difference with a garden. Please send anything you can – what do you do with all the vegetables you harvest for instance? Will you sell them for additional family income? Will you give them away to local food banks? My readers want to know ALL the details.

Let’s build a garden together! Please join the 2009 Casual Gardener “Get It Garden” Challenge today and help make a difference for yourself and your community.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community!

2009 Casual Gardener “Get It Garden” Challenge – Start It For Cheap and Sustainable With Seeds

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9 Comments

  1. My advice for anyone who is thinking about getting started is to start small, and just do it!

    You don’t have to create a giant 20′ x 20′ garden. Just buy some large pots and grow a couple of tomato plants this year and get your feet wet! Or just create a small 3 x 3 space.

    It doesn’t have to be a Big Deal, so don’t overthink it. Anything is better than nothing.

  2. Instead of buying and planting annuals in the pots on my patio and front stoop, I’m planting spinach, lettuce, arugula and swiss chard seeds. They are already coming up! This way I can just step outside and harvest some for a salad and I save money by not buying annuals.

  3. And I like the idea that you are installing your garden in the FRONT yard, for all to see. That is a trend I’ve noticed more of this year and I applaud you for that.
    You’re right Shawna about how much there is to learn from gardening and to have yours front and center where all can see is even better.
    I’ll send along some pics of my own $25 Victory Garden (on the side of my house) and share my successes and even failures too.

  4. Thanks Joe! Can’t wait to see your progress. We are going to have some rockin’ gardens this season. 🙂

    Shawna

  5. Well how wonderful to meet you. I love gardening this year I am doing my first worm compost pile. My neighbor is learing about gardening from me and I am thrilled to find a fun blog like this about it .

  6. I do not have a worm compost pile yet and wish I did. One thing at a time, right? Now I’ve finally got several compost piles going – that’s a huge start!!!

  7. Are you going to cover the grass to help kill it before you start the garden? I have a friend who has worm compost in his Oak Park apartment, I’m hoping he;ll be able to give me work tea for the plants- it’s a good fertilizer.

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