Started My Garden a Little Early This Year

I've always enjoyed gardening. Even as a young kid my Grandpa always used to have a large backyard with a big garden and I used to help him pick Acorn Squash, Cucumbers, Zuchini, and Tomatos. There's something really rewarding about growing something in your own yard with your own hands and being able to grow your own food. It's also typically much tastier than store bought vegetables which are typically grown for looks or a long shelf life. It's also fun being able to share food from your garden with friends and family.

I really enjoy growing peppers and while peppers are fun, they are more of a garnish than a food. This year while I do have some interesting peppers going, I'm going to focus on growing more food I can actually make meals with and eat as opposed to just a huge variety of peppers. So far we have a couple different varieties of peppers and tomatos, cucumbers, and some corn. I've never done corn before and it's supposed to be a little challenging as apparently they are self pollinating meaning you need a decent amount of corn and need to plant it in a patch so it pollinates itself, otherwise you'll wind up with an ugly corn with sparse kernels.

I started things a bit early this year, while we have had some 80 degree days it also will drop down near freezing at night, I'm impatient and had already bought some plants and didn't have a ton of room inside so we started things maybe two weeks before the ideal time for my area around May 11 to bring your garden outside. Hopefully the weather cooperates.

Still looking at adding a few more things to the garden and had thought about adding a raised garden however I'm also planning on potentially moving in the very near future so thought at least doing it in pots if I wind up renting out my house I can either bring my garden with me or bring the containers over to my girlfriends father to throw in his garden.

If you don't have a garden I'd encourage you to start one. A study recently came out saying gardening is one of the best activities you can do for your body and mind, it's relaxing and lowers cortisol levels, it gives you a connection with nature and you get some healthy food out of it as well. You don't have to start a huge garden could be something as simple as a tray of microgreens or a hanging tomato basket but I guarantee you'll enjoy it!