Now’s the time to grow your own food.

 Thinking of starting a vegetable garden? Growing your own vegetables is rewarding in many ways. You have a supply of fresh ingredients for meals and you have the peace of mind knowing exactly what’s in the food you’re consuming. Here are some ideas to help you successfully cultivate your tomato and vegetable crops. First of all, decide what you want to grow. Plan to plant crops you’re most likely to pick, prepare and eat.  Next decide what types of garden beds you want. For most of us, this means a traditional in-ground garden, however you do have the option of growing in raised beds and/or containers. Bear in mind that a successful vegetable garden will need lots of sun, so you’ll want to choose a location where your garden will receive at least seven to eight hours of sunlight.  Once you’ve selected the garden site, it’s time to work on the soil.  Healthy soil is the key to your garden’s productivity. Most of our soils are heavy, clay-based. The only way to grow crops successfully is to add organic material to your existing soil. This is called amending the soil. Our high-quality organic soil amendments are produced locally and come bagged for your convenience. If you’re re-opening an existing bed, spread two to three inches of organic amendments on the surface of your garden bed and work it in eight to ten inches. 

For a new bed add four to six inches of organic material and work it in ten to twelve inches. A single bag of Earth Essentials Sheep, Peat and Compost will cover ten square feet, two inches deep. 

This is also a good time to add some organic fertilizer. Organic fertilizers will carry the OMRI seal on the bag. OMRI stands for Organic Material Review Institute. Products with the OMRI seal have gone through rigorous testing to assure the ingredients are organic. Place a small amount of organic fertilizer in the bottom of each row or planting hole, so the roots of your new plants can grow into it. Whether it’s an herb garden on the kitchen window sill or tomatoes in a raised bed, cultivating your own food is essential to your physical and emotional well-being.