Organic Gardening for Everyone

Homegrown Vegetables Made Easy - No Experience Required!

CaliKim

• Publisher: Cool Springs Press
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9780760365359
• Topic: Sciences biologiques
• Subtopic: Horticulture

If you want to grow healthy vegetables at home, but have hesitated because it seems too hard and time consuming, Organic Gardening for Everyone is your perfect hands-on guide—an "if I can do it, you can do it" case study that addresses your concerns and gets you started. Loaded with practical advice and step-by-step guidance, Organic Gardening for Everyone takes a very personal and friendly approach to a subject that can be intimidating. It is a first-class primer on organic vegetable gardening, and an inspirational story about how anyone can balance the rigors of gardening with the demands of a modern, family-oriented lifestyle. In 2012, aCalifornia momdecided to start an organic vegetable garden. But she went about it in an unusual way: she crowdsourced it by launching a YouTube channel under the name "CaliKim" and asking for help. And then she started planting. As questions came up, she turned to her viewers and subscribers and they replied with answers and advice. As she learned, her garden grew successfully—even in the hot, harsh California climate. Her expertise also grew, and now she answers many more questions than she asks and has become a very accomplished home gardener. And CaliKim has a great story to tell: growing healthy organic vegetables for your family is not difficult, even for today's time-challenged lifestyles. She provides complete step-by-step information on growing the most popular edibles organically, and also gives sound advice on how to take on the challenges of balancing a hectic lifestyle with successful growing—and how to involve the whole family in the process. You'll be rewarded for youreffort every time you place a plate of natural, organic vegetables on the family dinner table knowing exactly what they are, what is in them, and where they came from.

1

WHY I GROW MY OWN FOOD AND WHY YOU SHOULD (AND CAN) TOO

I GREW UP IN COLORADO, the third of ten kids. With so many mouths to feed, my parents grew a large garden to save money on groceries. The entire family spent many hours working together in the garden, picking endless rows of beans, husking corn, and harvesting tomatoes, lots of zucchini, and many other vegetables.

We ate tasty meals from our own garden almost daily, and all the kids helped my mom preserve the vegetables that we grew. Our freezer was stuffed with beans, corn, and peppers. Our basement shelves were lined with colorful rows of canning jars filled with pickles, salsa, beets, zucchini relish, and homemade ketchup. It was too cold to grow anything outdoors in the winter, so it was a huge treat to eat food we harvested and preserved the summer before.

To be honest, as child, gardening wasn’t love at first sight. At times the garden tasks seemed endless.

A FAMILY THAT GARDENS TOGETHER STAYS TOGETHER

Looking back now, I can see that my parents created a sense of family fun, teamwork, and togetherness in the garden. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, being raised with a vegetable garden created an appreciation within me for garden-fresh fruits and vegetables. It also gave me the desire as an adult to grow my own food and create those memories for my own family.

After I married my husband, Jerry, we moved to Southern California and had our two children, Julianne and Drew. For several years, we lived in small condos or apartments with no space to garden (or so I thought). I became increasingly concerned about the effect processed food, pesticides, and chemicals sprayed on grocery store fruits and vegetables can have on our bodies. I worried about the possible adverse long-term effects this may have on our children. And I was tired of tasteless store-bought produce.

I remembered the incredible flavor of the homegrown vegetables I had as a child. I wanted to feed my family delicious, organic veggies, and I wanted to have the satisfaction of growing them myself. I dreamed of a beautiful garden filled with vegetables, herbs, and flowers, where I could get my hands dirty, grow my own healthy food, and build my own happy family memories, just as I did growing up.

MY PROBLEMS

But I didn’t know where to start. You see, there were several problems—and I didn’t think my dream would ever be a reality.

Problem 1: I was a busy wife and the mom of two young kids. I didn’t think I had the extra hours in my day to maintain a garden.

Problem 2: We were a one-income family. I was a stay-at-home mom with little room in our tight budget for supplies.

Problem 3: It had been years since I gardened as a child, and I remembered very little about how to grow veggies. I began researching and was immediately overwhelmed by all the information and options. It all seemed so complicated, and I didn’t know how to get started.

Problem 4: Our small condo didn’t have a yard, and there was no space for a garden. With the high price of California housing, I didn’t think we would ever be able to purchase a house with a backyard.

IT ALL STARTS WITH DESIRE

Eventually, we were finally able to purchase our own home with a backyard. Our house sat on an unusable weed-filled hill, with a grassy flat space at the bottom. There was no question in my mind that I would grow veggies. It was the garden space I had long dreamed of.

That first year, I knew nothing about starting seeds indoors. I didn’t know about easy, inexpensive gardening methods. I didn’t have a clue about how to garden organically. What I did have was a huge desire and a dream to have my own garden. More than anything, I wanted to get my hands in the soil, grow my own food, and feed my family healthy vegetables. I was determined, and I dove in headfirst.

I borrowed a rototiller from a friend and went to work carving out my new garden space in a corner of the yard. The next weekend was Mother’s Day. My only request was for the entire family to spend the day planting our garden. My kids complained—just like I did at their age when gardening with my parents—but it didn’t bother me. I was happy that we were outside together, digging in the dirt, planting vegetables, and building memories. At the end of the day, I was content knowing that we had spent time together as family and our own fresh veggies would be on our dinner plates soon.

This photo shows what our backyard looked like when we first moved in. As you can see, there wasn’t much there when we started. To see how different it looks now, take a look at here.

First Harvest: I Was Hooked

A few months later, I harvested my very own fresh-from-the-garden lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. I’ll never forget that day. The taste of the fresh vegetables was out of this world, and I had an incredible feeling of pride knowing I was feeding my family a tasty meal that I grew myself.

From that moment on, I was hooked. And I haven’t stopped growing since. This passion was the stepping-stone to teaching others how to grow their own food.

THE BIRTH OF THE CALIKIM GARDEN & HOME YOUTUBE CHANNEL

The following year, we were chosen to be on a backyard makeover TV show. It was an incredible experience, and it allowed us the opportunity to landscape our yard and terrace our weedy hill. This gave us the space to expand our vegetable garden, and I busily got to work planting.

My husband Jerry’s (aka “CameraGuy”) passion is video and photography. On a challenge with a few of his camera buddies to make a viral video, he shot a video of me explaining how to fertilize my vegetables with compost in my newly expanded garden. On a whim, we posted it on YouTube. To our surprise,...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Introduction: Turning Your Dream to Reality—No Experience Required
• 1. Why I Grow My Own Food and Why You Should (and CAN) Too
• 2. Start Simple and Expand Later
• 3. The Secret to Gardening on a Budget—Starting Seeds Indoors
• 4. Transplanting and Transitioning Indoor Seedlings to the Great Outdoors
• 5. Placement of Your Garden and How to Prep It for Planting
• 6. Watering—The Key to a Productive Garden
• 7. Planting Vegetable Seedlings in the Garden
• 8. Garden Challenges—Pest and Disease Control, Extreme Weather
• 9. Harvesting Organic Vegetables Like a Pro
• 10. Revel in the Rewards—The Garden Gives Back
• Appendix 1 CaliKim’s Quick Look—Warm-Weather Veggies
• Appendix 2 CaliKim’s Quick Look—Cool-Weather Veggies
• Glossary Basic Gardening Terms Explained
• Resources
• About the Author
• Index
• Dedication
• Copyright