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5 Things You Must Know Before Getting Backyard Chickens

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No self-sufficient homesteading setup is truly complete without chickens. They’re fun to watch, and fresh eggs are the best. But you should know a few things before you buy your first hens.

1. Chickens Are Smart

Chickens can remember, learn, figure things out, and feel emotions. They get bored and cranky if they feel cramped and uncared for. If handled by you when young, they often like to cuddle.

Don’t underestimate your chickens. They can easily become escape artists or learn to act up like a spoiled child to get treats. 

But when you respect their skills, you can train them to come when you call, play with chicken toys, and even perform certain actions for treats. 

2. They Don’t Give You “Free” Eggs

This is especially true when you consider that time is also money. Chickens require housing, food and grit. 

With that said, chickens aren’t expensive or high-maintenance. Applying some homesteading hacks can reduce their costs to the point that you may in fact save money. Create a self-sustaining chicken-garden permaculture system:

  • Free-ranging
  • Feeding them kitchen veg scraps, garden pruning, and excess harvest
  • Raising worms for extra protein and using the worm castings on your garden
  • Composting their poop to reduce your garden soil costs and increase yields
  • Growing barley, wheat, corn, and soybeans for feed.

Work toward a system where the chickens feed the garden. The garden feeds them.

3. Chickens Are Good & Bad for Your Garden

Chickens create nitrogen- and phosphorous-rich poop for your compost. Your garden will love it. They also eat many larvae in the dirt that will become garden pests.

But if they actually get into your garden, their scratching will destroy small plants and they love to eat ripening fruits before you can.

The fix: Chicken poop is also too acidic to add directly to the garden in high quantities anyway. So compost it. Or only allow the chickens into the garden when no human-edible plants are growing. 

4. Chickens Don’t Lay All The Time

You may hear that a certain breed lays 300 eggs a year and think that’s almost one egg a day. But if you have high-yield chickens, you’re more likely to have too many eggs for half the year and too few when it’s cold out. They don’t produce all winter and slow down after 2-3 years.

However, chicken eggs stay safe and delicious at room temperature for at least two weeks if left unwashed. And in a fridge unwashed for much longer. Healthy chickens don’t lay dirty eggs. So this isn’t as disgusting as it might sound to those accustomed to washed eggs.

5. You Will Fall in Love with Them

You have dog people and cat people. Both can fall in love with chickens. This bird can be both independent and highly affectionate. They’re fairly low maintenance and low cost if you develop a good system. 

Eggs are an excellent protein source for a self-sustaining homestead, especially if you prefer not to butcher goats, sheep, pigs, and cows.

Homesteading with Chickens

Chickens are an important part of self-sufficient permaculture. Review local codes and follow them, then add a small flock to your homestead.

The Insider’s Guide: 5 Ways to Get to Know the Real Uganda

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Uganda is one of the world’s most beautiful countries. There are landscapes that look almost too gorgeous to be real, as well as one of Africa’s most impressive collections of wildlife. No visitor to Uganda should miss these, but there are also cities, villages and hospitable people.

Here are five ways to get to know the real Uganda, both the spectacular and the everyday aspects of the country.

1. Feast Your Eyes on Wildlife

Whether it’s a gorilla trekking tour, a guided safari or a hike through amazing scenery, you can’t say you’ve seen Uganda if you haven’t seen some wild animals. There are lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park, gorillas in western Uganda and elephants, buffalo, lions and giraffes in Kidepo Valley National Park. Safaris of all sorts are available, including eco-friendly tours, customized treks for your party and car-hire safari tours.

2. Spend Time on the Water

Uganda boasts five large lakes, including the massive Lake Victoria, and it shares part of the Nile River. Tour companies offer cruises and canoeing on the lakes. There is rafting as well as less adventurous cruises on the river.

You can fish in Lake Victoria: it’s home to more than 500 species. The lake is also blessed with islands and beaches that are worthy of a visitor’s time and attention.

3. Shop a Kampala Craft Market

In the capital city, you’ll find the Ugandan Parliament, several famous museums and over three million people. Additionally, you’ll find craft markets, also called craft villages. Some inhabit permanent locations and others appear on a weekly or monthly basis. You can meet the artisans, and sometimes they will create custom orders. Choose from baskets, pottery, paintings, jewelry and other Ugandan handiwork.

4. Take a Village Tour

If you’re wondering what traditional life in a Ugandan village is like, a village tour is a great way to find out. Most of these villages are located on or near tourist sites and are readily accessible. As an example, there’s Boomu, a lovely community with gardens and tour amenities including a restaurant. You can sit around the campfire and listen to the elders spin their tales before retiring to sleep in a genuine African hut. This is just one of many available village tours.

5. Come in April

June, July and August are the most popular months for tourists, but not as many foreigners come in April. It’s the wettest month of the year, which has its pros and cons. Some accommodations will be closed and some park roads might be impassible.

However, many people find it the most beautiful season, with mists settling onto treetop canopies. Gorillas linger in lower regions, and the treks to see them are shorter (though muddier). Even in April, Murchinson Falls National Park in the north is drier. Best of all, you’ll see a less commercial Uganda without crowds of tourists.

The Magic of Rio De Janeiro – 5 Unique Attractions in This Amazing City

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World travelers regard Rio De Janeiro as one of the greatest cities in South America if not the world. From its famous iconic landmarks to tremendous natural beauty to its rich cultural history, this city is truly one of a kind.

Read on to ensure that you don’t miss these five “must see” attractions during your Rio De Janeiro vacation.

  1. Christ the Redeemer

One of the most famous large-scale statues in the world, Christ the Redeemer is all the more impressive due to the majestic setting that surrounds it. Mounted at the top of Rio De Janeiro’s Corcovado Peak, this figure seems to embrace the entire city in its massive outstretched arms. Although there are many bigger statues in existence, Christ the Redeemer is the biggest to be constructed out of concrete and soapstone. Visitors can ride a vertical cog train to the base of the statue and then take a series of elevators, escalators, and/or stairsteps to its very top.

  1. Copacabana Beach

Tourists mingle freely with locals on bustling Copacabana Beach. People play soccer and volleyball in the sand as fisherman offer their morning catch for sale and venders enthusiastically hawk snacks and beverages from a line of kiosks. Visitors love to stroll along the beautiful historical promenade that stretches a mile and a half along the beach. It is also worthwhile to check out the Copacabana Fort Museum, an active military base with a series of wartime exhibits that are open to the public.

  1. Sugar Loaf Mountain

Located remarkably close to Copacabana Beach, Sugar Loaf Mountain is a particularly great destination at sunset. In fact, visitors can even take in the sunset while they ascend to the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain in glass-walled cable cars called “bondinhos” or “teleféricos.” At the end of the trip, they find themselves roughly 1,300 feet above the inlet of Guanabara Bay. The peak is also home to a broad spectrum of wildlife that includes giant anteaters and marmoset monkeys.

  1. Jardim Botanico

The crown jewel of Rio de Janeiro’s Lagoa neighborhood, the Jardim Botanico (or Botanical Garden) is home to more than 8,000 plant species. The biggest draws at the Jardim Botanico include its avenues of towering palm trees, its roughly 600 species of orchids, and its Japanese garden complete with manicured pond and water lilies. It is also home to numerous impressive artistic monuments as well as the environmental exhibitions of the new Museu do Meio Ambiente.

  1. The Carioca Aqueduct

A defining landmark of the Lapa neighborhood, the Carioca Aqueduct is also known as the Lapa Arches. This is because the Carioca Aqueduct, which supplied fresh drinking water to the city in the 18th century, is no longer operational, but the arches that once supported it are still there. The most prominent feature of the Carioca Aqueduct is a segment that consists of two stories of massive white arches.

5 Tips for the Best Potato Salad

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Making potato salad is easy enough, but making a great-tasting potato salad that people will go back for seconds on is something else. Many people make a plain potato salad with potatoes and mayonnaise. While it might taste good, it’s boring. Potatoes go with just about everything, so you can get really creative with a potato salad.

Spice It Up

Adding spices to a potato salad that doesn’t use vinegar can spice it up. Consider adding salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. If you really want to kick it up a notch, add a bit of cayenne pepper or Badia redfish seasoning. Even if you make mustard potato salad, you could add the same seasonings. Adding a fresh green, such as parsley or cilantro also adds color to the salad.

Mix the “Sauce” First

When using spices, always mix the spices with the mayonnaise before you start adding the rest of the ingredients. Otherwise, you may not get all the spices evenly mixed. You’ll get a bite that is bland and a bite that is overly spicy. If you are making mustard potato salad, mix the mustard in with the spices. If you use a whisk to mix it, you’ll ensure the spices and mustard are mixed thoroughly and evenly.

Use Prepared Mustard

If you’re making mustard potato salad, you’ll want to use quite a bit of prepared mustard. However, if you don’t want mustard potato salad, adding a couple of teaspoons of mustard per cup of mayonnaise will round out the flavor without giving the salad a vinegary or mustardy taste.

Add Lots of Goodies

Because most everything goes well with potatoes, you can add just about anything you want. If you add meat, choose one. You can add a can of drained tuna, diced hotdogs, bologna, olive loaf, P&P loaf or even spam.

You might also consider adding peas, diced cheddar cheese, onions, sweet green peppers, hard-boiled eggs and celery. You can add more color by using multi-colored sweet peppers. Pimentoes also give the salad a bit of color if you don’t like sweet peppers.

If you add hard-boiled eggs, wait until they cool slightly before peeling them under a slow stream of running water. Cut them into bite-size pieces. Mix everything else first, then add the hard-boiled eggs and gently fold them into the salad mixture.

Prepping the Potatoes

To some people, it is a crime to leave the peels on the potatoes; to others, it’s a crime to peel them. Whichever way you like the potatoes, the best way to cook them for potato salad is to cut them into bite-size pieces before cooking them. They’ll cook faster and more evenly. Drain the potatoes well, then rinse them in cold water to stop the cooking process if you want the potatoes to stay cubed. Some people like the potatoes to mash up a bit when mixing the salad.

If you want to add more color to the salad, use red potatoes and leave the peels on. Just wash them thoroughly, cut them into bite-size pieces, boil until just fork-tender, drain them and rinse them with cold water to stop the cooking process. 

5 Tips for Making Jellies and Jams

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While the best jams and jellies are made from fresh fruit, you can use canned fruit juice in a pinch. You can also make cooked or freezer jams and jellies. Regardless of which type you make, the biggest key is following the instructions to a ‘T’ so the final product isn’t too hard or loose. Canned jams and jellies can last up to a couple of years if they are stored properly and you get a good seal during water bathing them.

Using Canned Fruit Juice

If you can’t get the fruit to make jellies and jams, you can use fruit juices. Be sure to choose all-natural juices – you won’t get good results with the flavored type. You should also use unsweetened juices, as you add quite a bit of sugar when making jams and jellies. Some recipes will adjust for the sugar in canned juices, but it’s not an exact science since different manufacturers use different amounts of sugar and other ingredients. You will always get a better flavor with fresh fruit.

Preparation is Key

Pick through the fruit to remove stems and any rotten pieces of fruit. You can cut out badly bruised sections of fruit – you don’t have to throw the whole piece away. You can use slightly bruised fruit.

You have to constantly watch and stir jams and jellies. You’ll have more success if you get all the ingredients ready. Measure everything and put it in separate bowls. Some recipes take as much as 6 to 8 cups of sugar. It’s easy to lose count of how many cups you scooped out. And, it’s easy to burn the fruit while you are taking the time to measure the sugar.

Constantly Stir

Because you have to bring the mixture to a rolling boil, it is very easy to let it stick or burn. Even if you stop stirring for a few seconds, the mixture sticks to the pan. If the fruit starts to stick and burn, the whole batch will have a burnt flavor to it. Always use a wooden spoon or a metal spoon. The pan gets hot enough so that you’ll melt a plastic spoon.

While stirring the fruit is important, it is even more likely to burn once you add the sugar. It is imperative that you continue stirring.

Know What a Rolling Boil Is

If you don’t bring the mixture to a rolling boil, it won’t set properly. Some recipes require you to boil the mixture at a rolling boil for a certain amount of time. Don’t guess on this part – use a timer, so you are sure to keep it at the right temperature for the correct amount of time.

Prepare the Jars

Make sure you prepare the jars ahead of time. You won’t have time to do it once you start cooking the jelly or jam. You can sterilize the jars in the dishwasher – and they must be sterilized, or bacteria could start growing.

After filling the jars, be sure to wipe the rims clean. Any little bit that gets between the lid and the jar allows air into the jar and increases the risk of having an improper seal or having bacteria build up inside and breaking the seal over time.

Homesteading Secrets: 5 Skills to Learn Now and Increase Self-sufficiency

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No one learns self-sufficiency overnight. You start picking up skills by doing it. Whether your goal is economic independence, saving money, living a more sustainable life, or feeling self-reliant, learning these 5 homesteading skills will get you well on your way.

1. Making Your Yard Edible

Why grow a water-guzzling, high-maintenance lawn when you could have a yard filled with food? Turning your yard into a food forest increases self-sufficiency. It’s better for the environment. And it produces big colorful flowers and foliage to beautify your yard.

To avoid issues, always check your city codes and neighborhood rules first. 

Expert gardeners may make it look easy. But you’ll probably want to start small with a bed or two and keep building your way to a more self-sufficient life. 

2. Composting

Did you know when you send compostable waste to the dump, it doesn’t break down into healthy dirt? Instead, it mixes with harmful chemicals, becoming toxic.

When you learn this vital homesteading skill, you not only save money by filling your garden beds with nutritious soil you produced.

You support the decomposition process that would happen in nature, promoting a permaculture ecosystem within your yard. 

Some examples of home compostable waste include:

  • Food scraps
  • Eggshells
  • Coffee grounds
  • Grass clippings
  • Dried leaves and natural yard waste
  • Cardboard boxes and paper without tape, staples, labels, or shiny coatings

3. Not Wasting Food 

Self-sufficient people don’t just “try” not to waste. They strategize to avoid it. You can take this to whatever degree you’re comfortable.

Some strategies include learning to preserve food or using leftovers and perishables before they go bad.

Homesteaders often eat more of the vegetable than the rest of us.

Beet tops are delicious raw, or cooked.  Garlic leaves taste like mild garlic. Celery leaves like celery. Pea leaves like peas. Why are we throwing this stuff out?

Use the whole fruit or vegetable when safe to do so. Apple seeds, rhubarb leaves, and apricot pits are just a few examples of toxic parts of plants.

And of course, if you can’t eat it, compost it. Decomposition eliminates the toxins. 

4. Cooking from Scratch

Pro homesteaders know how to cook from scratch. They can mix and match what they have to make great meals. 

They think creatively about food rather than just following the recipe. They don’t always get it right, but they love to experiment. This also reduces food waste and slashes their grocery budgets.

You can develop this self-sufficient skill and mindset.

5. Learn to Fix It Homesteading-Style

Self-sufficient people buy quality when they can’t make it. They learn how to fix broken things — if they can get more life out of it.

Sometimes it takes a few tries to learn a new homesteading skill, so don’t give up. Most people can learn some basic mending, plumbing, electrical, carpentry, and other DIY. 

Imagine how much money you can save when you don’t have to hire a professional for something basic like replacing your faucet and drain or installing a new light fixture. 

You’d be surprised how much you can do yourself when you start actively learning self-sufficiency skills.

5 Vegetables You Can Grow from Scraps

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Even if you don’t have space for a garden, you can still grow vegetables. Many will grow in containers inside your home as long as the air isn’t too dry. During the spring and summer, you can also grow vegetables in containers on a deck or patio. And, you don’t have to look for seeds – you can grow these veggies from scraps.

If you stagger planting in containers – plant new veggies every couple of weeks – you’ll be able to grow all the fresh vegetables you want. If you have room inside, you can grow fresh vegetables year ‘round.

Potatoes

Set a couple of potatoes aside. You can use any kind of potato, including large baking potatoes, red potatoes and smaller white potatoes. Put them in a cool dark place. As soon as the eyes start sending out shoots, they are ready to plant.

Cut the potato so two “eyes” are on each chunk. Plant the potato about 6 inches down with the eyes facing up. If you use a tall bucket, you can put 12 inches of dirt in the bottom, then 6 inches over the potato. As the plant grows, add more dirt until the pot is nearly filled. The plant will keep growing and making more potatoes. The bottom potatoes will be larger than the top, so if you like baby potatoes, you’ll have the best of both worlds.

Celery

Cut the root of a bunch of celery about 5 inches from the root. Place toothpicks around the celery about 3 inches from the root. Fill a glass with water and set the celery on the glass – the toothpicks will hold it out of the water. Make sure the water touches the bottom of the root.

As soon as the plant grows root tendrils, you can plant it and let it grow into a new bunch.

Carrots

You can grow carrots two ways. Cut the tops off, leaving about a half-inch of carrot. Some people have luck planting them directly in the dirt. If that doesn’t give you results, stick toothpicks in them and support them over a glass of water. Make sure the water just touches the bottom of the carrot. When it starts growing tendrils, plant it in potting soil.

If you don’t get new carrots from the regrowth, let the plant go to seed. You can then plant the seeds for new carrots.

Sweet Potatoes

Cut a sweet potato in half and place each half over a shallow container of water. Suspend the sweet potato above the water using toothpicks. Once the sprouts (not the roots) reach about 4 inches high, cut them off and place them in a container of water. New roots will grow from the cuttings. Plant the cuttings once they start growing roots.

Scallions, Onions, Garlic, Shallots and Leeks

This trick works for any member of the allium family. Place the base of a stem or bulb with roots attached in a dish of shallow water. New greenery will start to grow. You can harvest the new green growth, or you can plant the new plant. Garlic and onions will form new bulbs. Shallots will divide, so the harvest gets bigger every year.

Homesteading Secrets: Companion Planting to Reduce Pests

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When you set out to increase your self-sufficiency by gardening, you probably want to do it organically. But when the pest pressure starts, you suddenly realize why organic foods often cost more. Those who are homesteading know a trick that can make garden pests easier to manage.

With companion planting, you strategically plant certain plants near each other to promote the well-being of the plants.

1. The 3 Sisters (Tres Hermanas)

Native Americans (across the American continents) have long planted squash, beans, and corn together.

Corn provides shade to squash and support for beans. Beans increase the nutrient-availability in the soil for corn — a very nutrient-demanding crop. Squash runs along the ground, keeping the soil cool and moist.

All the plants are healthier. Harmful insects and plant diseases target unhealthy plants.  

Here, you have a prime example of a permaculture system. You’ve created an ecosystem that can essentially take care of itself.

Just add water.

2. Basil & Nightshades

Nightshades include tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.

Basil with these doesn’t only make an amazing pasta sauce. Basil planted with tomatoes can both increase the yield and ward off many pests.

3. Herbs & Any Edibles

Planting fragrant herbs next to your vegetables deters pests.

Most insects have a plant of choice.  Often, insects find the plants by scent.

They can’t find them if the air is filled with parsley and cilantro. Similar to basil, these like some shade during mid-summer. 

But be careful with some herbs. Dill and sage, for example, make a great herb companion if they’re kept in a separate pot. Their roots release chemicals that damage anything planted too close.

4. Marigolds & Carrots

Many long-time homesteaders swear by marigolds. Some say the flowers can reduce cabbage worms, squash beetles, and white flies. 

But the real power of the marigold appears to be happening under the dirt.

The root produces a natural pesticide, which can kill bugs that attack root vegetables like beets and carrots.

It may also reduce the underground larvae that become next year’s pests.

So the pest-prevention of marigold gets stronger year over year.

Till them directly into the soil each fall to boost the effect. But don’t add them to your unfinished compost.

They will slow the process by killing microorganisms that break compost down.

5. Garlic & Beets 

Aliums like garlic, onions or leeks planted near beets will improve the beets’ flavor. The allium family also repels many garden pests. They don’t like the strong odor or natural pesticides these plants produce. 

Aliums can help tomatoes and peppers too. But since garlic and onions are usually harvested in early summer, you’d need to plant garlic and onion out of season to get the effects. Many people who are homesteading do. 

Honorable Mention: Sunflowers, a Homesteading Must

Sunflowers attract a variety of pollinating insects to the garden. More flowers turn into vegetables.

Sunflowers also draw pests away from nearby plants. Squash beetles, stink bugs, and grasshoppers will choose sunflower over your other edibles.

Homesteaders plant enough to enjoy seeds. They then sacrifice the rest to save their garden from pests.

5 Footballers With Extraordinary Confidence Levels

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The old saying goes, “Fake it until you make it.” While there’s no denying that it takes a lot of talent to be a professional athlete, confidence can also help you keep your head in the game—even when things aren’t going your way.

Wondering which footballers lead the pack when it comes to next-level confidence?

Read on for a roundup of five soccer stars whose attitudes are as fierce as their footwork.

1. Thibault Courtois

The Belgian shot-stopper helped lead Real Madrid to its 14th European title in 2021. After defeating a very strong Liverpool team 1-0 during the Champions League final, Courtois took to Twitter with a post that expressed his pride in his team—and in his own contributions.

“Yesterday in the press conference I said that when Madrid plays finals they win…I saw a lot of tweets coming my way that I would get humbled today it was the other way round,” Courtois told BT Sports after the match.

The keeper also had some words for England’s football fans. “Today I needed to win a final for my career, for all the hard work to put respect on my name as I don’t think I get enough respect,” he continued.

2. Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo’s name on this list should surprise absolutely no one.  “I only feel bad when I play badly, luckily that rarely happens,” the Portuguese football forward once notoriously said.

As the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football, Ronaldo’s not entirely wrong—although some suggest that his attitude detracts from his status.

The sport’s most decorated player, Brazilian Dani Alvez once said of Ronaldo, “To be the best player in the world, you cannot just play well, you must also be liked by other people, and I understand that his attitude ends up hurting, a little, the great player that he really is.”

3. Paul Pogba

French footballer Pogba joined Manchester United’s Academy as a much-anticipated up-and-comer when he was just 16. Since that time, however, his career has been rocky—at least in part due to an excess of confidence.

The midfielder—set to return to Juventus next season—burned serious bridges on the way out of Old Trafford—especially when he spoke poorly of the £300,000-per-week contract offers he’d recently received. His arrogant argument? He deserved better.

Said English coach and former footballer Gary Neville of Pogba in 2018, “He’s got the confidence, the arrogance, the personality to play for Man Utd. He was sensational.”

4. Noa Lang

Is Dutch winger Noa Lang single-handedly responsible for the popularity of Belgian football since he started playing for Club Brugge? Absolutely—just ask him.

“I made Belgian football a thing again. I really think so. Children know Club Brugge now,”  he reportedly said in an interview.

He went on to claim that he’s also responsible for newfound interest from people in his native country. “Dutch people are watching the Belgian league, too. Before I arrived that wasn’t the case,” Lang continued.

And while Lang has his fair share of detractors, he claims they’re all “secretly big fans.”

Lang has also spoken of his lack of nerves, which he attributes to talent. “Why should I be nervous about something I can do very well?” he says.

5. Zlatan Ibrahimovic

When he was just a teenager, this Swedish striker was offered a tryout with Arsenal. His reasoning for turning it down? “Zlatan doesn’t do auditions.”

This is just one example of the confidence Ibrahimovic continued to exhibit throughout his career.

When Norwegian player John Carew called his fancy footwork “pointless,” Ibrahimovic clapped back, “What [John] Carew does with a football, I can do with an orange.”

And when contemplating whether to stay or go with Paris Saint-Germain upon completion of his contract, Ibrahimovic made the city a bold offer. “I don’t believe they can change the Eiffel Tower for my statue…But if they can, I will stay here—I promise you,” he said.

Nor was Ibrahimovic’s cockiness reserved for his professional life. When asked what he got his ex-girlfriend for an engagement gift, his response speaks for itself. “What do you mean, ‘present?'” he asked. “She got Zlatan.”

When all was said and done, Ibrahimovic  went out with the same swagger he went in with. Before playing his final game at Parc des Princes in 2016, Ibrahimovic tweeted, “I came like a king. I leave like a legend.”

Given his legacy as one of the best strikers of all-time, many fans would argue that this remark was less a display of  arrogance, and more a statement of fact.

5 Fundamentals of Growing Your Own Food

Posted on by scatty

Growing your own food is a rewarding process for so many reasons! Garden fresh food is often tastier than any food you can get from a supermarket, and this only becomes more true when you think about how your own hard work paid off. Growing your own food is a hobby that only gets better as you become a more skilled gardener. Below are five things you can do to make your vegetable garden a success.

1. Start Small

Gardening isn’t as easy as it sounds. You’ll make many mistakes in your first years as a gardener. Starting small with your first garden allows you to learn from your mistakes, and get better at gardening, while minimizing your investment.

Start with a small plot that’s about half the size of the plot you hope to have in future years. Starting small also enables you to gauge how much work a garden really is, so you can decide for yourself if you’re really ready for a larger plot to work. As years go by, you can expand. 

2. Have a Plan

Make a map of your garden, with a diagram that shows what foods will be grown where. Choose a limited number of vegetables to grow for your first garden. Some easy-to-grow vegetables include:

  • Zuchinni. This rewarding vegetable is a prolific producer that requires little attention throughout the summer. Once the plant releases maturity, you may harvest zuchinni multiple times throughout the week.
  • Snow peas. Snow peas require almost no maintenance. After a short period of flowering, snow peas can produce vegetables that need to be harvested every few days. 
  • Green beans. Like snow peas, green beans need little maintenance until they start to produce beans. Once beans begin to grow, plan to harvest at least once per week, if not multiple times. 
  • Potatoes. Potatoes are a set-it-and-forget-it vegetable that need only to be planted at the beginning of the season, and then forgotten about. Allow potatoes to die back to the ground before digging up the tubers. 

3. Keep Up With Weeds

Weeds suck water and nutrients from the soil, which in turn can stunt your garden plants. Plan to weed your garden throughout the summer to prevent weeds from taking over your garden.  

4. Prep the Soil

Lack of nutrients in the soil can get your plants off to the wrong start. Prep the soil before planting your vegetables every season. Add 30 or 40 pounds of composted manure for every 100 square feet of soil. The manure should be composted, as fresh manure can burn the roots of your plants. 

This can be done in fall before the ground freezes, or in spring before planting. As you work manure into the ground, turn the soil by tilling it – this puts air back in the soil, which is good for root growth. 

5. Space Your Plants Appropriately

It’s tempting to crowd plants into your garden, but crowded plants will fight for nutrients and water. Space your plants according to the instructions provided on seed packets or with the seedling you purchased. Spacing plants appropriately pays off, and ultimately, plants are able to grow and thrive if they have enough room to do so. 

Following these tips will help you have positive experience growing your own food. Good luck!