It has been a while here on Project FeFe

We know it has been a while since we last updated our Home Garden blog. Many unprecedented events occurred in certain team members personal lives, and we have not been able to keep up with our main garden project this year. We have made the decision to hold off on the garden project and to run a series of mini garden projects throughout the blog until next spring season. Some of the new topics that will be discussed in this blog will be: Prepping your garden for the coming season, what winter crops will do well, the final lawn cut for the year, and many more. Stay tuned as we revamp our Home Garden Blog series!



 

Deciding a location

When deciding a good site for your garden, soil types must be taken into consideration. Think of it this way: does your soil contain a lot of clay? Is the area really rocky? Has it been excessively used for gardening? If you answer yes to any of these questions, you may not want to garden there. See, when considering a location for your garden, it is important to figure out if your plants will thrive there. A soil that contains large amounts of clay or rock probably won't be the ideal place for your garden. The roots of the plants will not have room to expand, or be capable of acquiring the nutrients needed for growth. A garden area that has been over used and not fertilized properly also will not allow your plants to develop properly. This is because the supply of nutrients in the soil has most likely been depleted by previous crops, and not replenished by proper fertilization. Think of it this way: if you had a refrigerator, placed a bunch of food in the refrigerator, started consuming it and never replacing the food that you consumed, eventually you would run out. The same concept works with the garden. Because the plants need nutrients to grow, there must be nutrients available in the soil. If you're not fertilizing the soil, or in other words not adding nutrients back into the soil, eventually there will be no nutrition left in the soil for your plants. They will be scrawny and flavorless if they even manage to survive.

Where is the location of Project FeFe's garden?

State of Ohio

Map of  Ohio with Butler county in Red.
Image source: Map of Ohio highlighting Butler County

The area we choose for gardening is located in Butler County Ohio, which is part of the central United States region, between the Ohio Valley and the Great Lakes. The actual land area is on private property, and had a volleyball court set up that has not been used in quite a while.  The volleyball court use to contain a large amount of sand in it, over time, the rain and other forces of nature caused the sand that once part of the court to be broken down and mixed into the soil. This actually creates an ideal area for a vegetable garden.

The first step

The first step to gardening is developing a good plan of action. Now before we start drawing up a nice looking garden design or making a list of plants we like to grow we must ask ourselves some questions. Where am I located on the planet? Am I in the southern hemisphere, or the northern one? What is the weather like in my area? Will it be warm or cold most of the year where my garden is? For example, the central Ohio area, which is located close to the center of the United States, allows for the growing of several different types of crops, due to our more temperate climate. So from early spring to early fall we can get a variety of crops in. Now the scenario is different in the deep South. Take Florida for example; it gets very hot during the summer, and during the rest of the year it only sort of reaches mild temperatures, in an area like Florida it may be more prudent to grow different types of crops. For instance, during the time of the early years of the United States most southern states major cash crop was cotton, due to the fact that it grew well in this type of environment.

The USDA offers an amazing plant Hardiness zone Map on the National Arboretum website that will help identify your climate, and the last frost date. You can find your zone by simply clicking the image of the map posted below. Once the National Arboretum website is loaded, select your state and read the key listed on that page.

Remember some vegetables can be started earlier in the year than others. The zone in your area reflects different climatic changes. To give you a better ideal on what crops are suitable for what climate, here a few different types of crops and the growing season they are most suitable for:

Some Frost-tolerant crops are: Kale, lettuce, carrots, onions, potatoes, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower
Some Warmer-season crops are: Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, melons, corn, summer squash
Some Cool-Season crops: Spinach, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, lettuce                                            

I also suggest these resources in helping determine your growing climate:

 Old Farmers Almanac Loaded with great gardening tips 

Arbor Day Foundation Another good zone map

*Note*
 If you are out side the United States here are some links to Hardiness zone Map's that may be closer to your home:
Africa Hardiness Zone Map
Australia Hardiness Zone Map
Canada Hardiness Zone Map
China Hardiness Zone Map
Europe Hardiness Zone Map
Japan Hardiness Zone Map
Russia Hardiness Zone Map
South America Hardiness Zone Map

Welcome To "The Home Garden Project"

Thanks for visiting "The Home Garden Project" by Project FeFe.  In this blog you will be able to keep up with the latest updates in our "Home Garden Project". You will be able to read articles written by us on gardening, get the latest photos and video of our garden, and find several links to informative information on how to create and take care of your own garden.

So lets go gardening!!