Sometimes it’s good to create challenges for ourselves to jolt us out of our comfort zone. Other times it’s good to take our mind away from other challenges life keeps throwing at us. The title says it all.
Achieving small success in a local challenge can provide us with the much needed inertia to tackle larger tasks and problems. In the case of gardening, any “challenge” is also a good opportunity to spend time outside, in nature. And nature is very good at nurturing the soul.
Here are our top 5 ideas to spice up (pun intended) the life of any homeowner with the conditions to do some local gardening.
Challenge 1: Grow a Salad Garden
Starting with a salad garden is a simple yet rewarding gardening challenge.
Salad is fast growing and one of those things that is always needed fresh in the kitchen, every single day.
Be as broad as you’d like when considering the types of plants you’d like to grow, but narrow down the selection to only a few. Make sure to set the ripening date to match (meaning the planting dates will be different). The most popular salad ingredients include:
- Lettuce (Iceberg, Romaine, Looseleaf, Crisphead, Batavian, Little Gem)
- Tomatoes (Cherry, Indigo Apple, Oxheart heritage are all great)
- Cabbage (Green, White, Napa Cabbage, Savoy, Wom Bok, Red Cabbage)
- Carrots (Touchon, Little Fingers, Dragon, or one of the Rainbow carrot variants)
- Celery (Self-Blanching Celery, White Plume, Tango)
- Green Onions (aka spring onions, or you can replace this with leek)
Why grow salad veggies?
Growing your own salad greens can provide fresh, nutritious food and save a lot of money in the long run. It’ll also save you the space in the refrigerator, as well as time you’d invest going to buy fresh salad veggies regularly.
Oh, and it might save your back as well, because some salad veggies might be light but others have quite a bit of weight on them (green or white cabbage for example). We all know the feeling of hauling a week’s worth of veggies and fruit, and for some people that alone might be enough reason to grow them in the back yard.
Avoiding pesticides and having to read labels to see what new sneaky tactics the store-bought veggie producers are trying out on customers this season! Need we say more?
Nutrient density higher than store-bought (unless your soil is overused and abused, like the industrial farming soils).
Fun Stats:
- Homegrown salad greens can cost up to 50% less than store-bought ones (source: USDA). When you factor quality into that difference, it’s a no-brainer that growing veggies at home will save you money.
- More than 38% of U.S. households plan on spending more money on gardening projects in 2023 compared to 2022.
- A market report indicates that the most popular gardening trends for 2023 will be creating veggie gardens, planting flower shrubs, and growing new types of fruits and vegetables.
- The majority (81.2%) of households say they will spend more or the same amount of money on gardening in 2023 as they did in 2022.
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- https://www.thisoldhouse.com/lawns/reviews/top-gardening-statistics
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Pitfalls to avoid:
- Avoid planting too many seeds in one area; it can overcrowd the plants.
- Watch out for microclimate and especially drought.
- Keep an eye on how the global climate shift is impacting your local microclimate. Adapt!
Pro Tip: Space your seeds according to the packet instructions to ensure proper growth.
The Main Challenge: Picking the right variants and planting them in the correct time so you get different and unique salad combinations as the season progresses.
Challenge 2: Start a Compost Pile
Composting is a fantastic way to recycle kitchen waste and nourish your garden. There’s only a couple of steps and rules to follow.
Why compost?
Less trash to carry, and compost enriches the soil you’re already using, helping plants grow healthier and stronger. And guess what: less fertilizers needed, and more microbiome support for your soil!
- Erosion control and stormwater (torrent) management: compost, or any organic fertilizer can help a lot in the case of sandy or clay soils. Sand is too porous and lets water go through much too fast, while clay soils create a barrier that makes the water flow on the surface (if there is a slope) or become stagnant (on flat terrain). The levels of humus in both of these cases are directly tied to better water management!
- It’s also super easy and requires nothing but a composting bin. No specialized tools, no complex management, no calculations, no professional help.
Interesting stat:
- Composting can reduce household waste by up to 30% (source: EPA).
And if you apply challenge #1, then you won’t be composting pesticide-ridden plants, you’ll be composting the fruits of your own labor since you’ll be having a salad garden. These two challenges go together like coffee and cream!
Main Benefit of composting: Using compost reduces the need for chemical fertilizers and improves soil structure.
Mistake to avoid: Avoid adding meat or dairy products to your compost pile as they attract pests.
Actionable Tip: Add a mix of green and brown materials to your compost for optimal results. There’s nothing wrong with adding wood chips, but cardboard and paper might be a bad idea because of the chemicals used to treat them (there is no guarantee that those will break down and not end up in your food)
What more to compost? Eggshells are great, coffee as well, yard trimmings and grass, nut shells, discarded parts of veggies and fruits, twigs and branches, loose tea.
What to avoid composting: animal products, oily foods and fats, dairy, pet poop, tea bags (some studies show they have a lot of microplastics), plastics, rubber, stickers, packaging, hair, body fluids
The Main Challenge: Finding out what size of a composting bin suits you best, where to keep it, and keeping your kids from throwing toys in it. Also, trying not to attract critters like raccoons.
Challenge 3: Create a Pollinator-Friendly Garden
Attracting pollinators is crucial for a thriving and productive garden. If we as homeowners have no problem building and hanging birdhouses around our properties out of fun, then taking care of pollinators in a similar way shouldn’t be a problem.
The level of effort is high in the beginning, but after that it’s all just maintenance.
Why it’s important: Pollinators like bees and butterflies are essential for plant reproduction.
Stat: One-third of the food we eat relies on pollinators (source: USDA).
Benefit: A pollinator-friendly garden boosts plant yield and biodiversity.
Potential pitfalls to avoid:
- Avoid using pesticides that can harm pollinators.
- Also, avoid doing things that attract unwanted insects like mosquitoes.
- Do not scatter wildflowers all over the garden. Pick a spot and group your pollinator-friendly plants there.
Actionable Tips:
- Provide a water source. Search for “floating bee waterers” or improvise with wood or pebbles. A shallow bird bath will provide a nice place for birds to recuperate as well, and since some birds feed on mosquitoes, that little problem should sort itself out.
- Mosquitoes are known for being attracted to stagnant water where they lay eggs. Be careful and maintain your water source regularly.
- Plant a variety of flowers that bloom at different times to attract pollinators year-round.
- Native plants are the ideal choice, because they require less maintenance and tend to be heartier. Think beyond just the growing season. Pollinators require food from early spring until mid fall. Create a combination that covers the whole season with flowering opportunities.
Here is a list of ideas to get you started (find out which are good for your climate zone):
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- Rudbeckia
- there are multiple varieties to choose from
- Bougainvillea
- if you’re short on garden space and want something extravagant hanging near the house. It does require a lot of sunshine and warm stable weather. Even zone 9 can prove problematic in some cases.
- Cleome (spider flower)
- stays in bloom from early summer up until first frost.
- Sunflowers
- a classic and wonderful to have in any garden but they do require space. Don’t pick the giant sunflower, pick the dwarf varieties.
- Monarda
- Well it’s literally called a “Bee Balm”, so it’s the right choice by default! It blooms throughout summer, and the seeds don’t require any pre-treatment or stratification.
- Achillea (yarrow)
- It’s resilient and super-high in accessible nectar, and pollen. Some variants are resistant to drought, others can grow on poor soils. They usually bloom from June to September.
- Zinnias
- These are annual plants which means after you sew the seeds, you are on a train called “Flower Express”. Expect flowers to come out very fast. They are super-easy to grow, and are known for being perfect for beginners. Pollinators absolutely love them.
- Rudbeckia
Notable mentions and more ideas: Echinacea, Coreopsis, Lavender, Russian Sage, Guara, White Roses, Lambs Ear, Peruvian Lily, Mexican Bush Sage
You can plant most of them in decorative pots or create a raised flower bed.
- If you want to plant them directly, moving soil and creating a more diverse landscape for decorative purposes will liven up your garden in ways you can’t even imagine.
- If you opt for the decorative pots, make some kind of multi-level base for them to build a mound-like shape or pyramid. At this point, it’s worth to shift your mindset from a gardener to a landscape artist.
Challenge 4: Grow a Herb Garden
Herb gardens are versatile and can be grown in small spaces, making them perfect for beginners.
- In fact, even if you’re nervous about starting an outdoor herb garden, you can try out potted herbs that you can keep moving in and out of the house, depending on the weather: mind, basil and pepperonis are the 3 easiest choices for us. Two other things you can try and grow in a pot are dill and coriander, but these might prove a bit needy.
Why it’s important:
- Fresh herbs can elevate your cooking and offer some obvious and less obvious health benefits.
- Herbs and spices have a very complex interaction with staple foods.
- Some of them can reduce high glycemic index in starchy foods, and others like rosemary can act like food-preservatives due to being high in anti-oxidants and anti-microbial compounds.
Fun Facts: Dill can be also used to calm babies (and adults!) and help us fall asleep when struggling with insomnia. It’s also famous for its antimicrobial properties and some say it helps with arthritis. The aroma may be too strong for some people.
Benefit: Homegrown herbs are fresher and more flavorful than store-bought ones.
Mistake: Avoid overwatering herbs, as it can lead to root rot! This is very common in beginner gardeners, so don’t be discouraged.
Actionable Tip: Plant herbs in well-draining soil and water them sparingly.
Main Takeaway: You don’t actually need a garden for herbs. You can literally grow them in pots and keep them inside, giving them direct sunshine whenever you have the opportunity.
Challenge 5: Implement Raised Bed Gardening
Raised bed gardening is ideal for those who suffer from poor soil conditions or those of us who need to better organize our gardens and make it as easy as possible to manage.
- This is a much more involved operation, but once it’s done (if done properly), it’ll save you a lot of future back pain.
Benefit: They make gardening more accessible and reduce the strain on your back.
- It’ll make it a lot easier to manually weed out the growing area.
- Raised beds also bring more yield so you can grow more in a smaller space.
- They provide better drainage and soil control, leading to healthier plants.
Potential Pitfalls:
- Avoid using untreated wood that can rot quickly. And use a good soil mixture, remember that most of the humus and soil fertility is concentrated in the topsoil. How deep the topsoil reaches depends on the local profile. Some soils are OK for the first 10-15 cm but then you start hitting rocks. Just use the topsoil or make your own by mixing with store-bought soil.
- Don’t grow tall crops in raised beds that are already set to be very tall.
- Make sure you space the beds enough that you can walk there even if the plants “overflow” out of the adjacent beds.
Actionable Tips:
- Use rot-resistant wood like cedar for your raised beds.
- Use mulch or create some kind of path for easy movement between rows of beds. Raised beds make it easier to manage the spaces in between.
- Create just 2-3 raised beds for one season, just to see how it goes. If you’re happy with the result, use what you’ve learned and prepare more for next season. Maybe make taller or shorter beds, depending on what their purpose is going to be. Variety is key for any non-monocrop garden.
- Fill them to the very top, and then some. You will be surprised how much the soil will settle.
Interesting Stat: Raised beds can increase vegetable yield by up to 50% (source: University of Missouri).
Bonus Challenge: Try Vertical Gardening
Opener: Although it can be done by absolute amateurs, we wouldn’t necessarily recommend it, due to the financial investment and no guarantee that you’ll succeed without having extensive gardening experience.
- Vertical gardening maximizes space and is perfect for small gardens or urban areas. Make no mistake – this is the future, and the future is here.
Stat: The stats on vertical gardening would be considered magical in the middle ages, but today they are merely amusing.
- Vertical gardens can increase planting area by up to 70%.
Why it’s important: It allows you to grow more plants in a limited area by utilizing vertical space.
Benefit: They are visually appealing and can improve air quality.
Mistakes to avoid: Avoid placing plants that require different light conditions together.
Actionable Tip: Choose plants with similar light and water needs for your vertical garden.
Takeaway: Vertical gardening is an innovative way to maximize space and grow more plants.
To Sum Up…
Each of these challenges offers a unique way to start gardening and stay engaged, ensuring a rewarding experience for homeowners.
Each of them is also a gateway to becoming more proficient at something, and improve your entire household in many ways.
Many of these ideas feed into each other and form a tangled whole. Activities from one challenge can feed into another. That is the whole point. Just don’t get overwhelmed and don’t set your expectations too high. You’re not doing this for grades or a salary. The primary purpose of these challenges is to get you started on a journey you will enjoy and fall in love with.