Why gardening is now more important than ever

You may have started seeing the headlines about food shortages due to covid 19 becoming more and more of a possibility. More than a dozen meat processing plants have shut down across the country. Many farmers are watching their crops go to waste. Late frosts in the midwest and northeast are making it difficult for many farmers to get their crops in the ground this spring. It is likely that this may be one of the worst harvests we've seen in modern history.

So why does that mean that you should grow a garden? Even if you aren't directly impacted by food shortages, by growing more food on your own, you're lessening the demand on the weakened supply chain. It also means you can decrease food supply chain issues. If you grow more than you can use, share it with your local food pantry or neighbors. It can also be a way to make a buck if you have the ability. Check out this video about 3 ways to make money from your garden.

So, how do you get started? For most of the US, right now is prime planting season for some of the most popular crops like tomatoes, squash, carrots and lettuce. Figure out where you can plant, prepare the soil and get going. If you're short on space consider potted plants or growing in hydroponics. In a small space cut and come again lettuce, micro-greens and other techniques can help you get the most from a small space.

For us, even though we're renting we got permission to put in a raised bed garden. Our last place had a small patio that we grew plants in.

I have gardened for several decades, and had many successful harvests.This year we will be growing tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, carrots, radishes, onions and more in this bed, I'm also planning on doing a few container plants and running an NFT hydroponics system in the basement. Look for more updates coming soon! If you have any questions, please comment below.