Unlock the secrets to self-sufficient gardening and grow your own fresh, sustainable produce while reducing your reliance on store-bought food!
Self-sufficient gardening is not just a way to reduce your grocery bill. It can also improve your physical and mental health and is a staple in sustainable living. Whether you have a small balcony or a huge backyard, you can create a garden that meets your needs. This guide will help get you started on your journey.
What is Self-sufficient Gardening
Self-sufficient gardening means you are growing enough fruits, vegetables, and herbs to not need to buy produce at the store. It’s about creating a sustainable food source that aligns with your lifestyle. You don’t need acres of land to reach this goal, just some planning and effort, with a little creativity. Benefits of gardening for self-sufficiency include:
- Health and Nutrition: Freshly harvested food is packed with nutrients that store-bought produce often loses during transportation and storage.
- Environmental Impact: Growing your own food reduces your carbon footprint as there’s no need for packaging or shipping.
- Cost Efficiency: Over time, a well-maintained garden can save you money. Seeds and compost are far cheaper than weekly produce trips!
- Mental Well-Being: Gardening reduces stress and promotes mindfulness.
Planning Your Garden
Depending on your comfort level and if you are a new self-sufficient gardener, consider starting a journal. In fact, starting a journal is highly recommended no matter what you are planning. It will help you with your planning for this project and future projects. A thorough record of what works and what doesn’t this year will make next year’s more fruitful.
Assessing Your Space
As a new self-sufficient gardener, you will need to do a little research. What space do you want to use? Planting in your yard requires different skills than planting container plants on a balcony. Yard gardens can be more versatile. You can choose to plant directly in the ground or try raised garden beds. If you don’t have physical space on your property, look into your local community garden. Once you have a space figured out, take some measurements. This way, you know what you’re working with.
Plant Needs
Other things to consider is plant needs. You need to check light, soil quality, water access and climate. There is only so much we can do to alter our gardens to fit plants different needs. So, we need to find out what we are starting with and what our location can provide.
To find out how much light an area receives requires a little time to get a full picture. You can get sunlight meters or special phone apps to get a precise light reading. But to do it without technology you will need to spend a day monitoring the spot at different times (e.g., morning, noon, and afternoon). Note when the area is in direct sunlight or shade. You will then need to fit it into one of these:
- Full Sun: At least 6–8 hours of direct sunlight daily.
- Partial Sun/Partial Shade: 4–6 hours of direct sunlight.
- Dappled Light: Sunlight filtered through tree canopies or structures.
- Full Shade: Less than 4 hours of direct sunlight or consistent shade.
Consider water access. When I first bought my home, I didn’t have an outside faucet. So, when I needed to water plants, I had to fill my watering can in the kitchen sink. Because of this inconvenience, I couldn’t have a large garden. I had to stick to a few small pots and a little strip next to the house. The next year I had a plumber come out and install an outdoor faucet, so I have more options.
Soil health is a little complicated. I would consider looking into your states soil testing program. For Wisconsin, I have to send in a baggy of soil with a filled-out form to UW-Madison. Once they’re done, they will send me the results. With those results, I can better select fertilizer that will be best for my garden.
To find the climate, check out the USDA. These zone designations are guides for selecting plants that will survive the cold temperatures in these regions.
Building Healthy Soil
Healthy soil is the foundation for a new self-sufficient gardener. Plants are living things, and like all living things, they need nutrients. They get these nutrients from the soil. Poor soil health can lead to stunted growth, abnormalities in the plant or even the death of the plant.
Test your soil. You will need to know if you have sandy, silt or clay soil. These impact water drainage. You also need to know your phosphorous, nitrogen and potassium levels. There are kits you can get from your local garden center. But you can send it into your state for more accurate results. Here are Wisconsin’s costs and options for soil testing.
Add compost and organic matter as necessary to correct and enrich your soil. My state provides recommendations with their results. Which plants you are going to plant also plays a role. Some plants prefer more acidic soil or higher drainage. Other things to consider include to mulch or not to mulch and interplanting (I’ll explain it shortly).
Sourcing Your Seeds and Plants
When gardening for self-sufficiency, there are so many options: perennials vs annuals, heirloom vs hybrid. Still, some plants only thrive in certain temperatures and moisture. When selecting plants look for ones that can be grown in your zone and suit your needs.
I started off with a list of plants that I want. Like green beans, cucumber, chives, etc… From there I check that they can all grow in my zone. Then decide on if you want hybrids or heirlooms. In gardening for self-sufficiency, heirlooms are a good choice if you don’t want to buy new seeds every year.
For myself perennial vs annual is secondary. I’m going to go with the plants I want and can use. But sometimes when starting a new garden your perennials are smaller, leaving some blank space. You can fill that space with some annuals while the perennial grows. Some annuals like marigolds also have added benefits, like pest deterrent.
Gardening Techniques
I have been researching small space solution in my gardening for self-sufficiency. In my research I have encountered many techniques: interplanting, companion planting, French intensive, vertical gardening, square foot gardening and permaculture. I might go into each one in depth in later posts, but it’s overwhelming.
For me the easiest thing is going vertical, going up with trellis and stakes. So rather than my cucumbers crawling across the garden, they are growing upwards leaving ground space for more plants. I’m also looking into interplanting which involves putting deep root plants closer to shallow root plants.
Starting seeds indoors or direct sowing? It depends on two things, first some plants prefer one over the other, so read your seed packets. Secondly, do you have the time & space inside your home to do this? You will need to place the plants in front of a window and then acclimate it before transplanting.
Harvesting and Preserving your Produce
A key talent for a new self-sufficient gardener is making food last. Learn techniques like canning, freezing, and drying to store your surplus produce for months. I will go over this more thoroughly in later posts. Don’t forget to store your heirloom seeds in an airtight container.
So, to all my fellow new self-sufficient gardeners, here are some final quick gardening for self-sufficiency tips:
- Start Small: Begin with a few crops and expand as you gain experience.
- Use Rainwater: Collect rainwater to irrigate your garden and reduce water waste.
- Embrace Composting: Turn kitchen scraps into nutrient-rich compost for your garden.
- Stay Consistent: Tending to your garden daily, even for a few minutes, ensures healthier plants.
Remember, gardening is all about progress, not perfection. Enjoy the process, celebrate small wins, and keep learning along the way!
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