Welcome to our first #minglewoodmondays! 

Minglewood Mondays are our offering of encouragement to get outside and engage with the natural world wherever you are. To help in this effort, we will be bringing you tips and tools every Monday to help you interact with your local environment through fun activities. 

In light of all that’s going on in the world, we are bringing you a video and step by step directions on how to create your own food garden at home. Some of you may have heard the term, “Victory Garden”. This is a reference to food gardens that were started by Americans on the home front to supplement their own food stores while farms supplied rations to soldiers overseas. As we all adapt to a shifting climate and COVID-19, anything we can do to build a relationship with nature and harvest the benefits will empower us to face this together. Enjoy the video, let us know what you think on social media, and feel free to send any questions you may have about starting your own home garden to margie@minglewoodpreserve.org.

See you outside,

Ms. Margie and Farmer Bill

Victory Garden Instructions- Spring Edition

Items (all of the following can be found at your local nursery and home improvement centers. Call for a drive by pick up order!)

• Spring Plants and Seeds

• Containers

• Good dirt, compost and/or fertilizer, preferably organic (fish emulsion works great!) 

Steps: 

• Collect your plants and seeds from your local gardening store and/or seed companies

• Organize containers, making sure you have the proper drainage holes in the bottom.

• Fill pots with dirt

• Add fertilizer or compost mix

• Plant your spring plants around 6-7 inches apart, gently bringing the soil back around the neck of the plant to properly support 

• Follow directions on each seed pack for proper planting instructions for your seeds. 

• Keep in mind when you are doing mix containers that some vegetables mature faster than others:

  • Lettuce... 3-6 weeks. You can start taking the outer leaves of the plant first or wait for the plant to mature, cut the whole head and you will get a regrowth of leaves, not as sweet as first flush but a second harvest!

  • Bok choy... 30 days

  • Carrots… 45-75 days

  • Radishes around 4 weeks

  • Swiss Chard can grow all summer if you can protect it with some shade in the height of summer, just keep taking the outer leaves. 

• Water everyday if in direct sun, as it gets hotter these plants will do well in afternoon shade.

• Plants will do well with fertilizing with fish emulsion once a week, follow directions.