You Can Grow Your Own Food At Home Using These Simple Methods!
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Being self-sufficient is a great goal in the current situation where the transportation of goods has stunted due to Covid restrictions and food supplies, and as a result, essentials are dwindling and people are panicking.
Growing your own fruit and vegetables can provide you with an infinite supply of fresh food and at the same time give you a wonderful sense of achievement. However, if you are new to horticulture, knowing which products to plant and when to have food available year round can be difficult. Here are 4 ways to grow food for your table any time of the year.
Winter garden
The seasons can vary immensely depending on where you live in the world. If you live in a warm climate, your winters will be mild and you can successfully grow fruits and vegetables throughout the year Conservatory work in a cold country is more of a challenge. If it's extremely cold and frosty, you might want to buy a greenhouse or even grow some products in it Pots in your home. Vegetables and fruits such as cucumbers, peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes grow well inside.
Some types of products are hardy and can tolerate some winter frost. Beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, pak choi, brown mustard, kale, and cabbage belong to the Brassicaceae family. They can get through the winter just fine so you can take care of them. Some vegetables, such as parsnips, even taste better after being exposed to some frost and then harvested. As the name suggests, like winter lettuce, lettuce leaves grow through winter, but should be plucked in small quantities and often so that they have the energy to replace the harvested leaves.
Organize yourself
Successful gardening is a matter of planning. You should have a notebook or one Garden planning app to decide what to grow, where and when to grow. This will ensure that you can get a steady stream of products all year round. Choose vegetables that can be sown and harvested at different times of the year so that when the products from one harvest are used up, you do not have a long time between that and the next batch of vegetables that are ready to be harvested.
Fast growing plants are a must as you can plant them more often to have a constant supply. It's also a good idea to choose different varieties. For example, carrots have different varieties that are planted at different times of the year, so you can plant one type of carrot in the spring and another in the late fall so you have a guaranteed supply of carrots for most of the year.
Get a head start
Growing plants in your home under grow lights can give your plants a kick start, meaning they can have an earlier harvest. Peas, onions, Swiss chard, and cabbage can be grown indoors in trays over the winter and then transplanted into the ground in the spring. Cover the Growing bowls with cloche or fabric covering for a few days before sowing warms the soil and accelerates the germination process.
Save them
Smart and organized storage of fruits and vegetables is of the utmost importance. Since most produce is harvested in the fall, you may need to store a good amount in order to have enough for the winter. Root vegetables such as carrots, potatoes and beetroot can be kept for a few months after harvesting in late autumn if properly stored. They should be kept in a cool, dark and frost-free place. If you put them in paper bags or wooden boxes in a well-ventilated place, they will last a few weeks.
Beans like Borlotti beans should be harvested and dried before winter. They can be kept in jars and used in soups and stews. Soft fruits such as raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, black currants and blackberries can be picked and frozen or processed into jam, jelly or chutney. Cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, beetroot, baby corn, onions, garlic, plums and apples can be filled and pickled in jars with a mixture of vinegar, water, sugar and spices for a long shelf life.
Growing your own food can be hard work and takes a little planning, but once you know how to be amazed, what nature can do and how good something grown with your own hands can taste.
