Urban Gardening 101 - What I learned

1. Never be afraid to try. Wide Open Spaces NOT needed.

Everything starts with trying. I have always shared to friends and family my gardening journey and a lot of them have said they wanted to try as well but are too afraid. I say go for it!! It's such a wonderful feeling growing from seeds and harvesting the fruits of a plant you tended to for months. Also, many have said -- but we don't have a garden! or I don't have enough space to grow plants! -- to this I say - Container Gardening is the answer! I do have a lot of extra space, but the soil in our yard is very rocky so I opted to grow in containers. It's amazing what you can grow in pots and how the plants flourish with the right nutrients, correct soil and enough love. So for those who want to try, I say start planting!

Almost all my plants are in containers 

2. Internet is your friend

I really don't know anyone who has their own vegetable garden, so everything I know now I learned from the internet. It's pages and pages of blogs and articles and hundreds of minutes of Youtube videos (I follow California Gardener, and I find his videos the easiest to understand!). I also created an Instagram account for my obsession (!) and I found that gardening community in Instagram is soooo helpful!  You can literally post a question and you'll get an answer in few hours, or even minutes! You'll be  able to share gardening stories with people around the globe who share your obsession to grow things in their own lands, with their own hands.

I'm also members of two very groups in Facebook - Gardener's Tambayan and Manila Grows Food - these communities are really one of kind. You literally don't know anyone, but when you read comments and posts, you feel like you've known each other for a long time.

3. Asking does not make you less of a gardener :)

I've asked the most stupid questions in Instagram and Facebook, but never ever did I get a bashing for asking the wrong or silliest questions. As the say, ask and you shall receive!

4. Try and try until you succeed

I've killed many many plants in the few months of my gardening. And it does happen. Wrong soil, too much sun, too much water, pests (grrr). But eventually you'll get it. I've also wasted many seeds that did not germinate (I still don't know why!) and I found out that the easiest plant for you to grow, may not be the same for other people. I find onion and garlic so hard, but I know one from the FB Group which makes it look so easy! I think peppers are fairly easy, but I know some who until now still can't make their pepper plants fruit. So it's a different journey for each people. Don't feel so bad or intimidated when your seeds won't germinate. Maybe it's just taking it's time (It happens!) or maybe you just need to try again.

5. Those Cute Birds, they're murderers!

When I was a kid, I've always enjoyed watching the Mayas play in our garden. Now that I have my own garden, I still watch them- but not because I enjoy watching, but because I'm afraid they'll eat the leaves of my seedlings (and they do!!). Now that I learned that no matter how cute they are, they can still kill your plants. And so I know rely on the very important use of nets specially for seedlings. Protect them at all costs!

Transplanting garlics

6. Germination and Transplanting 101

I learned that in garden, one virtue that you will really need is Patience. It takes a lot of patience to wait for your seeds to germinate, wait for your seedlings to grow bigger and to wait until you can transplant them.  I learned the hard way that transplanting very young babies will only kill them. Now I wait. But not without constant checking lol. The rule of thumb is you wait until the seedling grows at least 3 true leaves (google it).

I have had both success in germinating seeds directly in soil and via the tissue paper method - again, my motto is - try and try until you succeed. haha. Also, not all seeds / plants you need to transplant. Some plants (I know Sunflower is one) doesn’t like to be transplanted. So again, research first before planting!

Powdered banana peels and eggshells as organic fertilizers

7. Eggshells and banana peels are lifesavers

I never thought that there will come a time when I will ask my co-workers for their banana peels. lol. I try as much as I can to go organic, and the go-to organic fertilizers are eggshells (for calcium), banana peels (for potassium) and Epsom Salt (for magnesium). My first mistake was that I put the crushed eggshells and fresh banana peels in the soil.. well, it's not really a mistake, but if you do it this way, it takes a looooooong time for the nutrients to be absorbed by the soil.

I learned that (After hours of Youtube videos) the way to go is -- Dry them, crush / cut them, put in blender to powder, and then you can put them to your soil. Or better yet, mix them in your soil before you transplant your seedlings. Use of Epsom salt if fairly straightforward, just mix with water and use it to water your plants every 2 weeks.

8. Don't Panic if it's not organic

I try my best to use organic materials to fertilize and to kill pests. But let's face it, it's really too much work. I have tried using chemical fertilizers to help my dying plants.. but pesticides, I admit I am still afraid to use 'em. But if you use both chemical fertilizers and pesticides, just make sure you read the label very carefully and do your research!

9. Sun and Water = Healthy, Happy Plants...But not all the time.

Before I started my garden, I've always thought that plants need sun and water. period. It was not until I've researched ways to grow specific plants that I learned it's a little more complicated than I thought. Some plants wants more sun, some plants don't. There are plants who doesn't want water that much (yes garlic, I'm talking about you), and some who loves water (I think our tomatoes and eggplants loves 'em so much). It takes a lot of research I admit, but it’s a necessary part of learning, plus if it will make your plants happy, then why not go the extra mile, right?

10. Dirty hands = Happy Heart

They say you shouldn't touch the soil with your bare hands as they contain so many bacteria. But honestly, it's not fun to garden with gloves. It's just not. So I say, use your hands, and wash them thoroughly after use. haha.

chaos in our garden 

As a final thought.

I've always wanted to grow vegetables, but I never imagined that doing that would make me really really happy. It's an obsession now. But it's a good obsession. I don't want to leave the house because I want to garden (So less expense for the family. lol), I don't watch television or use my phone because I spend hours in the garden (less electricity expenses!) and we actually have used our own harvests for our meals (less grocery expenses!). Though I admit, I’m still in the negative because of the expenses on the seeds, the pots, soil and compost, but hell, it's really really really worth it.

I'm still far from my dream vegetable garden and there is still so much that I want to do like build raise beds, plant beans, pumpkins, etc. and I will get there. I know I will. And I hope you do too. :)