How To Garden: By The Foys
This is a sponsored collaboration between myself and New World Little Garden
Did you know that both my husband and I are from a market gardening background? Both of our parents used to be (and some still currently are), market gardeners. My parents used to grow beans, and my in-laws have been growing tomatoes for many many years.
So we know a bit or two about growing vegetables, and what it takes to grow a successful crop. Although I’m pretty sure my husband would tell you that before I met him, I killed anything in a pot …
Here’s the low down from Phil and I on why it’s really important to grow your own vegetables, and we offer answers to some questions we all know people have:
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ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS:
WHY SHOULD YOU GROW YOUR OWN FOOD?
Well obviously there is nothing better than harvesting your own vegetables and fruit to eat. No better taste than something directly from your own back yard; and you know exactly what’s gone into growing it. But there’s also the money factor – you can save hundreds of dollars by planting and harvesting your own crops.
It’s also extremely important we are continuing to pass knowledge onto our children. We all know the proverb “Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime”.
WHAT IF I ALWAYS KILL ANYTHING I GROW?
Well practice makes perfect and we all have to start somewhere. If you’re getting involved with your kids then it’s a really good way to learn together about what works and what doesn’t work. There’s no harm in googling “why did my plant die” and then researching it a bit. Just because something doesn’t work out the first time, doesn’t mean it’ll be the same the second time. Keep trying because it’s worth it!
WHAT ABOUT FLOWERS? DO WE NEED FLOWERS?
YES absolutely. Flowers are a crucial step for produce to grow. Why? INSECTS. There are certain insects that are attracted to flowers that help to protect your garden against pests such as aphids, mites, thrips, mealybugs and scale insects.
Also, you need insects to pollenate the crop: in other words, you need BEES. Pollination is needed for plants to reproduce, and so many plants depend on bees or other insects as pollinators. Bees aren’t the only pollinators either: wasps, moths and butterflies also help do this job; and the wind of course.
WHERE DO I EVEN START?
Buy a seedling pack from a gardening shop, or simply go to New World and for every $40 you spend, you get 1 seedling kit. Inside this kit is everything you need to grow your own plant – it really does make it easy! The beauty about something like this is that the instructions are simple, and it makes gardening fun for the whole family!
New World’s Little Garden website is also a hub of information. All you need to know about when you should be planting and harvesting, as well as information about the soil, making your own compost, and so much more!
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TIPS & TRICKS:
- Follow the instructions on the seedling pack, or on your New World Little Garden kit.
- Start small – i.e. in a small pot with potting mix (not dirt from your garden).
- If you have the New World Little Garden kits, everything you need to grow is already contained in the kit.
- Make sure there’s plenty of sun (but check the back of your New World Little Garden Kit as it’ll explain how much sun a particular seedling needs).
- Water the plant every day; put it on the kitchen window sill so you remember to do that.
- Once your plant is growing you’ll need to think about transferring it to the garden.
- The beauty of New World Little Garden sets, is that you don’t have to remove the plant from the pot. Just plant it straight into the ground.
- Utilise the New World Little Garden website for all of your gardening information – do this with your kids so that it’s a learning experience for everyone!
We got a wee preview of the seedlings in the latest New World Little Garden series, and started planting a few mid August:
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Gardening isn’t hard, and really can be fun for the whole family! So make sure you head into New World to get your seedling kits because they really do make things super simple and easy.
You can also get planting trays which show what plants are growing.
Thanks very much to New World for partnering up with me on this one. The New World Little Garden promotion is now on in stores – every $40 you spend gets you one Little Garden kit which contains a biodegradable pot, a soil tablet, seeds and a seed label.
New World have kindly given me a $50 gift card to give away! To enter to win all you have to do is comment below on this blog post and let me know: which vegetable would you like to grow?
EXTRA ENTRIES:
Head back to Facebook and follow the instructions on the post.
Open to New Zealand residents only. Closes 19.9.17.
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