Digital Help for All Types of Gardeners

My Cucumber Patch

As you can see, my attempt at growing cukes in a pot has not been particularly successful this summer. The one, tiny cucumber will not enhance a salad! Fortunately, there is a lot help via the internet.

While walking recently, I can across a small home on an equally tiny lot. Despite the lack of land, they had created a vegetable garden on their back deck using large storage tubs as raised beds. How clever I thought, they must have drilled holes in the bottom for drainage. The tubs keep things neat and tidy and can be moved to catch the sun. This little, productive garden showed me I had a lot to learn.

Their resourcefulness reminded me of one my favorite Facebook sites, “Self Sufficient Me.” The gentleman is Australian, so many of his ideas may not work here in Maine because of the different climates. However, he’s a hoot to watch, and I appreciate his knowledge and dedication to the environment.  I learned how to grow pineapples! All he did was cut the top off and stick it in the ground. Alas, I know our growing season is not long enough to grow pineapples. On the other hand, he said you could use a pot—it might be worth an experiment. He also has a website, selfsufficientme.com. If you grow vegetables, check him out. Perhaps you will learn a new trick or two.

Access to fresh food increases.

On my daily walks, I have noticed more and more folks are gardening. Here are some interesting statistics from the website gardenpals.com.

1. During the Covid pandemic, over 18 million people took up gardening.
2. Americans spend $48 billion yearly on equipment for their yards and gardens.
3. An average family garden will yield about $600 worth of fruits and vegetables.

Along with more people growing their own produce, there is additional access to fresh food through farm share programs, farm stores, and farmers’ markets. Locally for me, we have the Brunswick and Bath farmers’ markets. However, more towns are supporting these enterprises. There are farmers’ markets in Freeport, Bowdoinham, and Sabattus. Any road trip across the U.S will happen upon farmers’ markets, even in the cities.

Preserving food.

With all of the fresh produce available, more folks are turning to preserving food for use during the winter. In many families this activity has spanned generations, so the knowledge related to preserving foods has been passed down parent to child. However, people new to the processes may be a bit bewildered on how to get started. Fortunately, we live in the digital age, and a multitude of resources are at our fingertips.

A good place to start to learn about preserving food and gardening is the University of Maine’s Cooperative Extension website. They offer all sorts of hands-on classes and webinars. (https://extension.umaine.edu/register/shop/) Examples include home orchards, composting, canning, and pickling. The Cooperative Extension program exists in all fifty states and is often associated with a land-grant university. Check it out in your own state.

Of course there is an app or two that will help you with food preservation.

1. “Canning Timer & Checklist”: This app provides guidance for canning and considers what type of canner you are using, what your elevation is, and then provides step by step directions.
2. “Pickles & Preservation Recipes”: With this app you’ll get access to 1000 recipes for sauces, jams, pickles, chutneys, and so on.
3. “SuperCook Recipe by Ingredient”: This fun app allows you to identify what ingredients you have on hand and then suggests recipes.

Podcasts provide helpful information.

Some folks prefer podcasts as a learning tool. Google podcasts + preserving food to see a variety of offerings will appear. Perfectly Preserved Podcast addresses one aspect of preserving food in each episode. Examples include “Getting Comfortable with Pressure Canning,” “How to Enter Canned Food in the County Fair,” and “How to Save Money by Preserving Food.”

Another interesting podcast is Hunt, Gather, Cook. One of their episodes is entitled “Preserving the Italian Way.” This podcast for discusses foraging for mushrooms and wild greens and herbs.

One last podcast to share is Herbal Podcasts for the Herb Nerd. If you want to learn more about the variety of uses for herbs, this podcast will get you started.

Of course, you don’t want to miss the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners’ website (mofga.org) where you can learn all about their work.

Some us are more voyeurs.

“Picture This” entry

Some us are more voyeurs in the world of plants and gardening. We’re not going to be canning or filling our freezers with goods from our gardens or the farmers’ market. But we still enjoy the visual feast of fresh, colorful veggies at the farmers markets, the rainbow of colors in nearby gardens, and the surprise of wildflowers as we stroll through meadows and the woods.

There are great digital resources for us too! Check these out:

1. There is a Facebook group that focuses just on wild plants of Maine. Folks post pictures of flowers they come across, and the members of the group help identify them. It’s a group, so you have to join. If you are on Facebook, search for “Wild Plants of Maine.”
2. My favorite plant app is “Picture This.” I use it all of the time to identify plants and flowers. It uses your phone’s camera to take a shot of the plant and then searches its data base for information. I identified a plant that taken over my flower garden; I have no idea where it came from. It’s called Eastern Enchanter’s Nightshade. Such a pretty name for a plant that is driving me crazy.
3. Other plant identification apps include “PlantSnap” and “Seek.”
4. For fun, you might like to download “PictureInsect” to identify the creepy crawlies you encounter.

Thinking about starting a garden?

One last group of folks I want to address is the Wannabe Gardeners. You think you will plant a garden next year, but you’re just now sure how to get started. Once again, there’s an app or a website for that! Now is the time to start planning.

Check out Gardener’s Supply’s Garden Planner (https://www.gardeners.com/how-to/garden-planner/garden-designer.html). It creates a template depending on the size of a garden you designate.

Consider joining a local garden club to learn more about gardening.

There are also several apps that help you plan and manage your garden. They include “Planter: Garden Planner,” “Veggie Garden Planner,” and “Seed to Spoon—Growing Food.”

Whether you are a wanderer admiring the flora in your travels, a serious gardener, or a future gardener, the digital world provides information and inspiration.