Plan Your Perfect Spring Garden Now!

Set yourself up for the harvest of your dreams! [Food Gardening Network Preview]( April 17, 2023  [Planning The Perfect Spring 2023 Garden]( Join me in planning the perfect spring garden. Let’s set ourselves up for the harvest of our dreams! [Planning your Perfect Garden] Gain full access to this premium Special Issue—and an entire Library of food gardening advice—with a [Charter Gold Membership in Food Gardening Network!]( Hello, gardening friend! This is one of my favorite times of the year. It’s almost time to start the garden, but I still have some time to think and plan and imagine what that garden will look like. It’s also a precarious time. I don’t think I’m alone in believing that maybe I can manage to grow ALL the vegetables. However, there’s only so much room in a garden, right? This isn’t new. At least for me. Some of my early gardening adventures included trying to pack about a dozen basil seedlings into one container. That was fine for about a week, then they all started fighting like kids in the backseat of a car about whose side was whose. Then there was the time I planted about a third of my garden with vegetables that I “thought” I would enjoy. It turns out, I’m not the hugest fan of cucumbers. Fortunately, I do like pickles, so that crisis was averted. Anyway, you get the idea. There’s more to planning a garden than just grabbing a handful of seeds and tossing them willy nilly around your garden and hoping for the best. [Raised Beds] The problem is that not all of us are natural-born gardeners. At least, I’m not. The other problem is that we don’t know what we don’t know. For instance, if you don’t know that self-watering garden beds are a thing, how would you know to ask about them and find one that works for you? So, each season I would look through different gardening magazines and multiple online sources and talk to some of my favorite gardeners and farmers to figure out how to plan my spring garden. And each year, I managed to get a little more organized and focused with my garden. But I was still trying to pull information from all over the place. Then, friends, the light bulb went on. In talking about this with some of my colleagues here at Food Gardening Network, we realized that we could put all of this information together into one place. And thus, the special issue, Planning Your Perfect Spring 2023 Garden, was germinated. This issue offers a dozen feature articles, hundreds of tips, and loads of expert information that explores everything from saving heirloom vegetable seeds to planning your garden around your favorite foods, and which vegetables are best for pickling. We’ll get into the weeds (ha!) on weed control planning, and there are three featured articles on different types of irrigation, including step-by-step guidance for creating your own stress-free watering system. In short, this is the collection I wish I had when I was early in my gardening adventures. So if you’re planning your perfect food garden, don’t miss this special issue of Food Gardening Magazine. Here’s a look at some of what’s growing in this edition. [Food Gardening Network Charter Gold Membership Special Offer—Just $10 for an Entire Year! UPGRADE YOUR MEMBERSHIP TODAY! Become a Charter Gold Member today and get the Food Gardening Magazine and Library, Gardening Guides, and Recipes! [Gold Membership] Check out all that this new food gardening club has to offer you today! YES, SIGN ME UP NOW FOR JUST $10!]( - How to Plant a Food Garden According to your Palate: If you’re not growing the types of veggies you like to eat, what’s the point? Your compost and your neighbors can only take so much zucchini! With that in mind, this article serves up five favorite dishes, along with a list of the vegetables and herbs you’ll need to make them. Homefries, anyone?Homefries, anyone? - Planning a Garden with the Best Vegetables for Pickling and Preservation: Cucumbers don’t have the copyright on pickles and food preservation. Don’t get me wrong; I love pickles. But did you know you can store onions and garlic for up to a year? Store them correctly, and your carrots could last for up to 9 months. Apple preserves are good for about 5 months, and if you have an abundance of tomatoes, canning them will give you over a year to enjoy their sweet tomatoey goodness. Plus, you can also pickle vegetables like green beans, squash, and radishes! - How to Get Seeds from Your Vegetables to Save for Next Year: Speaking of tomatoes, you don’t need to go searching for your favorite heirloom seedlings every year. Seed-saving can not only preserve the variety you are growing, especially if it’s an heirloom variety, but it also helps vegetables adapt to local conditions, potentially increasing yields. [Garden Design] There’s more to a garden than what we grow, though. Garden design can play a significant role in how well our gardens produce and how much we enjoy them. Here is a sampling of some of the articles you’ll find around garden design. - 10 Enclosed Vegetable Garden Ideas for Every Budget: Enclosed vegetable gardens offer protection from pests, pets, and small children who don’t always know the meaning of “gentle” and “stop pulling up the seedlings, I just planted those!” Another reason to go the enclosed route is to add protection from the elements. Some types of enclosures will provide shade and wind protection for delicate plants as well as provide insulation during colder seasons. An enclosed vegetable garden can take on different shapes and styles. The 10 ideas here run from DIY projects with recycled materials to tiny glass domes for seedlings to grandiose greenhouses and a stand-alone garden oasis. - Self-Watering Garden Bed Ideas to Harvest More and Water Less: Discover three self-watering options for your raised bed garden, from DIY to ones you can buy. The easiest option is to buy a self-watering planter, but don’t be afraid to take on the challenge yourself. There are tons of blueprints, plans, and tutorials on building your own self-watering system, but the basics are all pretty much the same. The best part is, it’s not nearly as complicated as some sites would have you believe. This article gives you a quick-start guide to get things going. [Food Gardening Network Charter Gold Membership Special Offer—Just $10 for an Entire Year! UPGRADE YOUR MEMBERSHIP TODAY! Become a Charter Gold Member today and get the Food Gardening Magazine and Library, Gardening Guides, and Recipes! [Gold Membership] Check out all that this new food gardening club has to offer you today! YES, SIGN ME UP NOW FOR JUST $10!]( These ideas all work in both raised bed and in-ground gardens, but you’ll still need to decide which one is right for you. Planning Your Perfect Spring 2023 Garden gives you the information you need to make the choice that suits your gardening style. - The Biggest Differences Between Planting in Raised Beds vs. In-Ground: I’ve tried them both and have some thoughts on both approaches. Gardening is still gardening, but there are some differences you’ll need to account for. Don’t worry too much, though. You’ll need to adjust a few things, and it’s more maintenance, but it’s not like you’re switching cell phone companies. - 5 Raised Bed Vegetable Garden Layout Tips and Tricks: Generally, when we envision ideas for a raised bed vegetable garden layout, we might be tempted to put vegetables where we think they’ll look best, or simply fit best, but experienced gardeners spend early spring planning their gardens for a good reason. This article gets into all the things to consider before you build your beds and lay them out. - How to Create a Custom DIY Drip Irrigation System for Raised Beds for Under $100: For the hands-on gardener, this article and accompanying video provide a complete list of materials you’ll need, along with step-by-step instructions to create your custom drip irrigation system. The best part? You don’t have to be super handy to recreate this in your own garden. Even with all this, Planning Your Perfect Spring 2023 Garden still has four more feature articles to explore, but I can’t give everything away! I do hope you enjoy this special issue and find it helpful in making your garden as exciting and delectable as ever. [Food Gardening Network Charter Gold Membership Special Offer—Just $10 for an Entire Year! UPGRADE YOUR MEMBERSHIP TODAY! Become a Charter Gold Member today and get the Food Gardening Magazine and Library, Gardening Guides, and Recipes! [Gold Membership] Check out all that this new food gardening club has to offer you today! YES, SIGN ME UP NOW FOR JUST $10!]( There’s a lot there, but I really want to share more with you, which is why I’d like to offer you a [Food Gardening Network Charter Gold Membership](. When I first started gardening, I made a lot of mistakes, and it didn’t come to me naturally. I had to go through dozens of books, piles of magazines, and about a million websites to figure out how to grow what I wanted. There was some luck, too. I have some friends who are experienced food gardeners, and I wasn’t shy about talking to the farmers I bought produce from at the markets and farm stands. That’s certainly one way to learn. I also realize that takes a lot of time and patience (and no small amount of Type A personality traits!). And honestly, there are times it would have been nice to have one source to discover a new vegetable (or rediscover some old favorites), and get all the information I needed to grow these vegetables in my garden. Well, now there is, thanks to the Food Gardening Network. If you’re reading this, you already know how much of a one-stop guide this is for your gardening and cooking needs. From starting seeds to irrigation to pest control to indoor herb gardens, this is the information I wish I had when I was learning to garden. This is all part of your free Bronze Membership, and I’m happy to continue sharing with you. If you’re ready for more, though, I’d love to share the benefits of a Gold Membership with you. This is where the Food Gardening Network truly shines. When you upgrade now to [Food Gardening Network Charter Gold Membership]( you get everything we publish about growing (and cooking!) good food at home—all access and all the time for you, including: - All-Access Membership in Food Gardening Network Gold Club—the only online resource for planning, planting, growing, tending, harvesting, and enjoying foods from your very own garden. - Subscription to Food Gardening Magazine—enjoy monthly issues filled with articles about how to start, maintain, and harvest food from your own garden at home. Plus, instant and unlimited access to the entire searchable digital library of back issues! - Subscription to Recipelion Magazine—I can’t wait to share hundreds of delicious and easy-to-make recipes with you! Get tasty recipes at your fingertips, along with tips and tricks for developing new cooking skills. Plus, instant and unlimited access to the entire searchable digital library of back issues! - Gardening Guides—you get instant access to a growing collection of more than 55 comprehensive guidebooks that are plant-specific—from tomatoes, basil, and garlic to potatoes, pumpkins, beans, corn, squash, and more!—about how to grow, harvest, and enjoy the bounty of your home garden. Learn everything about specific foods you can grow, get recipes to enjoy with friends and family, and enjoy tips on health benefits and home remedies that use your harvest! - Cookbooks—you get full and instant access to 9 digital cookbooks, filled with more than 1,300 recipes! You’ll never run out of ways to enjoy the fruits (and vegetables!) of your labor with these easy-to-make recipes! From single dishes to a whole meal—we’ve got you covered! - Videos & Library—you get instant access to more than 80 videos in our library with gardening tips, tricks, and tactics; do-it-yourself projects for gardening and crafting items; and cooking videos to show you exactly how to make specific dishes. Plus, access to new monthly videos over the coming year! - NEW! Planning Calendars & Garden and Recipe Card Kits—every season of the year, you get printable planning calendars to help keep your garden on track. Calendars include tasks, checklists, notes, and recipes that use fresh seasonal ingredients from your garden. Plus, get printable garden and recipe card kits with easy-to-follow gardening instructions and timeless recipes that use key ingredients from your garden! - NEW SERVICE! Recipe of the Week—every Sunday, you get a recipe with quick, easy, and delicious ways to cook food—delivered weekly to your email inbox. This is one email I love opening! - Gold Member Insider—you get this exclusive email service, delivered regularly to your inbox, to guide you through the Food Gardening Network Library. Saves you time finding articles, magazine issues, gardening guides, videos, kits, and recipes that you won't want to miss! And all of this is available to you —right now—when you upgrade to a [Food Gardening Network Charter Gold Membership.]( I want to see your name on my daily list of new Gold Members—you deserve to join like-minded gardeners and get full access to our entire library of material for optimizing your food garden. Please become a [Food Gardening Network Charter Gold Member]( today—while this special offer lasts! Sincerely, [Amanda Signature] Amanda MacArthur Senior Editor & Producer (and darn fine cook!) Food Gardening Network P.S. Your success with food gardening depends on you acting now—please claim your [Food Gardening Network Charter Gold Membership]( today and get the only all-in-one-place resource for planning, planting, growing, tending, harvesting, and enjoying foods from your very own garden. P.P.S. Remember, full and FREE access to the Planning Your Perfect Spring 2023 Garden special issue is waiting for you when you become a Gold Member today! [Food Gardening Network Charter Gold Membership Special Offer—Just $10 for an Entire Year! UPGRADE YOUR MEMBERSHIP TODAY! Become a Charter Gold Member today and get the Food Gardening Magazine and Library, Gardening Guides, and Recipes! [Gold Membership] Check out all that this new food gardening club has to offer you today! YES, SIGN ME UP NOW FOR JUST $10!]( You are receiving this email as part of your free subscription to email updates from Food Gardening Network. 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