How long have you been gardening? How did you get started?

I started experimenting with gardening in the spring of 2014. I loved juicing and it was expensive as a recent graduate, so I took to the internet to do some research to grow veggies. I'll admit, I didn't start easy AT ALL. I started with fruit seeds (lemon, apple, pear, etc.) and I did get germination and growth, but overall realized this would take YEARS to get fruit and I wasn't in a semi-permanent location. From there I stumbled into regrowing veggies from scraps--lettuce was super easy and a super cost savings! But it only works for so long before the plants need soil or something goes funky.

While in graduate school I determined that I wasn't going to let apartment living stop me. I signed up for a couple of community gardens (one at school and one in my neighborhood). This was my first time getting my hands into some soil and my gardening passion took root. The trouble with most community gardens is you don't know what was grown in the plot before you. I learned how much quality soil makes a difference as well as crop rotation and getting a handle on weeds early!

Tell us about your garden (what area of STL you live in, how much space you have, challenges in location, etc...)

One challenge is too much sun/heat for some of our veggies. Cilantro, leafy greens and brassicas are somewhat difficult to grow because they don't get enough shade. This leads me to having to "grow my shade". What I mean by that is growing veggies that love sun and putting other cool weather veggies underneath to protect from the heat when we get odd hot days early or late in the season.

What do you enjoy most? What benefits do you see?

I love starting seeds! That's when most failure happens too. This keeps me humble and continually learning. Just when I think I've learned all the ways to grow tomatoes, someone literally grows them upside down! Experiment and don't think you need to learn everything before you get growing. Another benefit I see is the amazing gardening community, hyper-local and worldwide. Most gardeners want to share and see what others are doing. It's a great way to feel like you are getting a tour of someone's garden without being there.

Do you have any tips or advice to share?

Start small and with food you know you like to eat. It takes a lot of patience for most things to grow. So if by the time it's ready to harvest, if you don't like it, then that's a waste of your time and energy. Also try to start with plants you can get a quick harvest in 30-45 days (radishes, beets, lettuce, kale). For the first couple of years I purchased seedling starts and they are still really cost effective (especially food you continuously harvest such as tomatoes, peppers, beans, cucumbers). Honestly, you can't mess up much in the garden, which is the magic of plants. Sure, you can refine your skills to get plants to be more productive, but most will give you a decent harvest if you just meet their basic requirements of light and water needs.

What's your favorite thing to grow?

Anything edible because I want to enjoy the fruits of my labor--I don't want to unnecessarily sweat for a beautiful yard! Just kidding (kinda)--I have started to enjoy growing flowers more, specifically natives in my front yard. I do enjoy summer veggies a lot. Tomatoes will always have a place in my garden along with beans, garlic and cucumbers. Peas found a new place in my heart last spring and I found myself working and snapping off a few peas to munch on. I try to grow something different every year to keep things interesting.

What most excites you about your garden in 2021?

This year I'm going to work more on preserving the garden. I grew a lot of odd varieties last year, which was fun and plan to have some this year, but overall I want to stick to tried and true varieties to get a bumper harvest. I also love composting because it takes 6 to 9 months for me to get a finished batch and it feels like such an accomplishment! This year already I have two of my three bins full. In past years, I'm lucky if I have 1 bin half way, so I'm excited about all the compost I will produce for my garden on site. Last year I gave away over 250 plants, which was really fun to provide that to those in the community who were staying home and starting gardens.

Follow along with Rachel’s gardening adventures (and free plant starts!) on Instagram (@Greathouse_Garden) or Facebook (@GreathouseGarden) .

How does YOUR garden grow? Submit your photos and tell us more at urbanharveststl.org/share-your-garden