Step 1: Learning How to Garden

There’s so many ways to learn!

People & Experience: Think who near you gardens and knows more than you do! It might be a neighbor or a family member or a friend! Offer to work in their garden for free to learn. A neighbor might also be willing to grow more if you’re committed to helping them grow and you might be able to do a workshare with them. You can also look for CSAs near you and volunteer to work in exchange for learning how they grow - even if you can’t take produce with you. In Colorado, there are also local extension offices of CSU that can help in gardening how-tos for your specific area.
Learn from YouTube: Find channels that grow the way you want to - biodynamically! Some channels that Hollie and Amy really enjoy are:
- Polyface Farms
- Roots & Refuge
- Stephan Sobkowiak and The Permaculture Orchard
- Self Sufficient Me
Learn from Books & Courses: There are few books that I really enjoyed learning from. Additionally, I recommend finding a book about what grows well in your specific area, not just your zone.
- Joel Salatin
- Shay Elliot (Elliot Homestead)

Step 2: Assess Your Space

Find someone who is gardening the way you are able to for inspiration. Don’t follow someone with a five acre garden if you have containers.

Think about what’s the most important for you to grow. Things that you cannot get in a store or things that are your favorite. For me, this means growing lots of cabbages to preserve.

Crop share to double or triple your space. Time the growing seasons of your vegetables so that you can in succession in one space. For example, radishes grow very quickly and early so you can grow pumpkins after the radish growing season if you time everything right.

Step 3: Get Your Supplies

Find organic or heirloom seeds to grow. You can find seeds from local garden supply stores, heirloom or seed saver catalogs, from Azure, or from your friends.