New Food Gardener Shares Her Journey
Meet Annette Johnson and check out the last packed market schedule this year
Morning Glory
The sun rose through a bank of low clouds across the lake on Sunday and gave us this spectacular moment.
REMINDER: THIS IS THE LAST WEEK FOR MOST OF OUR REGION’S REMAINING OUTDOOR FARMERS MARKETS. CHECK OUT THE WEEKLY SCHEDULE BELOW AND MAKE SURE TO PAY YOUR LOCAL FARMERS A VISIT TO WISH THEM WELL (AND BUY SOME DELICIOUS STUFF).
Growing Year Round with No Experience — and Sharing with the World
I am happy to introduce Annette Johnston, who reached out to share her adventures as a new food gardener. Although I live in a highrise — no garden for me — I love to promote food gardening, which provides home growers with a supply of hyperlocal food while providing joys (and challenges, of course).
Enjoy Annette’s story and learn how you can follow her on social media.
— Bob
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By Annette Johnston
I retired in 2020, with a little financial plan for how I would live on my income. The prices for both medical care and food have increased so much that I have decided I must work contracts again for income. I also decided that it was time to learn how to grow food every month of the year, indoors or outdoors, in order to not be dependent on the market.
We live in Zone 5 of the USDA’s Plant Hardiness Map, and there are challenges associated with that. I plan to share my learning (failures) and progress on social media as I do this.
I really have never done this before, and I am pretty new to posting movies and pictures and having followers. Nonetheless, I have resolved:
• I will harvest something every month through 2022 into the 2023 spring growing season, so that I will not have to buy it at the store.
• I will use what I already have as much as I can, so that the cost of “farming” does not absorb the full cost savings of not buying it at the store.
• I will share my experience on social media — the good, the bad and the frustrating.
I started in August. I already had a garden in my backyard: In the past, it was a dahlia garden, with vegetables added for fun. I also bought and planted all associated perennial or annual flowers to add interest to dahlia flower arrangements were grown in my garden.
I also decided to grow hops. I’m not sure why I decided to do it, but it turns out I am pretty good at that. Also, I have discovered volunteer elderberry on the boundaries of my property.
Anyway, I do have tools for gardening, and I had one 3’ x 6’ cloche to protect my baby dahlias in early spring. I dig them up every fall, and I dug them up for the frost warning on October 7. If you look closely at the picture above, you will see that they are missing; the roots are cleaned and are drying in my basement now.
I needed some backup covers for the cloches, so I bought another set. Since I had two frames, I set up two cloches. I also set up a grow light in the basement, and I will set up a hydroponic after this month’s traveling.
So, I decided this to be my harvest schedule, and farming location:
October: Beets, spinach and chard in cloches
November: Spinach, kale, beets and chard in cloches
December: Kale and red cabbage in cloches
January: Lettuce, spinach and cilantro in a hydroponic setup
February: Whatever else I plant in the hydroponic setup
March: Back to the cloches with something
I had to protect the cloches from squirrels, chipmunks and bunnies with a full chicken wire wrap, stapling the bottom of the chicken wire to the ground.
After the fall equinox, I find that the spinach, chard, beets and kale seedlings are growing VERY slowly in the cloches. I put the winter coats on (clear plastic with zippers), and it is much warmer in there, and that should help. I built a little mirror to reflect some light into one of the cloches. I am still trying to figure best amount and time to water.
I am doing this while working a 40 hour/week job, with travel at least once per month. I plan to share and to improve my sharing on Tiktok (FarmerJinHP) and Instagram (johnston836). I have been making little “reels” on Tiktok when I’m in town. When I travel, I will be posting pictures on Instagram.
Wish me luck, and follow me! Comment and question often. I really don’t know what I don’t know about this. When it seems right, I will find a way to share all that I set up.
Check Out This Year’s Best Garden Awardees
Since we’re talking about gardening, don’t forget to check out the 2022 Chicago Excellence in Gardening Awards (CEGA) winners and enjoy a cool video of this year’s prize gardens.
This Week’s Chicago Region Farmers Markets
Note: The Woodstock Farmers Market this Saturday begins its indoor season.