Grow your garden in pots
We live in a harsh environment to grow gardens. The soil is a clay consistency and does not have many nutrients for growing plants. So, we grow most of our food in pots. We are also the hail capital of the United States so our plants get damaged right from the start. We have been growing food in pots for years now and winter some of our plants over inside. We have kept basil and pepper plants going for 5 years. And we have moved quite often so we just empty the pots out and take them with us, they stack nicely. Each year we try and purchase more pots to keep adding to what we have and have started purchasing the little dollies that have wheels on them for the larger pots that are too heavy to move when full. As we get older the pots are nicer to work with than getting down on the ground when there is a possibility that we have a difficult time getting up. We have changed out the soil some and others we add kitchen waste to and that helps give the soil more nutrients. It is also a good idea if you find worms put them into your pots so they can take care of breaking down the kitchen waste.
To start the seeds we use cardboard egg containers and starter soil mix water well and cover them with saran wrap and place in a dark place. When the seeds start sprouting then we uncover them and put by the window or put a grow light over them. This way we can baby them until they get larger. When the plants get large enough we transfer them to the larger pots. Then as the days get warmer we can place them outside during the day and bring them in at night. And when we get hail we can bring them in also or at least cover them. You can also plant new seeds during the winter months and keep the plants either in the window so they get light or have a grow light on them.
Some veggie plants are not as pretty as flowers, however, they will feel just as pretty when you start getting food off of them. Although the chive, radish, okra, parsnip, rhubarb and Black Eyed Peas to name a few that also have pretty flowers. Also you can plant flowers in with the veggie plants. Some varieties of flowers are also good to eat in salads such as Nasturtiums, day lilies and carnations. Also one of my favorite ways of planting in pots is to put a tomato or pepper plant in the middle of a large pot and then plant herbs around it.
If you plant heirloom seeds then make sure at the end of the season that you let some of each go to seed so you have seeds for next year. Then some of the plants you can winter over indoors and they will continue to provide food. The rest of the pots you can either cover during the winter or just put them out of your way. Speaking of heirloom seeds they are the ones you should be using because you can save the seeds and they will produce the exact same plant. With the non-heirloom seeds you may get a totally different plant and veggie. So, it will be better if you start using the heirloom seeds and get use to saving your seeds for the next year. This will also cut the cost of gardening when you do not have to pay for seeds year after year.