three scien1ﬁcally-proven strategies for an...

by Stacey Murphy

Three Scien1fically-Proven Strategies for an Abundant Vegetable & Herb Garden

… no ma'er where you live or what 2me of year it is!

© Stacey Murphy 2020 - GrowYourOwnVegetables.org

Being able to grow an abundance of fresh food year round using just three simple strategies, no matter where you live.Knowing exactly where your food was grown.Tasting flavorful and delicious organic food that’s packed with nutrition.Eating food and herbs that prevent chronic disease.Enjoying the peace of mind that comes from a green lifestyle all year round.Supporting the planet for future generations.

Imagine…

And the first step is understanding your climate…After teaching tens of thousands of people on six continents how to grow their own fresh food, I notice very smart people still get stuck in two major ways: missing information about climate and local conditions or a misunderstanding of how to use local climate data to get the garden they want.

This has led to a ton of conflicting (and quite often, bad) garden advice online that leads perfectly smart and capable people to believe they can’t grow. Some even think they have a brown thumb or fall into the trap of garden shame. So…

If your garden isn’t as bountiful as you want…If it feels like a lot of hard work…If your neighbors have gorgeous gardens and you wonder how…If you’re wondering if all your efforts are going to pay off…Or you’re thinking about giving up altogether…

Get ready to BUST through some of the most common garden myths that may be holding you back from your best garden year yet!

What if the food you grew was all you needed to encourage a lifetime of health and well-being for one hundred years and beyond?

http://GrowYourOwnVegetables.org


How to Use This Guide Successfully1.

Know that your garden won’t always look like the Garden of Eden, and it’s okay! There’s no need to feel any shame or guilt or have any negative feelings about what things look like. You’re on a path of discovery, and it’s supposed to get messy. It will look different in a week anyway ;)

2.

Remember that eating flavorful, delicious and healthy organic food that’s packed with nutrition is one of the most important ways you can love yourself, your family, and your community. You are doing amazing things!

3.

Be 100% committed and open to new garden strategies. Even if you’ve tried one of the strategies before and it didn’t work, ask yourself how you can apply this now in your life. And keep asking:

“How else might I be able to apply this strategy in my life?”

Asking this question continuously opens the door to new garden methods that rapidly improve your garden abundance.



That Garden FEELING that Keeps You Growing…Before we dive into your unique climate, remember WHY your garden is important to you. When you have a hiccup in the garden plans, your WHY will keep find new solutions and keep you moving forward toward your dream.

Perhaps you’re like me: I was working my dream job in NYC. You’d think I would be ecstatic. But every day, I was feeling more and more disconnected from my food and my body, because I was grabbing quick convenient food all the time so I could get back to my desk indoors. On the weekends I would go to the farmers market and load up on fresh, organic food which kept me happy for a day or two until I went back to work and forgot about it all again. Then there was a crisp day in October 2008 at the farmers market that I will never forget. One of the farmers was selling carrots… completely covered in soil! Who does that? Who sells soil purposefully mixed into your food? That’s so weird, right? He told me the carrots keep fresh in my fridge longer this way and taste sweeter too. And the crazy thing is… they totally did! The flavor of these carrots was a miracle in my mouth. And in that moment, I had a flashback to picking delicious carrots in my mom’s garden. My mom’s garden was my own private science discovery show, full of mysteries to solve. It was where I learned to appreciate the finer things in life. I discovered the exact moment to pick peas for maximum sweetness. I chased butterflies. And I watched new seeds magically emerge from the ground.

As I sampled these soil-covered carrots, remembering my mom’s garden… that’s when I knew I had to get my hands dirty and start growing food.

Suddenly, I felt connected, I felt healthy and I felt whole again. And then my whole lens on life shifted and I could never go back… I had this big realization. A garden is not a THING. It is a lifestyle of discovery. But even more than that… it is a FEELING. It’s not about what you grow - It’s about who you become. I suddenly remembered that I was a WILD CHILD and a part of nature… loving the thrill of discovery. I wanted to play in the dirt, and learn from my favorite teachers… the sun, the soil, the plants, and the insects. Simply deciding to grow, I already felt connected to the feelings of health, vitality, and most of all peace.

It didn’t matter that it was the end of the growing season. It didn’t matter that I lived in Brooklyn without a yard. It didn’t matter that I had no time. I was willing to do whatever it takes to start living the garden lifestyle I wanted right away.

And I couldn’t wait another moment to get growing. That winter, I grew my salad in indoor trays. And I found someone with a yard for the spring. Grew for the whole block.

And while that was awesome, the feeling was pretty much the same. So what if you wanting to grow food is not really about the food? When you think about having the garden of your dreams… how does it make you FEEL? There are no right and wrong answers here. You get to decide. And here’s the awesome part.

Don’t you deserve to feel that right now… no matter where you live, no matter what your climate is, no matter what time of year it is? That’s what this guide is all about. Peace & carrots, Stacey



Kill More Plants!1st Strategy

Think about it… What’s the main difference between gardeners with huge harvests and those that give up?

Gardeners who grow successfully and get huge harvests have experienced more failure.

Do not underestimate the power of this strategy. It is THE MOST fundamental lesson of growing food… and something that people REALLY struggle with.

Most people cringe, because they don’t like the idea of killing anything. So they start gardening, kill a few plants, feel bad, and stop growing. It’s common to worry about killing plants. But giving up only robs you of living the fresh food lifestyle you really want.One of my students, Amanda, says it perfectly:

So keep on killing plants… don’t give up.

Here’s what killing plants without shame gives you:1. More experience seeing how plants live and die, providing you with invaluable insight as to

how to keep more of them alive in the future. 2. Relief from feeling like you have to do everything right, or that your garden has to be perfect.3. More food because you aren’t afraid to rip out what’s dying and focus on plants that thrive!4. More food! Eat what you kill.

So… Kill More Plants!Isn’t it a relief to know that killing plants is necessary for your success?

“One of the biggest things I've learned from you is to not be afraid to rip out a plant or to greatly prune it. That has helped me to let go of my "need to take care of every plant perfectly!" mentality, which is helping me to not stress about gardening too much. Thank you!!! If it's not growing well, I just rip it out and move on!” - Amanda, PA

Here’s the deal: when you get to the heart of gardening, this is the cycle.

You plant stuff. You prune stuff.You harvest stuff,and you kill stuff… then you start again.

So you NEED to kill more plants to keep growing more food.

Doesn’t matter where you live or where you grow… this step is easy. You got this! 😉

“I have probably killed millions of plants. And I celebrate that.” - Stacey Murphy


Doesn’t matter where you live or where you grow… There is ALWAYS something you can do right NOW to live a GREEN lifestyle of health and vitality.

This is not about a garden, this is about HABITS that support your larger dream.

2nd Strategy


Your Growing Season is always NOW

Two considerations: 1) Yes, you can grow greens indoors any time. Anyone can do it. The only thing stopping you

might be that you don’t have the knowledge or the habits to make it happen. It’s simpler than you might think to grow all your greens indoors starting NOW. See Karla’s story below.

2) If you want to grow food outdoors, the best growers spread the FUN over the entire year. It’s a lifestyle. Gardening doesn’t have to take over every moment of your life, there is always something QUICK and EASY you could do right NOW to prioritize your health and garden fun.

A QUICK SHIFT IN PERSPECTIVE

What if your garden is not just a project on your to do list, or a way to get healthy food?

What if it was about the JOY and VITALITY of working with plants and the

feeling of ABUNDANCE when you are 100% supported by nature?

And wouldn’t you want that NOW?

One of my students, Karla, wanted something to grow indoors during the winter. This is her first time growing them and what she has to say:


If you assumed there was only one time to think about gardening, you’d be missing out on TONS of fresh, organic food… plus all the fun of the journey preparing your best garden yet! Take New York City as an example: many assume the “growing season” starts April when the ground thaws and ends November when it freezes. But in reality, growers create garden plans in January, plant seeds in February (indoors or outdoors in greenhouses), and grow the entire year, through winter too.

Gardening is so much MORE fun when it’s a weekly ritual you do a little bit at a time versus waiting until the growing season starts and running around unprepared. How much harder do you think it is to show up at the starting line of a marathon without any preparation?

2nd Strategy


Your Growing Season is always NOWWhat if I don't want to grow indoors and it’s cold outside?

8-Step Circle of Awesome! Successful gardeners integrate rituals into their life. Because health is about choosing how you spend your time. No matter what time of year it is, enjoy 15-30 minutes each week focusing on planning (or improving) one aspect of your garden. That’s how you build excitement!

A QUICK SHIFT IN PERSPECTIVEWhat exactly IS a growing season anyway?

“The growing season is the part of the year when weather conditions permit normal plant growth.” - Wikipedia

Who decides what is normal?The PLANTS decide!

“if you know what your plants want and you give that to them, your growing season is whenever you want. And that means your growing

season is always right NOW. “ - Stacey Murphy

Real Talk : Setting garden intentions & planning IS gardening. Because you already FEEL connected to what you are growing. And you already FEEL the vitality of plants in your life. This creates the positive momentum you need for a great harvest.

Ditch the idea the growing season is someday and realize that the time to garden is always now.


2nd Strategy


Your Growing Season is always NOW

1. Sun: 6-8 hours per day outside, (14-16 hours inside under lamps)2. Soil that is ALIVE: or growing medium for inside & containers3. Water: approximately 1” per week, more in HOT regions4. Temperatures: If your temps are 0 to 110ᴼF (-17 to 43ᴼC), you can grow food outside*5. Pruning: Plants LOVE dead weight pruned away so they can focus on healthy growth6. Harvest: Plants LOVE old weight removed so they can focus on new growth7. Pollination: Pollinators will show up to the party, unless you are indoors (pollinate by hand)8. Support (not always necessary): Some plants like trellises and stakes

* Too many people use temperatures and local conditions as an excuse to NOT get started. It is easier than you might think to cool or heat your garden up… as long as you know what your local conditions are and what your targets are (See 3rd Strategy).

So what do plants want?

This is GREAT NEWS!

Nature does most of the work for you. You’re simply creating the conditions to ALLOW plants to grow and thrive. And you can do

that any time of year.

And here’s the deal… It only takes minutes each week when you know what plants need.

Filling a tray with water and putting it into an environment where temperatures are below freezing is all you have to do.

And magically the ice forms on its own.

So we’re not really growing food, we’re just creating the right conditions. And nature grows all on its own.

So while I teach a class called Grow Your Own Vegetables and another one called Grow $400 Worth of Vegetables and Herbs in 40 Days, that’s not really what’s happening…

Kind of like when you say you’re going to go “make” ice.

“The idea of a growing season is a MYTH. And it has kept intelligent people all around the world from

enjoying the GREEN Lifestyle they want today.” - Stacey Murphy



(no one tells you this)What plants want you to know:

Here’s what plants show us every day…

1. Plants WANT to grow… no matter where they live.And they will do EVERYTHING in their power to survive and thrive.

Check out this tomato plant for example:

It’s growing in dry, salty beach sand next to the ocean. It’s growing in one of the least ideal environments. Everything around it is dried up.

But there it is, growing anyway. And not just growing… it’s producing fruit!

No matter where you live, there will be plants that are hard to kill…

Those are the ones you want to cultivate in your garden.

One farmer in New York, planted planted ten different vegetable crops suitable for her area, and neglected all of them the first growing season to see which ones would thrive. She discovered her land was uniquely suited for onions. After that, she never did any hard labor, never even watered. She simply planted onions, and they grew. That was her farm plan. And it worked.

Don’t worry… with just a little attention, you can grow more than just one type of plant!

2. Plants rely on us to thrive. But not the way we think!Plants want to attract birds and other animals who consume the fruit so that those animals

poop the seeds out somewhere else. Humans discarding a slice of tomato on the beach could have propagated this tomato plant in this unusual place.

Plants love to be pruned too! Take rosemary as an example… When we prune or harvest these plants (much like an animal would graze on them), the plants grow bushier and healthier!

Plants want to nourish you because by nourishing you, you’re helping them to grow, propagate and spread seeds.

There are so many ways plants and animals interact for better garden harvests. For example, Catmint attracts cats who roll around in it. And the scent that the cat loves so much is then released and acts as a pest deterrent against aphids.

How cool is that!? And it’s not just Catnip. When we harvest herbs, they release oils that protect our garden from pests!

“I simply focus on my appreciation for and connection to my food. This is why I choose a

small, simple garden every time and plants I can neglect. ” - Stacey Murphy



3rd Strategy

What about growing zones?You may hear people say they are growing in Zone 5a, or 10b, or whatever. What exactly does it mean? "Growing Zones" are an attempt in the United States to simplify gardening and help growers… but it is OVERLY simplified and therefore ineffectual.

There is only ONE PIECE OF DATA that you share with others in your zone: Your Average Minimum Winter Temperature

THAT’S IT - That’s all you have in common with everyone in your zone.

And from this ONE piece of data, the idea is that people in the same zone should all garden the same. It’s like saying that two people who both weigh 170 pounds are the same height, look the same, and have the same experiences. It’s just not true.

Students all around the world are realizing that gardening zones are a myth:

Here’s what Barbara, a Grow Your Own Vegetables Student had to say: “My current location in Oregon is zone 5 with 100 days in the growing season. I am moving to Illinois, the area is also zone 5, but the growing season is 165 days. The soil (very alkaline here in OR), and precipitation (high desert here in OR with little to no rain in summer months) will also be very different. Lots of learning as I move from one type of "zone 5” to another! Thank you, Stacey.”

Get to Know Your Specific Climate

If you created a planting calendar for one of these locations and applied it to the other, you would not get the same results and many of your plants would die. Everything is different: temperatures, precipitation, and timing. You cannot create a successful garden strategy that works for both of these locations.

The idea that you should garden by your “Growing Zone” is worse than a MYTH… it is very dangerous. You need more than

one piece of data about your local climate.


1. Grab your climate data for the year from an online source - rough data is good to start. Use average minimum temperature data to get started. Weekly data is better than monthly data.

2. Use 3 different colors to represent the 3 temperature ranges and color code your calendar year as shown below.

3. Repeat for average daytime temperatures and average high temperatures. (see samples)


3rd Strategy

Growing Zones a MYTH… So what to do instead?

PRO TIPS:Build your garden modularly so that each section is easy to cover. When it gets too hot, cover with shade cloth. When it gets too cold, cover with row cover, plastic or cold frame.

Connect with other growers in your area to determine which varieties are best suited to your local conditions. Unique varieties in hot and cold climates stretch your growing abilities.

Get to Know Your Specific Climate

There is a Time for Everything!

Each vegetable plant has an ideal temperature range. There are three

basic temperature ranges that define what grows. NOTE: nature is

biodiverse so there are varieties that grow outside normal ranges listed

here. But this is a good start.

Sample 1

Sample 2

When you map these temperatures, you’ll often find that you can grow more weeks of the year than you thought. And you’ll know exactly when your plants might need protection from excessive high or low temperatures.

A. Map your temperatures over the yearThis helps you know which plants to grow when… no matter where you live!

Most importantly, you now know when each vegetable will thrive in your specific local conditions versus relying on someone else’s plan.

And you can time your plants to maximize your harvest.



How to use your temperature data:For each vegetable you want to grow, look at the number of days to maturity and schedule it on your calendar. During the year, track actual temperatures against the average temperatures to improve your data.

Why mapping temperatures matters:• Know when plants will thrive for YOUR specific conditions.• More importantly, know when plants will DIE in your specific conditions.• Rip plants out of the ground BEFORE they die to make room for something else.• Find time in the year you didn’t know you could grow.• Refine your map each year making planning easier - yes each year will be slightly different,

but you’ll start to notice patterns emerge.• Time your plantings to make the most of your local conditions.• Start to FEEL shifts in temperature in your body and instinctively KNOW what to expect.

For example, you want to grow peas. Peas like cooler temperatures (green zone). Plant them when the ground thaws and cover them with row cover when nights drop below freezing.

Peas stop producing when it gets hot. They don’t like the red zone. So be ready to pull them out and replace them with plants that grow well in hotter temperatures.

I’ve watched beginners try to grow peas in the heat of the summer and wonder why it doesn’t work. Map your temperatures and plan ahead. Save yourself the pain.

Peas

Pea Planting

Replace with new crop

2nd Round Pea Planting

Good news! You only have to do this process once and you can do it any time of year 🙌

Want to dive deeper into these concepts and create a roadmap of your entire growing season from your local data? Visit GrowYourOwnVegetables.org/CropPlan

You'll realize just how unique your climate is. This is why there is so much ‘bad’ garden advice online: everyone's conditions are different. So when you know your climate, you can make better decisions and grow with ease wherever you are.

Mapping your temperatures is the most powerful way to create a garden that thrives - enjoy more harvest with less stress.

3rd StrategyGet to Know Your Specific Climate


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