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As the economy suffers, more people are returning to the back yard as a source of food to help offset the high price of vegetables and fruits. Have you considered this option or have you started yours?

I remember growing up and visiting grandparents, uncles, and friends that had big gardens growing their own food and swapping, sharing and helping their friends by trading crops and sharing seed. Then at harvest time, snapping green beans and shelling peas until the fingers hurt. It was a full family event to get the crops ready for canning and storing. Today more and more cities are creating community gardens to grow and share with each other grower.

So let’s say you have been considering starting a garden but you aren’t sure how. The best thing you can do is get the soil ready now by adding compost or humus to build the soil with lots of good stuff. Don’t till the grass into the dirt but rather scrape it away and start a compost pile with the grass and leaves. Put 2 inches of compost or humus right on top of the dirt.

If you don’t have a tiller, no problem, you really don’t need one, just break the dirt up with a shovel or hoe mixing the compost in as you go. You do not have to dig more than an inch or two down, just enough to mix the compost with the dirt. Water the garden soil real good and plant when the soil dries out the next day. Spread some mulch along the top of the soil to retain water longer and keep the weeds and grass pulled out.

Watering should be done when the soil under the mulch is getting dry about 1 inch below the surface.

We would love feedback on JohnsonCountyEvents.com telling us your story on back yard gardening. For the best story (and feel free to include a picture) JohnsonCountyEvents would like to visit and feature your space in a future story. I will also include a gift certificate to help you with your garden. Just email the story to the editor to enter.

Stay tuned to JohnsonCountyEvents.com for the next steps on turning back the clock.