Our family is blessed to plant a 20' x 40' garden each year. Annually, our primary crops include tomatoes, which we eat off the vine, make into spaghetti and pizza sauce and use as a base for soups and salsa; cucumbers we enjoy both fresh and pickled (both canned and fermented), and this year we added potatoes, as well as lots of smaller crops. Yes, we live in Idaho and are just now planting potatoes. (Visitor tip: want to make a local roll their eyes? Ask them where all the potatoes are.)  

One of the goals for the garden is to grow and store (via canning and our root cellar) certain staples to last an entire year. This removes these staples from our grocery bill for a whole year. We are just now finishing up the last of our 2015 tomatoes (still yummy!) but ran out of cucumbers months ago, the kids LOVE pickles.

So this year, in order to grow more staples, we are taking inspiration from the Urban Gardening explosion. Urban gardens are defined by a common limitation - space. Square footage is understandably at a premium in metro areas so hanging and vertical growing strategies are everywhere. 

We researched the urban hanging and vertical growing ideas, then, true to country innovation, looked around for what we had on hand (fencing left over from a deck project). Marrying the two, we were able to increased our garden from 800 sq. ft. to 1170 sq. ft. by growing vertically.

Now we'll see if it all works! Watch for lots of posts on the progress of the gardening ideas, resulting recipes (garden not required), and family-fun posts as the crops grow throughout the season!       

- Jason

Header Image: Mother's Day Apple and Pear Waffles
Inset: Early Season Strawberries in Our Garden