Author Maggie Stuckey: 5 Things You Need To Know To Create A Successful Vegetable Garden To Grow Your Own Food
An Interview With Martita Mestey
You need to know how much sunlight your garden space gets. This is critical because all your other decisions flow from it, starting with “which vegetables can I grow?” Most of our favorite garden vegetables want 6 hours of sun per day. You can cheat just a bit, but if you try to grow tomatoes, for example, in the shade, you’re just asking for heartbreak.
As we all know, inflation has really increased the price of food. Many people have turned to home gardening to grow their own food. Many have tried this and have been really successful. But others struggle to produce food in their own garden. What do you need to know to create a successful vegetable garden to grow your own food? In this interview series, called “5 Things You Need To Know To Create A Successful Vegetable Garden To Grow Your Own Food” we are talking to experts in vegetable gardening who can share stories and insights from their experiences.
As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Maggie Stuckey.
Maggie Stuckey is a gardener who cooks, a cook who gardens, and a writer happily immersed in both arenas. She divides her time between Portland, Oregon, and the tiny coastal town of Ocean Park, Washington. Her new book The Container Victory Garden: A Beginner’s Guide to Growing Your Own Groceries, is on sale [now / February 21]. Learn more at ContainerVictoryGarden.com.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”?
I am the daughter and granddaughter of country farmers and gardeners in the South (South Carolina, specifically). From them I absorbed the idea that “garden” equals “food” — that the whole purpose of growing a garden is to provide healthy food for your family and have some extra to share with folks in need. No one articulated it that way — didn’t need to. From the perspective of a child watching them over the years, it was simply very obvious. So when I first moved into a house of my own as an adult, with a small backyard, I knew exactly what to do.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I would characterize this as humbling, more than interesting, but it is definitely memorable. A few years ago I was contacted by a reader in California trying to find a copy of an earlier book of mine. She wanted to give one to her son, but was reluctant to give away her own copy, which she still used every year. She actually said: “Your book changed my life.” That’s when I fully realized the power of presenting advice in written form: people can keep it around for years.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
1. Analytical thinking. At the core, what is the actual problem, what are the possible actions, which one is best?
2. Dependability. If you say you’ll do something, do it. If unforeseen developments force you to change your plans, be quick to explain, apologize, do your best to make it right.
3. Generosity. I’m not talking about money. I mean being generous with your time: helping a colleague when they’re overwhelmed, even if it’s not convenient. With your support: stopping to really listen to someone who’s struggling and offer suggestions if asked. With your smile: play peekaboo with the baby in the grocery cart ahead of you in line. The thing is, the benefit accrues to the giver. All these little acts of generosity make us feel good, at very little cost, so we go forth to tackle our own commitments with fresh vitality.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Keep your word.” In writing, that means that deadlines are sacred. Other people in the publishing process depend on you (the writer) to deliver your work at the agreed-upon time; if you don’t, they are the ones who bear the brunt. Outside the writing life, it just makes things simpler: you never have to agonize over which course of action to take: do the thing you promised.
Are you working on any interesting or exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
For a long time I’ve wanted to do a narrative history about the plant hunters (I’m a history nerd). I think that might be my next project.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about creating a successful garden to grow your own food. Can you help articulate a few reasons why people should be interested in making their own vegetable garden? For example, how is it better for our health? For the environment? For our wallet?
Of course a very obvious one in recent months is the fear of COVID, and our frantic urge to keep away from crowds, stay at home as much as possible. In that case, what do you do for fresh vegetables?? Obvious answer: grow your own. Even if you’ve never done it before. Then other benefits flow from that: What you grow will be healthier and safer (you know just exactly what you did or did not spray on the plants). It will be a cost-saver. It will provide you with an enormous sense of satisfaction, of accomplishment, of maybe having tried something new and done well at it. Plus, after all that good work, you’ll end up with something that tastes wonderful.
Where should someone start if they would like to start a garden? Which resources would you recommend? Which plants should they start with?
- Start with a realistic analysis of your space and your weather. How big is the space you want to use for your garden? How much sunlight does it get? (this is critical) Where is the closest water source?
- Then, be clear about your weather patterns. Learn your spring and fall frost dates: the time in between is your growing period. Your favorite search engine can give you this information; so can your County Extension office or (best of all) your gardening neighbors.
- Make up a wish list: veggies your family likes, new things you want to try. Then, do a bit of basic research to make sure there are varieties of those things that are suitable for container growing; with all the new introductions, there probably are — but check. At the same time, make note of the climate needs of things you’re interested in. In the most basic terms, are they considered cool-season or hot-season plants? Best source for individual plant info: seed catalogs, both print and on-line are chock full of details and new ideas, and free to use.
- Now compare the two lists. Will the veggies you’re interested in do well in your garden space and your climate? If not, adjust as needed. Then, when the weather is right, with your final wish list in hand, start shopping, for either baby plants or seeds.
Can you please share your “5 Things You Need To Know To Create A Successful Vegetable Garden To Grow Your Own Food”?
If your vegetable garden is completely in containers, remember these 5 things.
- You need to know how much sunlight your garden space gets. This is critical because all your other decisions flow from it, starting with “which vegetables can I grow?” Most of our favorite garden vegetables want 6 hours of sun per day. You can cheat just a bit, but if you try to grow tomatoes, for example, in the shade, you’re just asking for heartbreak.
- Containers gardeners’ challenge is watering; in the height of summer, you will have to pay careful attention. Make your peace with that.
- Make it easy on yourself. Wherever possible, start with baby plants rather than seeds. Especially for those lovely cool-season plants in early spring; let someone else, someone with a full greenhouse setup, do the hard work of getting these beauties off to a good start.
- Choose varieties that have been developed especially for container growth. Thankfully, this is way easier than you might think; many fabulous new cultivars are introduced every year. Seed catalogs (print or on line) are fantastic resources.
- Container gardeners have very limited growing space to work with. That’s a given. To get the most produce — and the most joy — from your very small garden space, focus on [1] plants that give you lots of foodstuffs in relation to the overall size of the plant (example: Swiss chard, herbs, lettuce) and [2] special things you can’t readily find in your local supermarket (example: mizuna, magenta radishes, tiny round carrots). That’s the joy of container gardens.
What are the most common mistakes you have seen people make when they start a garden? What specifically can be done to avoid those errors?
- Trying to grow sun-loving plants in shady areas. The fix: Pay attention to sunlight patterns in your garden space; keep track for a couple of years (write it down if you need to) until it becomes second nature.
- Planting seeds at the wrong time (too early or too late). Fix: Learn your spring and fall frost dates and match them with the necessary “days to harvest” (from seed packet or catalog description).
- For containers, not enough attention to watering. In really hot days of summer, this can mean life-or-death. Fix: check often (dig down with a finger), water thoroughly and deeply if dry. Use whatever trick helps you remember to check.
- Planting seeds (or even tiny seedlings) thickly and then not thinning them when the plants start to grow. Fix: just do it. I know it makes you feel like a murderer; do it anyway.
What are some of the best ways to keep the costs of gardening down?
- In the nursery, look for containers that have several small plants rather than just one; at home, plant them separately. Even with 4-packs and 6-packs, often the individual cells contain more than one tiny seedling.
- Keep an eye out for plant sales sponsored by garden clubs and Master Gardener groups; you get to talk to the person who grew the plants, and the offerings are usually priced very reasonably — plus the proceeds go to a good cause.
- Attend a “garden swap” in your neighborhood. Or organize one yourself.
- Many public libraries sponsor a springtime “seed swap” where items are either free or very inexpensive.
- It’s one more reason to join a garden club or get to know your gardening neighbors; they’ll love to share when it’s time to divide plants.
- When you prune plants to keep them from getting leggy, root the parts you remove. Presto — new plants.
- Many common household items you already have on hand and normally would put in the recycle bin can be converted into garden tools and equipment. Plastic milk jugs can be cut down to make small tool caddies or watering cans. Wooden chopsticks become support stakes for young plants. Clear plastic “clamshell” containers are perfect miniature greenhouses for seed starting. And so forth.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
A library in every town and village, staffed with that village’s elders and any out-of-work or retired teachers. Every business in the area would develop the tradition of buying books for the library instead of holding fancy holiday parties for themselves; it would quickly become a competition: who can add the most books this year, so that soon even areas with diminished local economy would be on the receiving end.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Michelle Obama. She’s courageous, kind, supersmart, forward-thinking, and demonstrated over and over again the inner strength to withstand unconscionable personal attacks with grace and good will. Please, Mrs. Obama, run for president.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
My personal website is www.maggiestuckey.com. From there, readers can ask to be added to my newsletter list.
For specific updates about my new book on growing a Victory Garden entirely in containers, this site: containervictorygarden.com
Thank you so much for the time you spent on this interview. We wish you only continued success and good health.
Author Maggie Stuckey: 5 Things You Need To Know To Create A Successful Vegetable Garden To Grow… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.