If you think you need a ton of land to grow some food of your own, you are mistaken. In chapter 4 of Backyard Farming on an Acre (More or Less) I talk a lot about how to maximize your garden space and grow more even in a small area. These are a two great resources for small-scale self-sufficiency no matter the size of your backyard!
(See the five other gift packages here)
The prizes include four fabulous items, perfect for small spaces:
Peaceful Valley/Grow Organic Gourmet Flavors Collectible Seed Tin – $24.99 – Ten ready-to-plant organic seed packs from Peaceful Valley give you a choice of delicious, heirloom herbs you can plant into your containers or raised bed planters. Fresh herbs are so pricey from the grocery store – save money and enhance flavor by growing your own.
Earth Box Junior Garden System – $24.95 – An Earth Box Garden System is a fabulous self-contained gardening container that is self-watering. Our Earth Box veggies always tolerate the summer heat better than any of our other containers. The Earth Box Junior is smaller sized and better suited for a window-sill or apartment balcony.
Mushroom Garden Kit - $19.95 – Fabulous mushroom garden kit comes ready-to-grow and will take recycled coffee grounds. The small size and self-contained system makes it easy to grow indoors! Using recycled coffee grounds, and housed in a biodegradable box, the entire system is self-contained, sustainably produced, and ready to use as soon as you get it!
My biggest gardening challenge is keeping the soil fertilized enough to have successful plants, also sunlight
Severe heat baking my plant in containers, hoping if I win this package can be a big help to this problem
Would love to get my daughter started in gardening. This is a great starter kit.
I have a really hard time sticking with gardening through the summer months. Heat + weeding = meh, I’ll run to the Farmer’s Market.
My biggest challenge is that we just moved to a place that has not been cared for or watered EVER so there is nothing in my yard but dirt and a few hardy weeds. have not seen an earthworm yet. I am composting, and dreaming…
Staying on top of my garden even when life gets busy. This past summer I had a baby and had trouble remembering to take care of the garden.
My biggest challenge is that my landlord will not let me have a garden in the yard. I do want to start growing food in some pots, though.
My biggest challenge is keeping up with the weeding and not letting things spoil before I get to them.
Keeping the critters out!
very rocky soil
Keeping things alive!!
I have a small garden area surrounding a patio with a privacy fence. Finding room in an area that gets enough sun is a huge challenge!
The fact that we live in an apartment!
Sounds about like the size I can handle.
Kyle said he really wants to grow the mushrooms…so will be a family project if we win!
Definitely space!
Our biggest challenge are bugs! And getting enough bees to pollinate everything.
I think our biggest challenge is the shade. We’re in town in a rental place and we can’t cut down trees, so we have one tiny area of the yard that gets SOME sun, but not enough.
Not enough direct sun.
Growing mushroom in my apartment…neat idea.
Want to teach my son and this would be a perfect start
biggest challenge is getting enough direct sunlight in my yard….the only place to get sun is on the patio.
I don’t have enough bees coming around, my dogs try to dig everything I plant, we have an inch of soil and the rest is hard, red clay, and I am at my wit’s end trying to have a great garden.
My biggest challenge is irrigation/water followed by a health deer population.
Our biggest backyard gardening challenge is space!! I have a suburban lot, so we do hydroponics, raised beds along the house, vertical gardening, garbage can compost bins and planter gardening. Hoping to be able to find less house/more property in the near future!!! But acreage is PRICY
planning…im new and this is only my second year of a garden
My challenge is the new house we bought, the garden was almost 6 foot tall, all weeds. The dirt looks like its mostly sand. I’m composting as much as I can this winter so that I can at least get a good start on fresh vegetables next year. I’m really missing fresh vegetables from my garden this year though. ( we left the garden that was planted for the new owners.). Merry Christmas!
powdery white mildew
Georgia clay and getting enough water to the garden!
My biggest challenge is gardening in very dry conditions. This drought is killing us!
Keeping things living and keeping the cats and squirrels from stealing my stuff!
Keeping the weeds out!
Growing anything from back home. I am from Minnesota and I love rhubarb and peas, I have difficulties with the peas due to the weather and rhubarb, well it just dies! Its too hot down here in Oklahoma. So, we are looking at some other options this next year, maybe indoor planting.
Great starter packs, would love this for my grandkids who live in the city.
biggest gardening challenge is dealing with proper drainage in container gardening
I’m just starting to garden again after apartment living for 10+ years. I need to start small so I don’t get so overwhelmed and gradually increase the garden size and variety of what to grow.
Pushing through the pain I have to actually get out there and do it. I have one raised bed and need a whole bunch more cause I LOVE fresh veggies!!!!
I have grown many thinks in planters but never mushrooms … I really want to try growing mushrooms.
“things” not thinks lol
Space is always a problem.
Soil fertility. The builder’s in my current home used rubbish fill on what used to be extremely fertile and wonderful strawberry fields.
ANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you!
My biggest gardening challenge is keeping plants from drying out in containers during our dry and hot Colorado summers!
My biggest challenge is space.
My biggest challenge is keeping neighborhood dogs and cats out of my garden. No matter what I’ve tried they always seem to get in to stop on my plants.
Deer will be a problem that we will have to overcome.
This would do great in the limited space here in the desert.
Would especially love the mushrooms:)
My biggest challenge right now is knowing when to plant what, harvest when, and what to plant it next to. It’s a lot to learn!
I live in a small trailer house so this would be awesome. Thanks for the giveaway.
Convincing my inlaws that I should have a garden at all
My biggest challenge is getting out there often enough.
There is SO much to learn here! The light and making sure there is enough of it to grow what I want to grow is biggest problem. Between trees that I can’t cut down (not my trees) and a huge sand dune that I can’t move and nowhere indoors where I could put grow lights, growing anything is a real challenge!
WEEDS
I put bags of dirt on driveway and plant in them.
My biggest challenge is keeping up with the weeds and keeping the critters out. I think we have deer hanging around although I have never seen them!
trying to garden in base housing. can’t do a whole lot bc it isn’t our yard. SOOO frustrating!!
My biggest challenge is making sure my neighbor does not spray my garden with chemicals when he sprays his yard. He does not believe in organics.
Cabbage Worms!
Finding enough appropriate space in my small backyard to do everything i want to!
I have difficulty keeping everything bug free! Especially when mosquitoes keep me from the garden.
Keeping critters out and watering. Will be getting some rain barrels.
keeping up with harvest, waste not want not!
My biggest challenge is being disabled and having a hard time bending down to do any garden work
My challenge is the rabbit who lives next door. But since she eats weeds as well as my plants, we have come to terms now.
Great giveaway!
would be a great way to help teach my grandchildren gardening
Biggest challenge…. Time.
All great products!
My biggest gardening challange is sunlight. It’s very limited in only certain spots throughout the day.
keeping the critters out of the garden!
My biggest gardening challenge is getting deciding what to grow, I want to grow it all but we have a small yard.
making sure everything gets the right amount of water. I either don’t water enough or over water everything.
Getting ripe tomatoes because of what has turned into really erratic weather in the NW
I would love to grow my own mushrooms!
Greatest challenge for me would be knowing the best and easiest ways to grow things.
My biggest challenge is keeping up with it once the novelty wears off. I have a crazy busy life and I don’t always remember to weed and water until it’s nuts out in the garden!
SPACE!!!!
I would love to have these items.
My biggest gardening challenge is the heavy clay soil…. and finding enough organic matter to balance it out!
I feel the biggest challange I am going to have in my current location is the soil. It is hard packed and clay like. I may end up using some containers for those items I am unable to prep the soil properly for.
Wilt off…
My biggest challenge is that I am disabled, so I can only manage a very small garden. The drought of 2012 really made me wonder if it was worth all the hard work, time and money that I had invested in mysmall garden. My 1st year of having a garden was 2011. There was so much that I gave away much of my harvests. I did can a lot too. It was a good thing that I had so much food, due to the fact that I didn’t get much this year. Sure we had BLTs and fresh pasta sauce, but I only canned 12 quarts of salsa and 20 quarts of geen beans. I do plan to try again in the spring and hope for the best.
my biggest gardening challenge is…. well, where do i start? i can get pots and i have several… dirt, not a problem… what can i grow? when can i grow? what do i use for compost? what do i use to keep them alive? ….i need help. ~nod nod~
OUr biggest challenge in the desert here is poor soil..Its rocky and full of granite..Good thing were moving to Oklahoma this summer to start a small farm !
fungus and mold because I live in Washington. Then just general lack of knowledge of how to care for the plants
one word. . gophers
My biggest challenges are soil with a lot of clay and keeping my dogs from eating whatever they can reach! LOL!
Enough light
My challenge is that being out in the dirt of the garden drives my allergies nuts!
not enough space is a challenge I am hoping to over come
My biggest gardening challenge is time and space and lack of knowledge.
Tacoma soil.
My biggest challenge is the deer. But I guess they have to eat too!
I NEED THIS! Apartment living has prevented me from being able to grow my own food. : (
my biggest gardening challenge is weeding…. ! aside from that, knowing if my various plants are really going to bear fruit or not and how to get them to bear more than just a handful of fruit each year.
would love to be able to start a garden. biggest problem here is the trees!
Biggest challenge here is keeping weeds at bay. Those little buggars are just horrible!
My biggest garden challenge at the moment is the severely rocky soil that we have. The Dumby that lived here before dumped about 3 dump truck loads of large sized gravel over the whole home area. It’s been here long enough it’s worked itself down about 2.5 feet into our clay-ish soil. So I have to come up with cheap ways to build raised beds AND get a lot of dirt that is usable for a garden!
My biggest challenge is BUGS! I don’t use pestasides, so I am always picking off and squashing some kind of wiggly, crawly, multi-legged, flying THING or other.
My biggest gardening problem are my health problems, but at the same time it is my greatest therapy.
I think the biggest challenge for me is split equally between bugs and fungus killing my plants…. I live in the humid southeast. Thanks for having the giveaway!
My biggest challenge is staying on top of the weeds. I end up doing all of the work myself and it can be daunting!
My biggest challenge is lack of space in our row house city lot…and the squirrels that like to eat my produce…and the cats that use my small garden as their litterbox…Ok, so that would be my THREE biggest challenges.
My 2 biggest challenges are deer and watering! I live on a 3rd floor apartment and hauling down 2 watering cans full of water and across the lawn can be a chore! I had 3 garden plots last year and the deer at all of them too (right before i was going to harvest them myself!). lol. maybe i’ll have better luck next year?
My biggest gardening challenge is not owning the land I live on and as a result being limited in what I can do. I live in a mobile home in a mobile home park with strict rules governing what we can have in “our yard”. Most edibles must be mixed into the landscaping with ornamentals. I do have 3 raised beds behind my home, but they had to be surrounded by a natural fence of tall arbovitae. The arborvitae limits the number of hours of sunlight my garden receives because of their shade. The limited garden space also makes rotation difficult.
This would be great!
My biggest challenge is keeping the neighborhood kids OUT of it.
We live on a hill so we don’t have much flat land to work with.
small space & remembering to follow through
My biggest gardening challenge right now is my lack of outdoor living space. But I also hate pulling weeds….
Time!!!!!!!!!!!!!
biggest challenge- access to enough free/cheap compost or space to create enough of our own… second biggest challenge is related to the first- growing space is limited
knowledge! We just don’t know enough!
My biggest challenge is the very poor soil and uneven sun coverage. We live on a very small city lot and I’ve been mostly forced to use raised bed gardens with mixed success. Seems like the there is more grass in my vegetable beds than in the lawn, which is mostly taken over by ground cover. I wish I could grow more fruit than veggies but I keep killing expensive blueberry plants so I don’t think my husband will let me buy apple or peach trees, assuming I could even fit them.
Time!
My biggest challenge is producing enough. I need to make some beds.
physical strength & mobility
This would be soooo helpful for our small dwelling 650 sqft apt!!!
I love the idea of small space gardening and am always after more information! We have clay soil, so I always have to use containers and raised beds.
Growing enough to really last me!
My biggest problem is growing foods the grandkids will eat, and actually getting it to thrive. Nearly everything in my garden died this last year.
thanks!
our garden seems disorganized, sometimes we have things that come up by themselves-so we things all over the place…
not enough space.
One of our biggest challenges is keeping wild life from eating our plants.
We live in an apartment with no real space to garden, and what space we have is constantly being sprayed by maint for pest control.
No matter what I do we are plagued by bugs. We live on what used to be a farm but I think they were growing bugs. The come from all over as soon as I start the garden. I don’t grow much but they’re there to eat it!
My biggest challenge is the time to be out there. The weeds always end up overtaking everything.
this would be perfect for my daughter who is apartment bound and misses the gardens so much
My garden gets neglected
Out of site, out of mind, and its on the side of the house where I don’t see it. I think a small box garden on my porch may be more my speed.
Great for a small space and the composter looks wonderful, too.
My biggest challenge is the soil–its mostly clay
Proper hydration, I think!
I need to find a garden spot with more sunshine.
Random accessibility issues: I’m in a wheelchair, & the more “contained” & accessible the better…no garden soil to get stuck in, no muddy tires, etc…when I don’t get enthusiastic help from other family members…
Not very much sunlight
my biggest challenge is getting the soil properly prepared for seeds.
Not only my soil is pretty much pure orange-white clay, but I’m also subjected to the poisonous runoff of my neighbors, who regularly apply pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers to their lawns. Furthermore, city and homeowners association regulations prevent me from keeping chickens and goats. They even turned me in for feeding stray cats!
Deer!
Basic gardening knowledge and time.
Always wanted to try mushrooms.
Keeping up with the entire process.
Our biggest challenge is finances and getting started on a low budget.
Actually doing it! Need motivation to get started. Afraid to fail!
My biggest garden challenge is that I am in a wheelchair, which is why I really like the earth boxes, I can put them on my driveway.
My biggest challenge right now is that my husband and I live in a tiny apartment in the middle of a sea of pavement with literally not even an inch of yard to call our own. We do have two very large, southern exposure windows and I grow several herbs and would like to try some microgreens and other vegetables.
this would be prefect for our tiny outdoor space!!! tysm!
I live in a forest….uggghhhhh
So many struggles:
carrots
slugs
squash bugs
Remembering to plant the peas early enough!
My biggest gardening problem is bugs that I don’t know how to easily and safely eradicate.
We live on a tiny lot and use raised beds, and the biggest challenge is those darn squash bugs we can’t get rid of, and keeping the beds watered during the hot summer.
I love to plan and plant, but upkeep and harvesting on time are tricky.
Right now we live in an apartment that makes gardening really difficult. We’ve tried growing herbs and other small plants in containers but ever since living in this apartment everything dies on us (despite my husband and I both typically having green thumbs). We can’t wait until we have more space to garden. I think my husband would love to grow mushrooms — he is a much bigger fan of them than I.
My biggest challenge is building up my soil….we just moved to a new farm, and the soil is not very good right now!
Oh, and maybe cabbage loopers!
My biggest garden failures have been caused by: squash bugs, extreme heat, and running out of energy while pregnant.
Remembering to water and trying to determine what is my plant and what is a weed!
My biggest challenge is getting everything in early enough–it gets way too hot too fast here and nothing can live. I do much better with a winter garden.
remembering to tend it
Our single biggest challenge is lack of water accessibility at our only garden site option.
Having just moved into a small-ish trailer with not much yard (and very inhospitable soil) this would be great to win!
My biggest challenge at our current site is sunlight. Lots of mature trees. Second challenge is soil – very sandy. Fortunately challenge one provides long term solution to problem two, as I am keeping and composting the leaves to amend the soil. While we have quite a bit of sq footage, we have little area for gardening. Actually much less than on our previous, smaller lot. Have a feeling we’ll be doing a good bit of vertical gardening, as there is a sunny utility easement on one side of the property.
My biggest challenge is no yard, so I use containers.. but mostly shade on my porch.. so the plants that need lots of sun go on my stairs..
I hang tomatoes but still need more sun
I need more time & energy!
I have the worst black thumb in history. I kill EVERYTHING! I know to put stuff in the ground and give it water fairly regularly, but that is it. How do you “tend” it? When do you pick it? How do you harvest? Once you empty the plant, do you pull it up and start over? I HAVE NO IDEA!
getting it to live and thrive
Man, it’s the space here. We have a small patio.
My biggest challenge right now is not overwhelming myself! We actually have a decent amount of space and it’s hard not to want to plant everything! But this will be our first year of gardening and I don’t want to crash and burn. So practicing restraint is going to be very important!
my biggest gardening challenge is simply getting started
My biggest challenge is that I don’t really have a good spot to plant that gets full sunlight. Everything is in shade most of the day.
Good soil to grow carrots and other root veggies in.
I’m not sure whether the weeds or the watering are a bigger challenge. One way or another, my garden rarely makes it to the end of the season….
My challenge is time – especially for weeding!
Organic weed killer
I just cant get the weeding to a minimum 
The composter looks great!
My biggest challenge is garden insect pests. My garden harvest was attacked this last year.
My newest challenge is that we moved and are starting all over with our garden….I miss my old established garden!
My biggest challenge is keeping my kids from picking all the harvest and eating it as it grows
We rent right now! This last year’s container garden was a BOMB!
Squirrels!
My biggest challenge is space. I have no yard and a very small porch.
This will be great and manageable for me to do with my grandchildren !
our biggest challenge is dealing with PESTS! We try to keep our garden organic, so no spraying everything down with pesticides like some of my friends do.
My biggest gardening challenge is moving my plants when I travel.
My biggest challenge is finding the time to weed and water during the summer months.
My biggest challenge is my health, fibromyalgia and severe osteoarthritis. I can’t get down in the backyard to work a garden like I use to. But I have had a porch garden for the last 2 years, and love being able to go on my front porch and grow things. This year we had tomatoes, different kinds of peppers, and around 8 different herbs grown in pots on the porch. This prize would help me learn to grow new things, and help me continue my porch garden into next year. Even this is a way of telling illness it won’t take you away from the things you love to do most!
Weeding is a big challenge. Hurts my back.
Getting my Garden out early.
Racing to keep up with the weeds and staggering the harvest so as to make better use of the abundance.
we live by cape cod so the sand makes it hard…amending the soil and keeping it watered!
Actually getting the darn thing started. It sat there prepped… with nothing in it.
My biggest gardening challenge has been living in an apartment (with no foreseeable move to a house with a yard) and learning how to container garden. This kit looks awesome!
I love eating all the fresh stuff but hate it when the bugs get eating on it before I get to.
First is bugs and then wild animals such as deer, rabbits, racoons, and such. We have raised beds which do great when we can keep bugs and animals out.
My biggest challenge is dealing with garden pests, while trying to maintain organi practices.
This a great and informative site glad I found it
My biggest challenge is space,, its always about space ,, this year i even packed the rows in 3 deep instead of 2,,,, was awesome the amount of produce,, and less watering because the ground was shaded ,, took a ton of planning to companion plant ,,,, but i was able to squeeze in artichokes and brussel sprouts this year !!
My biggest challenge was rocky soil so I built raised beds. My next challenge was hills. It’s still a bit of a challenge but I have tiered everything and it works well.
My biggest gardening challenges are weeds and time.
It used to be my neighbors attacking my plants with footballs.
A shady yard.
keeping the soil fertilized
my biggest challenge is the newcomers lack of insight on all the small things such as correct companion planting for insects ect
Having the space to do it in!
Weeds are my biggest gardening challenge!
My biggest challange is weeds. We don’t like to use sprays so weweed, alot.
disease/wilting of my tomato plants
Soil fertility.
Weeds & we tend to over plant & have trouble keeping up at harvest time!
My challenge: How do I select the right containers for my balcony garden plants?
I have not grown anything but some herbs in a pot! I am eager to learn more and this kit would be a great starting point!
My biggest challenge is the follow through at the end of the season!
A great gift set to share with a cousin who is setting up her first apartment.
Feeding the dry scrabble ground so it will raise anything.
I find gardening to be a challenge when my family gets sick and we have no energy.
Our soil here is horrible. Trying to the right soil amendments has proven very difficult.
Just getting started! And not being afraid of past failures…
Can I have two? Living in an apt with zero dirt space and very little time.
Do you mind if I quote a couple of your articles as long as I provide credit and sources back to your blog? My website is in the exact same area of interest as yours and my visitors would certainly benefit from a lot of the information you present here. Please let me know if this ok with you. Regards!
I tend to just plant them and let it go. I really want to have something inside to help remind me to watch it grow and enjoy it’s fruits!
I like to grow my vegetables from seeds… or try to anyway… but i never seem to start them early enough so that they are big enough to transplant outside when the time is right.
Biggest challenge – keeping animals out of my garden.
We live on a slope, so everything will erode away!
This would be lots of fun in a small space.
Our apartment is almost in total shade. We are also part of a community garden, but we only had one raised bed, that was in direct sun all day. So, I guess our main issues are space and sun related.
Biggest gardening challenge is finding the time to garden.
making the most of my space
having good soil to use. my yard is very swampy in places.
My biggest challenge is our yard is small and never been looked after and its all sand and rocks. I spent the last summer composting and adding to the sand to make better soil. Oh and picking rocks.
My biggest gardening challenge is deciding what veggies/herbs take priority. When something is a flop, it’s kind of like wasted space where you could have grown something else.
Getting started is my biggest challenge. I’ll come up with some great plans in the winter, but then when it’s planting time life just gets in the way.
My biggest gardening challenge is definitely space… I have a small one-bedroom apt. but do have a balcony that faces SWW.
Can not go wrong with a earthbox.
getting things to grow in a very small space!
My biggest challenge is time & space!
Little space!
What a treat! Thank you!!
Would make good use of these products.
I spend so much money on fresh produce to stick with my healthy eating habits. Without much of a yard, I’ve been searching for ways to grow my own. What a great idea for a set!!!!
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I’m excited!! I’m buying copies of the book for my sister and newly married daughter. (and myself of course)
My biggest challenge is heat and watering issues.
My biggest challenge is the Florida heat and humidity (okay, so I would probably still be a novice gardener regardless of the climate) but it really is a challenge to battle this heat sometimes. My tomatoes are thriving though!
My biggest gardening challenges are rocks and poor soil.
My biggest challenge — except for the whole living-in-an-apartment-with-no-yard thing — is the short growing season where I live! That, and having to lug big pots of dirt on and off my makeshift carport container garden.
Finding the time to do everything is the hardest part. But the trees give me the biggest challenge with their dead branches, taking down dead trees, cutting up twigs branches by hand, and the roots under my gardens make it tough to plant anything, not to mention the numerous shoots from the apple tree. They pop up everywhere and I have to cut them down several times a summer.
My biggest challenge is getting the right soil mixture and fertilizer for my containers.
A short growing season
Biggest gardening challenge would have to be our first container vegetable garden.
Keeping animals out
Sunlight….having enough facing the right windows.
I live in an apartment with no yard or deck, so adequate sunlight can be hard to provide sometimes!
mushrooms are a god send… food, cleaning up pollution and spiritual enlightenment…. so many more uses for our friendly fungus too.
Bugs!
Keeping the dog away and getting the family to help me- these are my challenges
In a word the challenge is florida with it poor soil and to much rain I try and garden in planters on my porch
My biggest challenge is planning out what needs to be planted when and where it should go in relation to the other plants (height/shade, etc.) We garden in raised beds (sq. ft. gardening), and last year I really messed up with some plants shading other plants too much.
Learning to garden for the first time…in Alaska!
Just learning how to garden… the things that come with experience. Every year we have had a garden we have learned more and more. Our biggest hurdles have been what we haven’t learned yet.
Our biggest challenge is slowing down and really caring for what we have before adding more.
lack of space for all the things I want to grow!
I no longer live in an apartment, but I remember the biggest challenge was definitely space! Sun exposure was another issue…and living on the second floor. Every time I would water my pots on our deck they would always leak to our neighbors below! Oops!
Space is an issue!
This is awesome
Overgrown yard covered in dog poo!
Using my time effectively so I don’t let my garden run wild!
last year planted on my shaded balcony, this year I want to plant there but try vertical up my stairs in full sun need ideas and help
Space
I have a hard time figuring out how much water each plant needs
Biggest problem? Prolly sloth, not an actual sloth, laziness on my part.
BUGS! and of course the never-ending weeds!
My biggest garden challenge is time management.
My biggest gardening challenge is lack of light. My only outdoor space is covered by the apartment upstairs and the edge of my patio is blocked by shrubs.
Follow through. I can handle one-time tasks. Ongoing ones (like watering and weeding) are harder for me.
Great site, hope the launch party goes well!
Biggest problem… tiny back yard, huge appetite!
My biggest challenge(s) are the sun and wind. It’s very windy and there is no shade in the only spot I can put down containers to grow anything. Afraid anything I try to grow would be baked and battered.
Nice Page
Space is my biggest challenge
I use pot growing all the time.
My biggest gardening challenge is the short growing season in Alaska – and having moose come through and eat my plants!
Getting my hubby to till up the garden area, and time and energy to plant everything after working everyday.
The biggest challenge I have gardening is that my body is falling apart. My husband says I may have to face the fact that one day I may not be able to have a garden, but I told him I’ll never give it up. If I end up confined to a wheelchair, he’d just better realize that he’s going to have to help me build raised garden beds! I’ll crawl out there if I have to!
Bad bugs…hate them
Critters, they dig up everything!
My biggest challenge is a 70 pound dog that LOOOOVES to root around in soft soil…
My biggest gardening challenge is using all of my produce before it goes bad!
My biggest challenge is compacted clay soil.
Soil and slugs!
Getting the stupid ground tilled up. There is lots of sand and rock on top of the soil.
My biggest gardening challenge is dealing with soil deficiencies.
Biggest gardening challenge: Lack of motivation when its extremely hot and the mosquitoes are on a rampage.
biggest backyard gardening challenge is Squash bugs! They kill off my zukes and pumpkins almost every year.
Perfect for my sister!
My biggest gardening challenge? It’s a toss-up between finding an area of my backyard that’s NOT overly shady, and my dislike of being really, really hot.
Watering the garden. We are high desert and very hot and dry in the summer. Keeping everything watered without overwatering is hard for us.
We are currently living in a sub division and renting so the only gardening space I have is in pots. We will be moving next year and hopefully be able to purchase some land soon!
My biggest challenge is keeping the plants going during a drought. Also, the WEEDS! ha
this year we planted a little garden in our apartment and we are still getting cherry tomatoes off our plants.. they look terrible, but are still producing
Love having my own fresh food even if it is just a little, but miss my big garden and backyard
carrots and onions
Homegrown taisty salad with mushrooms even! What a dream to start growing our own veggies for the dinner table. I can just imagine it!
My biggest challenge is obtaining the knowledge and applying it for the best produce I can. I’m getting pretty good with tomatoes!
My biggest challenge is getting my family to realize that they too can garden regardless of space. This gift pack would make a great gift for my cousin. She has a 2 year old daughter and I think it would be great for them to start gardening on a small scale together.
Water
My biggest gardening challenge is trying to bring the soil back to life. Our newest garden is on an old cornfield that had been (conventionally) farmed hard for years. There wasn’t a whole lot of life left in it when we bought the place and it’s taking time to bounce back, still surrounded by acres & acres of conventionally farmed fields.
My biggest problem is a combination of small garden size and clay soil. Hoping to be in a new house with a bigger garden by next spring.
We recently moved to a new house, have permission from the landlord to put in a garden (Yay!), but the previous tenants did not take care of the yard at all. Lots of composting and buying earthworms and in my immediate future.
My biggest issue is keeping up with the weeds!
Biggest gardening challenge would have to be trying to keep up with the weeding!
Especially when the garden gets going in summertime…
Oh, and removing pests!
As an apartment dweller, my biggest challenges are space and sunlight!
needing less space to plant things.
space
We have a very tiny, rocky backyard, which makes it very diifcult to grow anything.
My biggest problem is Blight. I have moved my garden, started new compost, moved it too, lol every year ends with this! Happy Holidays everyone!
My biggest challenge would be knowledge of fertilizers, soil preparation, and watering. I am still learning!
Perfectionism
Finding a spot with enough sunlight is the hardest part!
poor soil
Mushrooms, this would be a neat start to learn how to grow mushrooms. Another favorite of mine. Thank you.
WOW what a great give away. Thanks for the chance to win. Kat
Clay soil!! I just moved here this past spring and the soil is horrid. I’m trying to amend it with composting. Any suggestions?
My mom and I have had pretty good success by aerating a mixture of 50/50 peat moss and manure into the soil prior to planting. Good luck!
Keeping up with weeding!
Space and time mostly =) Although I think making the time to play in the dirt is going to be very good for my physical and mental health.
My biggest challenge? I am so new to gardening, and I learn best by trial/error. The result is that, many errors and some success. I want “Rome” to be built in a day!
My biggest gardening challenge is getting tomatoes to grow. And keeping the squash vine borers out of my squash.
Wow-what a WONDERFUL Giveaway!! Thank you for a chance to win!
My biggest gardening challenge is the wild morning glory vine that is so very invasive.
Enthusiasm versus time is my greatest issue, as I’m insane always trying to grow 30+ heirloom varieties. The winter garden is easier as filling the beds with lettuce and kale I don’t feel the pressure of failing the harvest.
Lots of clay in my soil so I try to use grow boxes and raised beds to combat the problem. These items would be greatly beneficial, too!
My biggest gardening challenge…honestly are three main things. 1) Pests, because I don’t use pesticides they are a challenge. 2) Weeds, or at least mainly crab grass. Seems like I am always at war with them, but each year gets easier. 3) Watering, I work 48 hours a week as a Nurse’s Aid taking care of elderly people I can only devote so small amounts of time gardening after being a Mom of 3. I always feel like I am playing catch up.
getting the right amount of sunlight
So far, drought and a failing well. The well has since been replaced.
would love to give this to my daughter
It takes too long for bell peppers to ripen to red/orange. I never get more than a couple.
Biggest challenge is having the right soil (ours is really, really sandy)
Biggest challenge is Garden bugs that eat my veggies!
WEEDS & RABBITS
I just found two nice palettes at a
Construction site for new
House in the neighborhood. I googled palette gardens
And I’m going to make a small “vertical” garden. Check it out— it looks easy!!
sunlight!
What a fantastic idea for those who have limited space. I would love this!
I tried a small scale garden this past summer and got a little bit – not much – but was proud of my first attempt!
My biggest challenge is probably getting burned out towards the end of the season.
For some reason we always have troubles with our larger tomatoes such as beefsteak. We are purely deep organic, we don’t even use organic pesticides/fungicides/herbicides – we only use pure organic techniques and have had trouble controlling the blight on these larger tomato varieties.
Well I have many! I live in an apartment with soil that tested positive for lead so everything I grow is in a container or inside on the window ledges. But that isn’t my biggest challenge. My biggest challenge is keeping my 9mth old kitty out of the plants.
My biggest challenge is maximizing production in a little space.
My biggest challenge is our rocky soil.
These would be awesome for my daughter, she lives ‘in the city’ and works with children. A great way to promote gardening and sustainability with the new generation!
My biggest challenge is picking all my tomatoes at just the right time!
We have a lot of wasps in our area so the biggest challenge for me is keeping them away so I can garden without getting stung.
oh the weeds! the weeds! They get away from me after the first time I weed, it’s usually a month until the next time. And then the bugs. In MN, the bugs keep me out of my garden at times.
My biggest challenge is not having enough time to grow more! I have a good sized yard, and keep taking over more traditional spaces to grow more. I am working at making it as easy as possible to be successful…really using a lot of permaculture techniques!
Time. I’m always going 20 different directions and trying to get too many things done. Time. Time. Time.
Space is my biggest gardening challenge–haven’t had enough!!
My biggest challenge is time!
My biggest challenge is trying to plant anything in the ungodly soil (actually rock) in my back yard. It actually kills plants, so I have to dig a hole, layer lining in the hole, and then fill it with usable soil.
My biggest gardening challenge is not over watering and knowing what to do in which seasons.
To stop myself from taking out everything but dirt. I forget that the rocks and other plants, etc. are vital to gardening too.
My biggest gardening challenges are pests.
no space and horrible soil in our tiny yard
Not enough room for all that I want to grow
My husband!:) We live in a subdivision and he’d rather have grass then let me have a garden…he is getting better though!
My biggest challenge is the heat during the summer months.
My biggest gardening challenge is planting an area that receives little direct sunlight. So far we have Jade, hens and chicks and a climbing rose, looking to plant ferns next
My biggest challenge are pests! We don’t use pesticides and I can only hand pick so many stink bugs. We recently acquired chickens and one of them seems to enjoy eating the stink bugs
)
Soil! Our landlord had non-organic fertilizers for his plants in the little garden patch outside, so I want to compost in order to amend the soil. Right now my slow compost system consists of greens and browns tucked under a tarp in the corner of the property.
Oh, this is an awesome kit to help an apartment dweller like me get started down the right path! Right now my biggest challenge is finding the right way to get the most use out of the back porch as a mini-garden.
Gardening is a life long study for me. Some years it is great some everything goes wrong. I plann on moving to square foot gardening this spring.