Top 5 Gardening Trends We Love in 2022

If you are looking for inspiration to spruce up your garden (or lack thereof), then look no further! We've put together a list of five gardening trends making waves in 2022!

1. Urban gardening

Wake up! Urban gardens are all the rage, and you don't need a country estate to grow your own food! Touted as a way to create healthier communities, both physically and socially, urban gardening serves as a great way for city dwellers to slow down and get back in touch with nature.

Not only are people able to grow their own food without having access to a large yard or garden plot; the trend is also extending into much-needed community building, teaching kids how to grow foods from seedlings into plants, and nurturing healthy habits by familiarizing them with nutritious, whole foods!

2. Vertical gardens

We've seen vertical gardens trending over the past few years, and it's not slowing down anytime soon. After all, if you don't have enough space on the ground, why not go up?

Using vertical space for plants provides an excellent opportunity to grow food in small spaces, whether it's a few pots on the kitchen windowsill or a high-rise organic farm. There are several different types of vertical gardening systems available. Some incorporate hydroponic growing methods (which use water rather than soil), while others use soil and composting materials.

3. Living walls

Ok, hear us out. Living walls are a great way to add color and interest to your garden, whether you’re an avid gardener or just want something beautiful in your backyard. Like the name suggests, a living wall is a wall covered with plants instead of paint. They can be made from a variety of materials such as stone, brick and wood (to name just a few).

The Verge's new Netflix show "The Future Of" takes this idea a step further, exploring how houseplants will be taking care of us in the future!

4. Container gardening

Perhaps our favorite edition to the list, 2022 has seen an explosion of container gardening. Coming out of a post-covid era, there's been a common thread of people using their extensive time spent indoors as a catalyst for soul searching. The outcome? A new outlook on incorporating nature, even if you don't have a garden!

The good news is that a container garden is a great way to start gardening if you don't have a lot of space, especially if you live in an urban area where yard space may be limited or unavailable altogether (think high-rise apartments). It can also be used as an alternative to traditional gardens when there just isn’t enough soil available in your yard; or a great solution to those empty storage containers and mason jars!

5. Grow your own food (from scraps!)

We love the idea of growing your own food, regardless of whether you’re a beginner or an experienced gardener. It’s a great way to unwind, enjoy fresh produce and save yourself some money.

If you’re just starting out, try re-growing some veggies on a windowsill indoors from your food scraps. This trend has recently taken over TikTok, and while we can't blame Gen-Z for being surprised at this process, we're happy to see users fostering their carrot tops, and other roots and bulbs, to minimize food waste and promote a more environmentally friendly approach to food production.

These are just some of the global gardening trends we're loving in 2022. We’re especially excited to see more people taking up gardening as a hobby and incorporating nature in seemingly urban setups. Follow along for more gardening tips, trends and tricks!

Garden Growth

I thought I would give y’all an update on our garden this year. We made a lot of changes to the garden this season and added a lot to it. One of the things we added was bark pathways and cover around the rows. This has really trimmed up the garden and has greatly improved the way that the garden looks. We also added some additional crops this summer, with one of those being corn. I’m really excited about biting into my first corn on the cob this year and the crops are doing phenomenally well so far! We also made some improvements to our grow boxes and filled them in with high quality soil. This has really made a huge impact on the vegetables growth in these boxes and is performing much better than our straw/potting soil mixture last year. We have already harvested some lettuce and radishes from the garden and are waiting until our other vegetables are ready. We have both greenhouse tomato plants and outdoor tomato plants, and although we don’t have any tomatoes right now, we should be getting some in the next month or so. I wanted to share some pictures of the garden and if you have any thoughts or suggestions feel free to comment in the comment section!

Happy growing!

James

Tips for growing in Montana

Montana is a beautiful state with a lot to offer, but unfortunately for those who like to grow a garden, we have a relatively short growing season. This means you must prepare during the spring and maximize your growing season during the fall. Here are a few tips to help you grow a better garden this summer in Montana.

1. Grow your seedlings indoors to start. One of the key things to maximize your growing season is to start your seedlings indoors before the last freeze. Timing is everything when growing your seedlings. If you plant them too early and the last freeze runs into June, you are risking stunting the plants growth and causing death. If you plant the seedlings too late you limit the amount of growth you can get from each plant. My recommendation is to use a chart of when to plant each seed in relative to the last frost day. Use these times to count backwards from when your predicted last frost is and begin growing then.

2. Use heating pads. The use of heat pads will greatly impact your germination rates. If you find yourself getting a less than predicted germination rate for a specific plant, you might need to use heating pads underneath the seedlings to improve germination rates. We use heating pads and have seen our seedlings germinate faster and at a greater percentage.

3. Grow a variety of different plants and vegetables. Diversity is key to survival in the gardening world. Mistakes happen and you don’t want to have all your eggs in one basket when growing your garden. Try to limit the amount of seedlings per type of species. This way if disease, or other tragedies occur you are hedging your garden and protecting your other crops.

So there you have it, 3 tips for growing a better garden this summer in Montana. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments section and happy gardening! For more tips follow our blog for more tips on how to grow in Montana!