Urban Girl Gets a Green Thumb: Heirloom Seed Container Garden

Just thought I'd share this, because I just did it. If you have an old, cheap bookcase that you don't need or want anymore, you can make it into a raised bed planter. Take the back off and then lay the bookcase down onto the tilled or rototilled ground. Then fill the layed down bookcase up with soil and compost. How high the raised bed will be, will depend on how deep of a bookcase it was to begin with. The wood will decay over time, but when it does it will become compost. Then don't throw away the back of the bookcase. Lay it down in an area that you don't want anything to grow and add wood chips or mulch over it. It will keep that area weed free for several years, and once again when it finally breaks down, it will be compost.

Katherine asked about the "Back to Eden" movie.

I have not seen it, but from what I've read about it – and my own experience – the reality is far different from the theory.

The food crops that we eat are very different from the vegetation that thrives in the wild. The very things that make certain plants useful to humans also make them very vulnerable to the forces in nature that well-tended plants are sheltered from. There is a reason why even the oldest heirloom varieties seldom survive in an untended state more than one year.

Get a copy of "The Resilient Gardener – Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times" by Carol Deppe. She does an excellent job of explaining this in very simple terms as "The Plant-Gardener Covenant". There is a relationship between the gardener and the plan; between the chicken and those who keep them. (It is an EXCELLENT book for those gardening for preparedness.)

There are some places, I am confident, that very nature-centered methods would work. If that is your goal, then have at it. My goal is to produce as much usable food for my family as I can, using the most sustainable methods I can. I use as many organic methods as possible (never use pesticides, for example), but there is a big difference between choosing gardening methods for philosophical reasons and for feeding your family.

SouthernAgrarian.com

Has anyone seen this movie?

http://backtoedenfilm.com/about/index.html

It sounds like his methods make gardening much easier.

I am going to try a self-watering container garden this year. I can get 5 gallon buckets at my local walmart deli for $1 each. You can find plans on the net for stacking two together, drilling some holes and putting a piece of pipe down through them and poof….self watering container garden. I am hoping this works well to keep away our neighborhood bunnies and to keep the plants well watered. These are the two things i have struggled with in the past. Hope to have mine in by Memorial day!

I am interested in finding out how this garden comes along. Please keep us updated, maybe I will attempt some measure of a urban garden here in my apartment complex :)

Great tips, I'll pass these on to my husband cuz he does all the work :)

Fresh veggies are so worth the time and effort!

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I've been gardening for years and was so thrilled to finally get a tiller to help with the work. What I have learned very recently was about a method called "lasagna gardening" which involves layering, starting with cardboard or newspaper (which will kill the grass then attract worms), then compost, manure, peat moss and organic materials. What's great about this method is there's no need to dig a spot or till, weeding will be minimal and it will also conserve moisture for less watering. Wish I had known about this years ago. Anyone want to buy a Troy Bilt Roto Tiller? I don't need mine anymore!

Anna, it's great that you're getting that delicious spinach! And I'm so interested in seeing how your containers work out.

Drew, I'm hoping to do some canning at the end of the season as well! Good luck with your garden!

Bridget, I'm hoping for a success story like yours this year. Let us know how it turns out with the birds. :)

Stephen, thanks for sharing! I am especially interested in your recent post about deep planting tomato starts. It never would have occurred to me.

Jim, if you search for a keyhole garden on Google, you'll see a lot of great examples and diagrams. Essentially it is a circular raised bed with a notch into one side for easy access to the entire depth of the bed. Very interesting concept.

—Sarah

I've honestly never heard of a keyhole garden, what is it ?

I so do not have a green thumb. I am looking forward to seeing all the great tips and information included with the Container Garden.

I love gardening. Its a great way to do something for yourself.

I've been seriously gardening for about 14 years and I consider myself just a beginner. It is almost shocking how much gardening success depends on sheer experience. I have learned much, and made many improvements – and the results show it, yet there is still so much to be learned. Those who buy a can of "survival seeds" and figure that they'll just plant them "if things get bad" will be in for hungry times.

A few things I've learned:

• Good soil makes all the difference. We have terrible soil where I live – it's not much better than glorified beach sand infested with nematodes. I made no real progress until I went to a raised bed garden and filled it with a mixture based on lots of experimentation and soil testing. Good soil is like gold – a very precious thing that must be nurtured and cared for and preserved.

• Gardening is a VERY local thing. Hardiness Zones are just a small part of it. Every place has its own micro-climate, its own soil type, and its own local pollinators. You have to learn what grows well where YOU are.

• I continually pare down the number of varieties that I try to grow. There are plenty of different things that can grow here – I try to figure out what few things grow dependably well here and that our family enjoys eating. Better to have a couple of crops that work well than lots of variety that just does OK. I still experiment with new varieties, but the goal is still to find a few that work.

For those interested, I've got a blog with lots of photos of my garden and chickens and how I do things. Some things are updated (such as using soil blocks to start seeds) as I learn better ways and figure out what does and doesn't work.

SouthernAgrarian.com

Last year was my first time gardening and I started with a small 4X4 box using the square foot method. I was happy with the results but grew a little more ambitious this year. I added one more 4X4 box and 2 2X4 boxes for berries. So far, I have planted lettuce, spinach, carrots, potatoes, and onions. In the smaller boxes, I have 2 blackberry vines and a few strawberry plants. I can't seem to keep the birds away from my berries, so I will be working on that this week.

My daughter & I are starting our first garden this year, we have three planter boxes, compost bin, and small greenhouse for our starters. We are really excited about this endeavor and plan on trying to do some canning at the end, hope this works if not we'll learn from our mistakes good luck everyone on a "fruitful season"

My property is so full of shade that I don't have room for just one, big garden. So I plant garden 'patches' everywhere I can find an even sunny spot. One spot that I had composted so well over the years and had grown onions and potatoes so well, was totally taken over this year by the most beautiful lambs quarters (wild spinach)you ever saw! Since it is so tasty and so highly nutritious, I decided to just let it grow and now I am harvesting a free, nature planted garden! I will be able to load my freezer with spinach (and dry some) and I didn't have to plant a thing. But I am also planting some container gardens, so I look forward to seeing how yours comes out and reading pointers. Currently, I am growing potatoes, rhubarb, strawberries and tomatoes in containers. Kristel, love the great tips!

Thanks for the encouragement, ladies!
MrsSarahC, we should keep in touch about them and compare notes!
Vicky B, I had never heard of a keyhole garden, and now I really want one, too. :)
KristelBelle, thanks for all your suggestions—especially about the notebook/record idea.
sherrysk8, I'm going to look into a community garden—thanks for your comment!
—Sarah

I am doing both some container gardening and some raised beds this year (2 at home & 1 at the community garden). I paid for the one at the community garden mostly to gain the knowledge that is available from the master gardeners that maintain plots there. That one is all organic & I have never done organics before, so I'm excited. In the containers I've got chives, basil, peppermint, asparagus (huge tubs – 2nd year), some grape tomatoes, lettuce, spinach & also some flowers. In the raised beds – tomatoes, peppers (3 kinds), potatoes and watermelon (planning on trailing the vines OUT of the bed and onto the lawn). At the community garden we're trying squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, 3 different kinds of peppers, lettuce (2 types), spinach & radishes. I've already harvested so much lettuce I've been giving it & the radishes away to family & neighbors. It's beginning to get too hot here (TX) for the lettuce & spinach to do much more til fall. The squash, however, are looking great, though we are battling squash & cucumber beetles (without the use of pesticides – scary!). I figure we've already paid for the yearly dues at the community garden from the lettuce we've gotten – not to mention the amount of stuff I've learned from some of the other gardeners there. You might check around in your area & find out if there is a similar program there (here, about 1/2 of the garden is leased to gardeners & and the other 1/2 is worked by volunteers & plot leasees and donated to area food pantries). Our community garden also does 'events' (Spring Fling, Harvest Festival, movies, seminars) to raise awareness of things like water conservation, global warming, hunger, rainwater harvesting, nutrition, etc).

hello,
I've watched my father and mother grow garden my whole life. Never actually done one myself. But all those years watching and of course google ;) I think I have my first garden down. Me and my husband wanted to buy a home before actually making a garden. I live in Washington so we pre-planted a lot in Feb-March I am about to transport them this coming weekend. I have done lot of research for this area and hope my garden goes smoothly. If not I have my garden notebook where I am writing everything we are doing this year. So if something does not work out or dies we will change our plans next year. Plus I have a blog where I take pictures as they grow and produce the food. So that will help me know when and where the plants went down hill. I hope your garden does well also. Remember ask your neighbors what they know is great for growing in your area. My neighbor told me its best to plant carrots in a container as there are certain worms where I live that will eat them up before we can harvest them. So my carrots are not in the ground. Another hint of advise.. Depending on your area again how long can you harvest per year. If you are wanting to eat from your garden through the winter and have a short harvest time. Then plant more of the item so you can either- freeze, can or dehydrate for the winter time. I have about 5 months of harvesting time. So I planted what I think would be enough for me and my husband for till next spring. If not I have records on my blog and notebook/diary of how much I planted. I hope this helps you and whoever reads this.

I am waiting to see how it goes for you also. I really want a keyhole garden but not going to get it this year.

Can't wait to see how it goes!!! We will be moving soon and only have room for container gardens so I am looking forward to hearing more about yours!