There’s nothing like walking into your own backyard and picking fresh tomatoes straight off the vine! I thought having a garden would be lots of work. Who’s got time for that? Then, a few years ago, we decided to make a planter box. We took inexpensive 2’ x 12’ boards and cut them to make an 8’ x 3’ planter box. The first year we bought organic soil, filled the box halfway and spent way too much money. Later, we asked my sister if we could go out to the back of her country property where a stream ran to “borrow” some of her rich soil. We filled the remainder of our planter box. Not everyone needs to do it this way, we just knew that living in the city with rocky soil we would not have the appropriate environment for a flourishing vegetable garden. We tossed and blended the soil and planted our seeds.
For our family of four, we wanted to plant what we would eat, so one planter box has worked well for us. It doesn’t intrude upon our play space. There is little maintenance - just occasional weeding here and there.
We decided to begin composting next. Composting is an excellent way to not “waste” food that might spoil in your refrigerator. Instead, it goes to good use by creating rich soil for the garden. Stems off veggies, fruit peels, eggs shells, and yard debris also go into the compost bin. We continually add our compost to the garden to keep our soil rich.
Our small backyard garden has been a great opportunity for our children to learn about growing good food. They are always wanting to water, see what’s new each day and harvest. It has been a fun and simple thing for our family to enjoy together and save money in the process.
What’s your favorite garden veggie?