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I don’t know about you, but I love fresh veggies out of the garden in the summer. Unfortunately, there have been times in my life when my yard space was just too small to accommodate a garden.
There are a lot of creative ways to grow your own food and herbs even if you’ve only got a small patch of land, be it part of base housing or your own backyard.
Growing fruits and vegetables is a time and money saver that can help families eat healthily more frequently.
Never assume that the only way to have a viable garden is if you have an acre of land. If all you have is a small porch or even just an area outside to hang things you can have a small garden. Below are some ideas to help you “think outside the yard” and get to gardening today!
Even if all you can plant are a couple of tomato plants and a couple of pepper plants you are still ahead of the game. That’s some fresh produce on your table for pennies on the tomato.
There are containers that allow you to plant strawberries and tomatoes in a hanging planter. They are relatively inexpensive at around $20 each. You can also make your own using items such as empty, plastic two-liter bottles or old plastic milk jugs.
This is a new gardening project for me this year. In order to have a small crop of potatoes all you need is a container that is 12-inches in diameter and about 2-to-3-feet deep. Whatever container you use or make, be sure there are small holes in the bottom for adequate drainage. The goal for potato gardening is not to grow a crop big enough to feed your family for the year. This is impossible without adequate ground space. ‘How To’ has some wonderful tutorials on building your potato planter and how to get a successful crop started.
The ingredients for a good salad can get really expensive. Try growing your own. Above we discussed tomatoes, but what about lettuces and spinach? It’s doable and there are a lot of creative ideas for small yards. One planter idea I came across was using an old child’s wagon as a planter. Simply drill small holes in the bottom, fill it with good soil and some fertilizer and plant your salad greens! This way you can easily move the planter into the shade. Greens do not like full sun all the time. For more helpful hints check out this article from Eating Well.
Many herbs are relatively easy to grow indoors.
Herbs are easy to grow and can really help your budget. They can be quite costly at the store, but if you plant them yourself and learn how to dry and store them, you can have basil, thyme and other yummy herbs anytime. There are a lot of great containers on the market for herbs. I have a terra cotta pot that is 2-feet tall and has small open pockets on all sides. I have seen shoe organizers (the hanging canvas kind) used and guttering used in lieu of a planter. Here are some ideas on how to make your herb garden.
The concept of container gardening is open to a lot of possibilities. All it takes is some creativity and ingenuity.
Photos courtesy of waferboard and ccharmon
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Since we always lived in base housing while my husband was active duty, I never learned to garden, but now that we have our own place, I’m beginning to learn, thanks to the help of friends from church, and we have started a small raised bed in our backyard, hoping I can make a few things grow. We have a short season in MI’s Upper Peninsula, but it doesn’t stop others here, so I’m going to give it a try!
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