In exactly 24 days, I will be boarding a plane to our new home in Florida where I hope to plant a vegetable garden. First problem: I have no idea how to do it. HELP!
In figuring out how to grow said garden, I'm faced with some major obstacles. For starters, I have no idea how to actually grow vegetables. And secondly, we are renting our suburban house so I can't tear up the backyard.
First things first. Thanks to smartgardener.com, a website that makes planning, planting and growing a vegetable garden almost brainless, I have confidence I get some plants to thrive. The genius of Smart Gardener is that it figures out what plants are appropriate for your garden based on your zip code, time of year and space availability. It even sends you daily reminders to take care of the garden. BRILLIANT.
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| THE BACK OF OUR NEW ABODE |
But now we get to my space issue. We're moving into a house in the suburbs that has an open back yard (read that as "100% sod with no landscaping") and a humble porch off the kitchen. Tilling up the sod to install beds in the back yard is out of the question, so I'm bound to grow whatever I can on the porch. This doesn't leave me much space. But I'm determined to make this work, so I have found some options online. Here goes:
POTS: Instead of tearing up the lawn, I can plant my veggies in pots. This appeals to my Type-A brain that likes things nicely compartmentalized. But pots don't take advantage of vertical space so are not very space-efficient.
VERTICAL GARDEN: I absolutely love the theory of vertical gardens and am thisclose to running out and buying a canvas shoe rack, but I have my concerns. Specifically, I'm concerned about the well-being of these plants in Florida rain storms. When the sky dumps buckets of water, I'm worried these plants will wash right out of their pockets. In my fantasy, I envision this canvas rack hanging on a pivoting arm that could swing out into the sunlight on good days and under the roof on bad days. How much does a robotic arm cost?...
TOPSY TURVY: Don't judge. I know these are really nerdy, but the Topsy Turvy does potentially solve my space problem. Does it work? I don't know. But I think it's worth finding out. Hold on. If I order in the next ten minutes, I get a second one free.
PORTABLE GARDEN: I love this idea. While I don't want to throw down over $400 for one of these Eserro rolling garden tubs, I think this concept would be the perfect solution to my problems. Picture it: I could have four of these puppies filled with veggies and I just roll them around the yard so they don't kill the grass under them. Then, in bad weather, I roll them under the cover of my porch. Now to find four cheap/matching/eco-friendly wagons that won't piss off the HOA...
I honestly have no idea what to do here. I'm thinking of just trying each of these to see what works best. They don't call me Allison "Trial and Error" Baltzersen for nothing. But I'd prefer saving myself the hassle and hearing suggestions from anyone who actually knows how to garden in a small space. In the scorching heat of Central Florida. NBD.
VERTICAL GARDEN: I absolutely love the theory of vertical gardens and am thisclose to running out and buying a canvas shoe rack, but I have my concerns. Specifically, I'm concerned about the well-being of these plants in Florida rain storms. When the sky dumps buckets of water, I'm worried these plants will wash right out of their pockets. In my fantasy, I envision this canvas rack hanging on a pivoting arm that could swing out into the sunlight on good days and under the roof on bad days. How much does a robotic arm cost?...
TOPSY TURVY: Don't judge. I know these are really nerdy, but the Topsy Turvy does potentially solve my space problem. Does it work? I don't know. But I think it's worth finding out. Hold on. If I order in the next ten minutes, I get a second one free.
PORTABLE GARDEN: I love this idea. While I don't want to throw down over $400 for one of these Eserro rolling garden tubs, I think this concept would be the perfect solution to my problems. Picture it: I could have four of these puppies filled with veggies and I just roll them around the yard so they don't kill the grass under them. Then, in bad weather, I roll them under the cover of my porch. Now to find four cheap/matching/eco-friendly wagons that won't piss off the HOA...
I honestly have no idea what to do here. I'm thinking of just trying each of these to see what works best. They don't call me Allison "Trial and Error" Baltzersen for nothing. But I'd prefer saving myself the hassle and hearing suggestions from anyone who actually knows how to garden in a small space. In the scorching heat of Central Florida. NBD.
My mother-in-law in Ocala says it is too hot for tomatoes. Our topsy turvey didn't do so well. The soil was too heavy. Think hydroponic no soil just water. Haven't you been to The Land in Epcot?
ReplyDeleteExcellent advice! Hydroponic, eh? I hadn't thought about going that route. I'll definitely look into this no dirt business.
ReplyDeleteBesides hydroponics, home depot and lowes also sell veggie garden stuff that is a cheaper version of some of the things you've found online. They also sell a version of the rolling self contained garden. Also, I have seen small raised beds you can use on the porch or even in window sills :o) we have a raised bed in our yard for veggies but haven't gotten to really tty to grow anything but pineapples (we have two plants)
ReplyDeleteI have a little 'garden' on my desk ;) I sprout in jars. At the moment I have full jars of sunflower, mung beans, alfalfa, radish and broccoli sprouts. They are super healthy, cheap and fast! You get a full jar of organic super foods in 4 days and you only need 2 teaspoons, water and jars :) Let me know if you are interested and I can tell you how. It's very easy.
ReplyDeleteExcellent suggestion! I have been eying a sprouting kit at my local health food store. Your endorsement may push me to just go for it. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome :)
ReplyDeleteYou don't need any kits. I just got 12 mason jars at walmart (the ones with the 2 part lids) and screen mesh from home depot. The lids screws on the jar with mesh without any problems. It is way cheaper and I find that the plastic lids are a pain to put on.
I got my seeds at luckyvitamin.com
Hope this helps :)