Potted Garden. Happy Wife. Happy Husband. Hungry Family.

Jul 30, 2015
2 min read

Growing up we always had a garden. I loved watching it grow, picking the produce, and trying new recipes. I even joined a garden club during the summer of 5th grade. Yes, it's nerdy, but you won't mind when you are eating my homegrown tomatoes.

We bought a new house last year with a beautiful, large yard. I was going to have my very first garden! It helped me get through those winter months dreaming of BLT's made from my own tomatoes.

Spring forward. Literally, to Spring 2015. I had so many plans for my garden. Then, my husband stepped in.

"Are you going to ruin my yard with your garden? I don't want you tearing up any grass."

Ruin?!? How about enhance!

Like the reasonable, respectable married couple that we are, we decided to compromise. I would plant all my vegetables in pots and strategically place them throughout the landscaping. I would also remind him constantly of my ability to compromise. I would do this publicly to anyone admiring our yard.

I started with collecting around 10 pots.

I bought soil, picked out some sunny spots, and added my vegetables to each pot. Cucumbers, strawberries (kiddo request), tomatoes (roma, heirloom, and grape), beans, and watermelon (in hopes it grows to the ground...so far, so good).

Lessons Learned so Far

Quickly, I realized that the old wooden planters were the best because they were more pourous. The others are just fine too.

Late into July, I learned that I need good cages and some reinforcement rods to keep those tomato plants standing tall. I've also learned that I need to water small amounts almost daily.

In June, we received a lot of rain. A lot. I learned that I need to make sure the drainage plug at the bottom of the pot is pulled out. I am now battling blossom rot in one tomato plant. Boo.

I've learned that my kids LOVE this idea. They walk out with me each night to check our progress and they really like picking tomatoes. The plants also look very nice in the yard.

Getting some lattices for various plants really helped as well. I made about a $200 investment this year on supplies, but I can reuse almost everything! I would suggest watching the end-of-the-year-clearance stuff if you want to try this next spring.

Here are pics of day one-ish:

I am in love. This has been so much fun, and it hasn't been too hard.

Here is link to my Pinterest Page that I started so I can use all of my fresh produce and herbs. Can't wait to make and freeze the basil pesto wtih the Ninja my brother gave me for Christmas.