If you’re new here, you probably aren’t familiar with all of the projects that we have tackled in the past – and that’s OKAY! Let me give you the 30-second overview…(and you can check them all out on The Blog)
We’re very much into DIY projects – wood furniture, home renovations, home decor & more!! Check out the Shop Our Products page to see all of the things we have around our home…and BUY THEM for your own!! One of our favorite things we did after we moved into our home, was to build a garden. What do I mean by “build a garden”? I mean, we bought wood, built some raised garden beds and filled them with soil. Found a bunch of plants we wanted to grow, put them in, took care of them and then realized we didn’t want this to just be a summer thing. We live in the northeast which means that we have winters that kill most fruit-bearing plants, so we needed something that resembled a greenhouse.
Our first attempt at this went pretty well, but we ended up with a few weeks of heavy snow that collapsed our beloved structure. If you have a more mild winters, this type of greenhouse might still work for you – so check out my post on it here!! How to Build Your Own Greenhouse from Scratch
If you’re interested in something a little more ‘hearty’, then keep on scrolling!! I have linked all of the supplies we used and have a ton of tips to help you have the most successful garden possible!! You’ll notice the title of this post is Part 1…because we’re in spring/summer mode, we’re not installing the top and sides of our greenhouse yet…but stay tuned!! We will show you just how we set up our new design towards the end of the planting season!!
Alright…let’s get to it!!
The garden beds were built from Pressure Treated 2×6 boards, fastened with exterior screws and nails. As you’ll see, we’re big Ryobi fans; here he is using the Ryobi Drill/Driver and Impact Driver Kit. You can always go with the Ryobi Drill/Driver Kit only if you’re not looking to spend as much, but the drive has come in handy so many times, I would definitely recommend it!
The total area of our garden is somewhere between 300 and 350 sq. ft. We have a great spot on the side of our house that is out of the way of everything else, and gets almost a full day of sunlight! Location, location, location!!!
We added in concrete pavers between the sections of the garden with crushed rocks as spacers. We found the ground was getting too soggy; the grass was too hard to cut with the plants as they began to grow and it was much cleaner (and prettier) to have the path there instead. (there is landscaping fabric under the pavers to help control the weeds). I highly recommend doing this for your own – we had time where we needed to go out and prune/clean up and we were able to easily use a Wet/Dry Shop Vac to quickly clean up the rotten fruit/veggies.
Another thing I HIGHLY recommend are these long sleeve gardening gloves – they are a game changer! I completely dreaded the thought of having to stick my arms into the jungle of leaves in order to pick our tomatoes. I knew there would be spiders and other bugs, but these gloves eliminated all of that fear!
Because the beds were raised, we needed to fill them with soil. We ordered around 7-8 yards of 1/2 Mushroom Soil and 1/2 Compost (check out your local Soil/Mulch/Nurseries for more information on what will work in your area). I truly believe that the mushroom soil was a game changer!! It is definitely worth putting the time in to figure out what will work for you, in order to get the best harvest possible!! (I have never had tomatoes as sweet or potatoes as delicious!!)
You’ll need a wheel barrow to move the soil around – it also comes in handy when you have to remove large amounts of dead branches!! I’m a fan of either one of these: True Temper 4 cu. ft. Poly Wheel Barrow or the True Temper 6 cu. ft. Poly Wheel Barrow. In the upper left photo above, you’ll see hubby using a rototiller. The Ryobi “Expand-It” line is awesome for most outdoor work around the house! He’s using the Expand-It 10 in. Universal Cultivator String Trimmer Attachment, with the 40V Expand-It™ Cordless Battery Attachment Capable Trimmer Power Head with 4.0 Ah Battery and Charger. This helps us start the garden fresh again every year by chopping/mixing up the soil!
The next obstacle was to make sure the garden was properly hydrated, without us having to go out and water it constantly (it would have taken a lot of time standing there, holding a hose). This allows you to place the hose right at the base of your plants and weave it around however you need! We love the Rocky Mountain Goods Soaker Hose which you can snag for yourself from Amazon! To keep it in place we used these Garden Landscape Staples. They hold up so well, and we’ve actually used them for so many things over the years!
Then comes the fun part (especially if you have little ones that love to help out!) – planting everything! It’s a good idea to make a list of the things you would like to grow, and figure out the lighting and spacing that each will need. This allows you to “map out” your garden in advance (so you’re not standing there, for way too long, staring into space trying to figure out how the heck you’re going to make this all work. Been there, done that…trying to save you some time and sanity!)
Some of my favorites are:
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Beefsteak Tomatoes
- Roma Tomatoes
- Sweet Basil
- Sweet Peppers
- Jalapeño Peppers
- Bell Peppers
- Sweet Mint
- Tri-Colored Potatoes
- Sweet Potatoes
- String Beans
- Rosemary
Some things I’ve learned:
If you’re growing tomatoes, use heavy duty ones, like the Gardener’s Blue Ribbon 54 in. You’ll thank me later 🙂 Peppers need cages too, but you can get away with smaller ones, like the Gardener’s Blue Ribbon 42 in. I would also highly recommend them for growing any variety of pea.
Lettuce is awesome to grow, but beware of the little bugs that will live on them. They’re hard to clean off and I have found that it wasn’t worth my time (or sanity) to be constantly worrying about eating them! Spinach is the exception; I would definitely recommend growing your own spinach. Collard Greens are another great one and easy to clean!
Potatoes are AMAZING when they are fresh from the garden. The taste is so fresh and, well, has to be experienced to be understood. BUT they will spread like a wildfire if you’re not careful. Try adding a barrier so that their pesky roots do not take over your entire garden!
Mint is another that will spread – there is nothing like adding fresh mint to recipes, but it’s best to keep them separate from the rest of your garden!
We’ve tried to grow broccoli multiple times, but always end up having them destroyed by “broccoli worms’. You know those cute little white butterflies with the small dot on their wings? They’re EVERYWHERE in the northeast during the summer. Well, they are what broccoli worms turn into, and unfortunately will ruin an entire crop. (They are SUPER entertaining to kids though, so maybe it’s a good activity more than it is a crop to grow. I’ll leave that to the real farmers!)
The other important thing to remember is to make sure you’re checking your plants regularly. This will allow you to monitor their growth, prune when needed, and make sure nothing is eating them! All plants take their own sweet time to bear fruit, but once they do I guarantee you will be a farm-to-table type person too!!
If you have any comments or suggestions please leave them below, and stay tuned for Part 2 where I will dive into the building of the greenhouse!! (I promise you won’t want to miss that if you’ve been considering one for yourself – and even if you haven’t you might after you see it!)