Not all gardening has to be complicated and a lot a work. Some are just a matter of adding dirt to the right container. Recently, I setup a potato garden for my ever-growing vegetable garden.
Here's what I did this weekend. If you have read my blog for a while, you know I dismantled my garden last year and replaced it with this one. Well, we decided to expand our garden because we really enjoyed having fresh veggies over the summer. Our addition this year is our potato and string bean garden. While doing research, I found it important to not certain veggies together in the same garden and some veggies complement each other. For example potato and string beans complement each other. And, since we love string beans, we wanted to make more of them. So we moved the string beans out of the three-tier garden into a garden bag. Here is the link so you can check out the different veggies the complement each other.
If you want to see how we set up the raised bed garden, here's the link to the post.
If you are wondering what a garden bag is, well I found it at Gardeners.com. (not an affiliate) It is made of BPA-free polypropylene, measures 50" in diameter x 12" deep, holds 400 quarts (13.7 cubic feet) of planting mix, and made in the USA. It's quite affordable too and is delivered folded up so doesn't cost a lot to ship.
Here is how I set this up this outdoor gardening for small spaces.
First, I added dirt to the center. We used garden soil (which I bought extra-large bags at the wholesale store). To change the dirt in the three tier garden, we took some of that soil and transferred it into the center of this bag after we laid it out.
I then kept adding the soil until it was a little more than halfway full because I needed to have room to make a ditch.
But it turns out that the circle ditch idea wasn't going to work because I wouldn't have enough room for the string beans. So, I changed the configuration of the potatoes and started all over again. The instructions for the red potatoes said that I needed to make a ditch, then add compost into the ditch and then the potatoes, and more dirt to cover the potatoes, then add more dirt every few weeks while it grows so I needed to be able to have a lower level of dirt on one side so I could add to it. Here's what I have now.
Now the potatoes are to the right and the string beans are to the left. It works a lot better now. I was able to put more string beans into the bag this way. Plus, the string beans instructions said it needed a lattice and was able to add two smaller lattices so I can use it on both sides. Hopefully, it will hold the weight of all the string beans.
Here is the finished garden. You can't really tell, but the right side is lower than the left side. The bag held together pretty well and I'm hoping it will grow potatoes. Only time will tell.
Here are both gardens. It took the entire day on Saturday and part of Sunday but it's finally done. You can't see it in the picture but we have hanging baskets for strawberries this year. I never grew them before. Hopefully, they will do well in the baskets. What do you think?
Raised bed garden this year consists of two types of lettuce, kale, spinach, swiss chard, broccoli, and beefsteak tomato. In the pots in the back, there are spearmint and flowers.
Do you have a vegetable garden? What is your favorite vegetable to grow? Please leave a comment below. I would love to hear from you.
Please note these are affiliate links through Amazon, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn affiliate fees if you decide to make a purchase.
This is a wonderful way to do a garden without all the tilling.
With all of the vegetables you placed in there, what do you do for fertilizing? Also, does the bag allow for good drainage?
Thanks for sharing this with us.
I don't have a vegetable garden, but what I (the entire Island!) do have is feral chickens. They are everywhere and far worse when it comes to digging holes than any dog I have every known. So, a ground garden is not in my future because I'm simply not up for the fight, but I am determined to give container gardening a try this year since I can do that up on my deck, out of reach of the darn chickens. Thanks for the inspiration!
You have an impressive garden, Sabrina! I have a small garden - with very limited sun because of trees - but I still enjoy it. I have 4 beds and one in the middle. I grow strawberries in the middle one, but I never get any; the chipmunks eat them green. Once, I found a chipmunk who ate so many green strawberries his stomach actually exploded. Crazy, right?
Thanks, Seana. LOL. Those chipmunks are crazy. =) Thanks for sharing.
Sabrina, how do you keep animals from nibbling everything? I see some green fencing around the tiers. We have a huge deer issue in the subdivision/municipality we live in. It's also not a neighborhood with fences. Hence, if I can't grow it on the deck, forgettaboutit!
We have a new planter, big plant stand this year and I'm hoping to have some good bounty with it. There's nothing like a homegrown potato!
Sorry to hear that, Rose. We have a fenced yard so the larger animals can't enter. We have bunnies but they don't go after string beans or potatoes, at least not yet. The added advantage is that we have a dog so they stay pretty far away from the garden since it is near the house. I hope my potatoes grow. They are sprouting more leaves so I guess we are doing something right. We shall see.
Great ideas as per usual Sabrina!
Trust me - I need all the tips I can get for gardening. I am working on being more green fingered as stated on Lenie's blog.
Lenie has great ideas for this too. =) I have gotten many tips from her as well. =) It's so fun to garden. My ancestors were farmers in Italy and they grew everything so I guess it is in my blood. =) It is something that is so relaxing too. Good luck with your garden.
Thanks for the tips, expecially on the garden bag. To be honest, I never knew such a thing existed, but I'll have to look into it. Seems like a great idea.
You make gardening sound so easy!! I like the idea of your raised bed garden as I have a bad back. The way you have arranged it, it would allow one to sit on a chair when planting and weeding. The idea of a grow bag sounds good too.
Looks like great suggestions for gardening, Sabrina. If if I was into gardening I would follow suit.
Sabrina, love your ideas. It's amazing what you can harvest from small spaces, isn't it. Last year I had 4 kale plants and by harvesting the bottom leaves from each plant all during the growing season I ended up with enough kale to use during the season and to freeze for the winter - we just finished up the last batch in March.
Your gardens look terrific. Good luck with the potatoes.