My desire to eat a salad without breaking the bank has turned into an interesting gardening enterprise! It all started this winter when I went on a salad kick but balked at expensive pre-packaged salad mixes. What if I grew my own lettuce this spring??
Long story short I purchased the Square Foot Gardening book (using a coupon, of course!), a pile of lumber and some concrete cinder blocks. I borrowed a power drill and actually put the 4x4 foot garden boxes together myself. (It was my first time building anything and the execution was probably lacking, but I am still proud :)
At first I salivated over the thought of owning a pricey ($165!!) AeroGarden. Wouldn't it be cool to grow my own lettuce indoors without dirt or any fuss or muss? But then my frugal side kicked in. I could grow the lettuce outdoors in a pot. A pack of lettuce seeds couldn't be more than $1.50, could they?
Now the quest for cheap, homegrown lettuce had become an obsession. I was doing online research when I discovered someone mentioning Square Foot Gardening... hmmm. Now I could grow lettuce (several varieties), plus radishes, carrots, and green onions. And while I'm thinking big, how 'bout broccoli, bush beans and strawberries??!!
Long story short I purchased the Square Foot Gardening book (using a coupon, of course!), a pile of lumber and some concrete cinder blocks. I borrowed a power drill and actually put the 4x4 foot garden boxes together myself. (It was my first time building anything and the execution was probably lacking, but I am still proud :)Now we have two boxes built, elevated about 22 inches off the ground. That should keep away the pesky (but cute) bunnies that normally invade our yard. We planted some cool weather items (lettuce, broccoli, spinach, parsley, rosemary) and will add beans, radishes and more herbs later in the season.
We also planted carrots in a deeper container and two pots of strawberries. I'll add tomatoes and peppers in containers when the warm weather arrives.
This is a pretty intimidating project for a woman with NO green thumb, but an exciting challenge all the same. Can't wait for the harvest!
2 comments:
I am impressed with your building skills. We'll be watching for gardening updates as the weather warms up. What kind of soil did you use?
According to the Square Foot Gardening book, the soil should be a mixture of 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 coarse vermiculite, and 1/3 compost. However, I did cheat a little. I noticed that Miracle Gro Potting Mix has a similar composition so I used this rather than buy the individual ingredients and mix it up myself. Fingers are crossed...
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