I have decided to use containers this year for my first home garden. I don’t want to take up too much space with my garden until I know what I am doing, and I am more skilled at it. I also don’t want to put anything in that is too permanent, since we are going to build a deck in the future. I want to see how big the deck will end up being and its overall location before I decide on larger scale home gardening. I am super excited to get into that next year or the year after though. Some raised beds or specific garden areas in my yard would be lovely. For now, I am trying to keep it somewhat low key as I get past the learning curve and get better at understanding and caring for my plants. 

The containers I am using for home gardening are grow bags, plastic pots, and Earthboxes. 

Grow Bags got my attention because they are really affordable. If your gardening on a budget and lack space like me, these are a good choice. They come in many different sizes, shapes, and types. It is a good idea to use gravel or sand at the bottom before filling with soil to help them drain better.

Plastic Pots are also an affordable option but get more expensive the bigger they get in size. I have 6-inch pots and a few 10-inch pots I already had around the house. Don’t forget to drill out the bottom pot holes for drainage! Most pots I have received have needed this step and many times I did not realize until it was already filled with soil.

Earthboxes are my favorite. They have a self-watering reservoir and come with everything you need to get started right away. I first found out about them from my mother who was gifted one by my uncle in Florida. She had such success with her tomatoes I went ahead and bought a few to ensure I would have some success too!

We already had two small flower beds on the sides of our backdoor stairs, so I basically just extended them out along the house. I realize that may not be the best idea but its temporary and we needed some bushes or other plants near the house to soak up some of the rainwater that flows past there anyway.  I used soil and black mulch for most areas, and I made one small section pebbles instead of mulch to use for my vegetable garden.

I started to plant some Impatiens in the flower beds before realizing how much sun that spot gets! I had to take them out and put them in a different spot on the side of our house in the shade. I think I am going to look for some perennial flower’s pollinators like, to put there instead.

Here are some of my first vegetable babies below! Cucumber, Tomatoes, Garlic, and Carrots. Wish me luck!