gardening

In an earlier post I posted pictures of the growing boxes that I have in my backyard. I thought it might be helpful for others to see how these boxes are used.

I discovered these City Pickers boxes (same idea as EarthBox planters) last Fall. I actually had heard of the idea of a growing box with a water reservoir in late summer, then happened to find some boxes at a local store. I even tried growing some vegetables and herbs in them during the winter, but the amount of sunshine we got in the backyard was only enough for the herbs and the lettuce to grow. But as soon as spring (and more sunny hours) arrived, I set up all the boxes in the backyard. Why are these boxes helpful? If you use the right potting mix and keep the water reservoir full at all times, you can grow a lot of wonderful produce in a small area, and without wasting water.

This is what the box looks like:

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Today’s post is a virtual tour of my backyard, with the focus on the edible plants. Last fall we found some earth boxes for sale at the local home improvement store. Since I had just learned about the benefits of growing boxes like these, we bought all six they had. I tried growing some cool weather crops in a few boxes during our winter season with more or less success. The herbs box did really well, and the lettuce produced a lot too. But my backyard gets very little sunlight in the winter, so it took months for the tomatoes to ripen. I learned my lesson, and I know not to plant those for the wintertime. Peas, spinach, and lettuce will be good choices for that time.

As soon as spring came, I visited my favorite local nursery in Santa Ana and picked up some herbs and veggies to plant. It was at this nursery that I learned about a better kind of soil, which I have been mixing myself. After using this mix for over a half a year both for veggie boxes and flowering plants I can say, that the soil has been very successful.

Vegetable Planter Box Gardening Instructions

An Introduction to My Edibles in the Backyard