Bag Garden 101

My husband and I have been reading all winter about how to grow your own food. I have a rather tan thumb, and most houseplants only last a few weeks around here (although I have great success with philodendron, hardy mums, and a few others); so I've been apprehensive and really looking for an easy way. However, easy is not nearly as important to me as cheap! With these things in mind, we began our search for information.

My parents, my husband, and I all really enjoy reading Mother Earth News, and stumbled on an idea through their publication of using bags of topsoil rather than digging, amending, etc. It's kind of like a sloppier version of the raised bed concept. I decided to give it a whirl!

The first piece of advice was to start small, so I purchased only 20 bags of top soil on sale at a local hardware store. They also had lots of seeds to choose from for 10 packets for a dollar. Dave also bought some peppers and okra seeds at retail (about a buck a packet). After planting, putting in tomato plants from the depot, and rabbit proof fencing, I have a total of less than $60 in my whole operation. I am also experimenting with using old tomatoes and onions that would have gone to my compost pile to see if I can get a few freebies -- they are planted on my front porch in large pots. And, as the reference to rotting veggies would indicate, I am also looking forward to NOT spending money on vegetables from the grocery that have already taken a turn for the worst without being detected before purchase.
My daughter, Grace, is getting into the spirit as well. Several months ago, in a large unused pot of soil that we had in the kitchen, she cut up and planted a sprouting potato. So far, she has a couple of plants that are looking pretty good. We have no idea what to expect, but she also planted a few other things in there -- I don't remember what they are. You can see them sprouting up there on the left. I read that potatoes will grow these nice plants all summer, and that you should harvest them after the plants die off. For my part, potatoes are so inexpensive in the store, and would require quite a bit of yard space to grow any significant amount that I'm really just not interested in planting them wholesale. We'll see what Grace comes up with and maybe next year I'll have a different outlook on growing potatoes.

Here is a close up on one of my bags. This one has either cucumbers or yellow squash. I can't tell them apart.

A super close up of one of my babies. Again, either yellow squash or cucumbers. I did write them down on a diagram because I am not ready to try to identify things by sight.



Last but not least, I took a photo of a dogwood I planted last spring in memoriam of my son, Anthony. We were happy that it came back this year and looks pretty good from the laymen's perspective.





Peuvent vous avez un beau jardin which is French for "May you have a beautiful garden!"