Why I Married Him

Because he's the sort of man who will build me something like this garden fence:

Anti-Rabbit Vegetable Theft Deterrent System 3.0

In addition to putting up with my tendency to apply Moore's law to vegetable plots:

My vegetable garden three summers ago.

All despite the fact that he does not like the taste of brussel sprouts, arugula or peas.

Rome Was Not Built in a Day. But Your Vegetable Garden Could Be.

Here is my family's Earth Day project: We put in a second vegetable raised garden bed, the same size as our first one. We used the newspaper method, for speed's sake and because we are lazy. I've never tried the newspaper method before, and I'm starting a bit late, but we'll see how it goes. I already have a fully-functional raised bed dug the traditional way, so I intend to plant my more deeply-rooting plants (like tomatoes) in the existing bed, and put plants with a shallower root system in the new bed this year; by next year, the grass and newspaper beneath the new garden bed should have completely decomposed.

First we laid out our wooden border. Then we covered the sod beneath it with several layers of newspaper, and covered that with topsoil:



The new bed is the same size, shape and layout as the old bed. We're going to enclose both beds with the same style of chicken-wire-and-wood-frame fence we used last year, and put a rock mulch path in between them, using biodegradable corn-based landscape fabric beneath the gravel.


I'll have more pictures of the garden up soon. For now, more work while the sun shines!

My Not-So-Secret Basement Garden Lab

Last year, I tried to grow tomatoes and herbs for my garden from seed by placing seedling pots on my sunniest windowsills.

It did not turn out well.

My tomatoes were leggy; my basil was floppy. Even though I kept nearby indoor lights on during the day, and turned the plants daily, my seedlings just weren't getting enough light.

Though fantasies of a greenhouse window in my kitchen (or an attached greenhouse installation over my patio that would also serve as a four-season sunroom and possess retractable blinds) have danced in my head ever since then, the more practical solution was of course to build a grow-shelf in my basement.

Where I will grow my precious mutant plant children.
It looks kind of spooky, doesn't it?

Anyway, it's not as complicated to build as it looks. The shelf itself is a simple pine storage contraption from Target with adjustable shelves. I've lined the shelves with styrofoam to protect the wood from moisture — the same styrofoam the shelf itself came packed in.

The lights are simple 2 ft fluorescent shop lights purchased from Home Depot; I paid a little extra to get super-efficient Energy Star models. My husband helped me wire the lights to a plug; some shop lights come with a plug wired already, though, so shop around for those if you're an electrophobic mad plant lab builder.

I've hung the lights on adjustable chains so that I can change their height as my plants grow, and I've made reflectors out of repurposed cardboard and aluminum foil to direct the light back toward the plants.

Then I put the whole thing on a power strip plugged into a ten dollar timer; this way I can have the lights come on at dawn without actually having to remember to go down and turn them on in the morning before I've had my caffeine.

Of course, you can buy yourself a fancy manufactured lighted plant stand on the internets if you want, but where's the fun in that?

DIY Recycled Seedling Pots

For months now, in anticipation of starting a large number of plants from seed for my garden this spring, I have been saving disposable polystyrene (#6 plastic) cups and containers from restaurants and grocery stores.

My local recycling pickup service does not accept polystyrene; a nearby drop-off recycling center used to accept #6 plastic, but recently stopped. So I now have little choice but to avoid all disposable polystyrene cups and packaging (difficult to do without avoiding restaurants and all packaged food), throw all of the polystyrene I collect in the trash, or find a new use for it.

For the moment, since I'll be needing fifty or more pots for the seedlings I plan to plant or give away, option three is working out nicely for me.




I've also saved a few clear #1 and #5 foodsafe plastic cups from the recycling bin, just for fun. I plan to use these in garden-based science projects with my son, so that he can see how plant roots grow.

Online retailers sell clear plastic planters for educators, orchid hobbyists and other gardeners who like to keep a watchful eye on soil moisture and the root development of their plants. My repurposes clear plastic pots cost me zero dollars, with zero in shipping and handling. I'm particularly fond of my grocery store's bulk food containers for this purpose; they're quite sturdy, and I imagine I'll be able to reuse them a number of times.