Easy, Cheap Kids Vegetable Garden
Make a Children’s Garden in a Pool, an Easy Raised Bed
Apr 15, 2009
Leave the tiller in the shed and make an easy and economical raised bed for a kid’s garden by using a small plastic swimming pool, a discarded tire, a Styrofoam cooler, or even a garbage can.
Container vegetable and flower gardens are great for small yards, or for parents who want to set up a quick garden on a patio or deck to introduce their children to the joys of growing their own plants.
Follow these steps to create a cheap raised bed or container garden that kids will look forward to tending all summer.
Choose a Garden Container
A small child’s wading pool, about four feet in diameter makes a perfect, cheap raised bed garden for kids. Buy one new or at a yard sale or even find one on a dumpster diving expedition. A few cracks won’t make a difference. In fact, you will need to drill holes in the sides of the pool for drainage (two inches from the bottom and about three inches apart). If you choose to make drainage holes in the bottom of the pool, place it on pieces of lumber or some concrete pavers to lift the garden off the ground.
Other super cheap large plant containers include old truck tires, a Styrofoam cooler or a plastic or metal garbage can. The last item also has the added benefit of raising the garden height to a child’s chest level. Gardeners can fill the bottom two-thirds of the pail with packing peanuts or even aluminum cans to allow for drainage and cut down on its overall weight. About six to ten inches of soil will suffice for most vegetables and annual flowers.
Buy or Make Container Soil
Good garden soil is one of the container gardener’s biggest expenses. Make your own with a mixture of one-third topsoil, one-third compost, and one-third sand. Or buy some of the cheapest potting soil you can find at Big Box or home improvement stores. Depending on your container’s size, you can spend a great deal on soil for your child’s raised bed garden, but you can also bag the soil at the end of the season and use it again next year. Just be sure to add more fertilizer and some organic matter, such as compost, each season.
Find the Perfect Location for a Container Garden
Sun, water proximity, and ease of access are all elements of finding the best location for your child’s container garden. A back deck or patio is a nice spot for containers such as a garbage can with internal drainage since water won't drip out of the container onto the deck's surface. Keep a hose handy for regular watering since container gardens are prone to dry out quickly.
The Best Part: Choosing the Garden Plants
Great plants for beginning gardeners are zinnias and marigolds: super flowering annuals that start readily from seed. Easy and fun-to-grow vegetables include peppers, bush beans, lettuces, and spinach. Also, nothing beats a homegrown tomato. Just make sure you have enough room and provide tall supports for the juicy, sprawling indeterminate varieties. For small containers, choose a determinate bush variety that requires no staking.
Container Garden Care
Water frequently when the soil feels dry and mulch bare soil after plants have grown two inches tall. In the fall, clean up all dead plants and bag the soil in a garbage can or heavy plastic bags to use again next year.
With a thrifty container and some good soil, you can create an easy, cheap garden that will engage kids all summer long.
 |
