How to build a spring garden on a budget
Every new year as the Christmas decorations get put away, I start to dream about the spring weather and all the possibilities of growing a vegetable garden. I’ve gardened in our backyard for years, but we’ve recently moved to a new home and I hadn’t built a garden yet. We back up to a beautiful forest full of wildlife including deer, turkey, rabbit, bear, armadillo. So the garden we built needed to be animal proof. I also aimed for a budget friendly garden using mostly materials I had on hand. I used a sunny piece of land next to the house. Not having grown anything there before, I wanted to build a semi permanent, inexpensive garden in case the area isn’t ideal for growing and I need to move it to another part of the yard.
Step 1: prep the land
There was grass in the area where we made the garden. I dug up the grass and down about 2 to 3 inches. Removed any large rocks, weeds, and roots.
Step 2: create a barrier
I had some left over landscaping black plastic edging. I created the barrier of the garden with the edging, staking it in the ground. The garden measures approximately 5 feet by 18 feet with a thin walking path down the middle. The boys had so much fun scavenging for rocks from around the yard to make our very homemade path.
Step 3: add soil
At the end of the growing season last year we picked up several bags of OMRI certified raised bed soil that were on clearance. I added this soil to my raised bed. You want your soil to be light and airy and dark and rich in color.
Step 4: animal proof
I added 6 foot plastic poles and plastic deer/animal netting surrounding the garden. The bottom 12 inches of the garden has a metal 1 inch by 1 inch chicken wire surrounding it. I’m hoping this will be sufficient to keep the animals out.
Step 5: plant seeds
In Florida the last frost of the season is usually mid to late January. Once the chance of frost is gone I like to start my seeds outside in rows. I’ve started my seeds inside before, but I always feel like it’s more work than is necessary.
Step 6: water and fertilize
We have a sprinkler system right next to the garden that will water it perfectly and hopefully increase our chances of a successful harvest. I usually fertilize after the first month of growth and then every couple of weeks. I’m hoping to set up a compost, but until then I use any general organic fertilizer.
We planted a couple varieties of tomatoes, green beans, and peas. I can’t wait to see how the vegetables grow and hopefully enjoy a great harvest. Happy gardening!
Visit @homesteadonlakesideside for updates on how our garden is growing!
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