Summer garden

In the place we currently live there is no real place for a garden without ripping out landscaping which unfortunately we cannot do. 

I really wanted to plant a veggie garden this year, especially because so many of the veggies we use are easy to grow! 

Living in wine country many people do small project gardens in half wine barrels but that can get expensive with half barrels costing up to $35 a piece! 

Enter the humble kiddie pool! Although not an ascetically pleasing it gets the job done for a faction of the cost and really who cares what the garden looks like!?

I went and picked up the supplies needed at Walmart for under $40. That got me the kiddie pool, red mulch, 2x 2 cubic feet of Miracle Grow garden soil, 2x tomato cages, bamboo poles for support of vinong veggies, and garden twist tie to hold up the vines. 

Our local hardware store was running a 20% off special on plants so I wound up getting 2 tomato plants, 2 jalapeño plants, a tomatillo plant, 4 pole bean plants, a habenero plant, and a peperoncini! My garden is probably over crowded but I am hoping for the best!

Anyhow here's the basic how to!

Add drainage holes to the bottom of the pool so your plants won't be sitting in standing water. I used a 1" drill bit and it was easy. If you don't have that I think you could get by using kitchen shears to cut out holes, the plastic isn't very thick. 

Add a thin layer of mulch or hay, whatever you can get for cheap. It just helps with drainage and the overall cost because you need a little less soil which is more expensive. 

Throw in the dirt and the plants! Couldn't be any easier ;) 

I purposefully choose veggies that grow up (pole beans) and bush (pepper and tomatos) rather then things that vine along the ground (squash and zucchini) due to limited space. 

Make sure and give the plants that vine up something to climb and support them and cage those crazy tomatos! I am anticipating some fun times ahead cooking with and potentially pickling and canning my summer veggies! 

I'm not trying to decide if I need a second kiddie pool garden ;)

Charlie's vote is yes!