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Sunday, April 22, 2012

A DIY Patio Garden

We have an expansive deck off of our main floor, but there was something missing, something green. I've been toying with the idea of a small vegetable or herb garden, but our natural soil here is solid rock, so growing anything in it is chancy at best. I could build a raised bed, but we have the benefit of living in the hills where deer and wild turkeys (no kidding I *just* saw one in my backyard) roam freely, and I've already seen what happens when I inadvertently planted some "deer candy" in our yard. Gone. Vamooshed (is that even a word?) Like the plant never existed.


diy patio garden

Surfing Pinterest one evening (oh, how I love you), I happened upon a kit to make a raised bed on a patio from Scout Regalia. A few clicks later and it was winging it's way to me through the magic of UPS.

This is the moment where I express incredible gratitude to my husband for being so handy. In graduate school (we both studied architecture) he was even a shop assistant, working a few hours a week in the woodshop in the basement of the building, helping other students to use power tools to build models of buildings. Anyhow, we don't have a complete shop set-up, but we have a pretty handy assortment of power tools, and he is oh-so-inventive, so we set up a makeshift sawhorse from the bags of soil and we were good to go.



We bought two 8' 2x6 boards, then cut them each down, giving us four long sides and four short sides for our rectangular bed.




Yep, that is totally the corner where our water table used to be. We will have to find a new spot for it come summer. Somewhere around this time the sky started to darken and it looked like this.



So, working quickly, we put down the special membrane that came in the kit (I bought an extra one too since we were making a larger bed that 30x40 which is the size of one membrane). In retrospect, we probably could have made this work with off-the-Home-Depot-shelf brackets and a shower curtain with holes in it, but since this is my first venture into gardening, I wanted something with a little bit more of a safety net. Although, if I really wanted a safety net, I probably should have read the directions, instead of just going with gut instinct:)

So, after we screwed the brackets into the sides (the deck is sloped for water drainage, so so we had to rest the corner on our tape measure to make it level), we put it in place and plopped the membrane in. Update: Read the instructions! You need to staple the filter fabric to the boards so the dirt doesn't spill out. I learned that the hard way.

building a raised bed garden


At this point our daughter, son and their friend decided to "help" put the soil in. Look how sunny it appears, as if we have all the time in the world...


dirt in a raised bed patio garden



We laid out the plants on top of the soil to get a sense of placement before actually digging them holes.  We chose (clockwise from top right) 4 tomato plants (which will eventually need cages or strings), 6 strawberry plants, 2 basil, 2 zucchini, 2 cucumber, and 2 artichokes. Slightly odd assortment, but it's all things that our kids will actually eat if they bear fruit (or veggies as the case may be).

plant layout in diy patio garden


Following the directions on the plants, we soaked each of them, dug a hole, tore off the bottom of the compostable container, place the scraps in the hole, planted the plant, then refilled the hole.


Our finished product:

finished diy patio garden

Then this happened:



Needless to say, we didn't need what I'm about to show you.



We got the kids watering cans, gloves and tools. Because it's just too cute, and Target is my friend/enabler.



Jessica

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40 comments:

  1. I love this Jessica! Turned out really cute - love your amazing view too!

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  2. This is really cute. I wish we had a deck.

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  3. There is nothing better than growing your own veggies and herbs, very clever to find a way to do that on the balcony. So long as it doesn't lure the wildlife closer to your back door for a snack :)

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  4. ok first it's doing the same thing here right now. Took me almost two hours to get to work. Love Target! was there yesterday as a matter of fact! We have alot of deer too in our back yard.

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  5. Cute! And fun. Glad to read about it! :)

    Bobi

    http://westernwarmth.blogspot.com

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  6. We worked on the same project this weekend! Yours looks great. Ours isn't quite finished yet because it poured all ALL day yesterday.

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  7. Love that your raised bed is on your deck! We have deep, bunnies and squirrels in our yard, but still tempt fate and have several raised beds in our yard. Our cats keep the bunnies away and our neighbors on either side have dogs, but it's the squirrels and birds I have to worry about!Good luck with your garden! At least you didn't have to water your newly planted bed!

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  8. We have deer and wild turkeys roaming our town too! Funny to see the whole flock crossing the street!

    Been thinking of doing a raised bed - love that it's nice and contained. Perfect for the kids to experiment. And, how else will I grow my mint for mojitos!
    Kelly

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  9. Good gosh, this is fantastic!

    Then your view made me pass out.

    Then I came to, and yeah, Target is totally my enabler too! Love me some Tar-jay.

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  10. I just love it! Lucky you with your handy husband ...

    ... and I can't see all the great meals you and the kids whip up with the fruits (and veggies) of your labor!

    :)

    Linda

    P.S. The watering cans and accessories are adorable ....

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  11. You all had so much fun with this, specially the little gang! I love how it turned out and now to wait to see all the plants come to birth. Love it! Enjoy your week.
    FABBY

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  12. I've always wanted to have a raised bed. I bet the plants will love it there. And good thing deer won't eat water tables, huh?

    I had no idea it had rained this week. From the reports while I was gone, it was hot, hot, hot! Guess that's why the plants on my deck are still looking ok!
    Camille

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  13. I love this!!! & it looks fantastic!!!

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  14. Love it! What a cute place for a little garden!

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  15. Oh, pretty girl, I so wish I could see all your granfather's Delft Dutch lovelies one day soon! Hugs,
    FABBY

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  16. Hi Jessica, just dropping by to say how delightful your blog is and to let you know that I am now following you. Please stop by my blog and perhaps you would like to follow me also. Have a wonderful day. Hugs, Chris
    http://chelencarter-retiredandlovingit.blogspot.ca/

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  17. Jessica,

    I was going to say...is there anything that you don't do? and then I noticed hubby assisted with this project.

    Great job and liked the way you set the plants up before you started planting. Your garden gallery wall of sorts.

    Enjoy your garden. How fun!

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  18. That's awesome! I've always wanted a raised be garden. But my fiance just won't jump on board. He's already got a huge plot roto-tilled in the yard. :(

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  19. Love it! And it gives me some ideas...

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  20. Nice! So much fun especially with the kids help. I love the butterfly bedroom post too! I'm super excited I discovered a new blog to follow...YOU! I would love if you stopped by for a visit and follow too if you like. Have a creative week, Lori

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  21. Funny, I just did my own patio garden post, but I have to say, yours is much more aesthetic. :)

    http://puglife85.blogspot.com/2012/04/diy-container-vegetable-garden.html

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  22. Your view is seriously awesome...and your patio garden is cool, too. :)

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  23. I love this! We actually have good soil and a decent spot for something like this, so why am I such a slacker? :)

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  24. Such a great idea, and I love the mini gardening tools! So cute! Oh how I wish we had some of your shops over here!

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  25. What a great idea. Your kids are going to love taking care of them!

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  26. I was just thinking about trying to build something similar for my patio. I really love how yours looks and I may be on the path to diy'ing too!I would be super excited if you linked up over at my Anything Goes Link Party going on from 6 MST Friday till midnight Monday.
    http://too-much-time.com/2012/04/get-schooled-saturday-20.html
    xxx, Kim

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  27. SO fun! Amazing job! I need to do this. What an inspiration! :)

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  28. LOVE! Your patio, your garden... You guys are going to have so much fun with this. Thanks for linking up.

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  29. I love your patio garden. You've got such a great space there! And the view (even on a cloudy day) is fabulous. I loved the pic of your little helpers...kids are so fun!

    I'm hosting a linky party for "favorite rooms" and think your patio space would be perfect. I'd love for you to join us. Here's the link:
    http://intheoldroad.blogspot.com/2012/04/whats-your-favorite-room-linky-party.html

    Shasta @ In The Old Road

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  30. What a great way to handle small space gardening! And I agree, Target makes it way too easy to spend money.

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  31. This is wonderful! I love that it was a family affair too:) Thanks for sharing with my newbie party. I would be interested to see this in a few months. How fun to watch it grow.

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  32. Awesome job....just became your newest follower and subscriber! Come on by my blog for a visit and maybe even subscribe if you like! Have a fantastic day!

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  33. This is perfect!! I want to do one of these soon! Pinning! :) Thanks for sharing!!

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  34. Jessica-

    Yeah for a start into gardening...if you run into issues, I have been gardening for many years.

    Toss a few Marigolds in that box to act as a natural pesticide, especially near those tomatoes! :)

    You are right about Target, it is an enabler.

    N

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  35. You know I love this, thanks so much for linking it up. :)

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  36. Glad to see your fabulous little garden at our party!
    Kelly

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  37. Thanks for the idea, I will look forward to have one at my patio, it's beautiful and creative, perfect for my rooftop garden.

    Patios

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Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I love hearing what you have to say! Sometimes I'm busy chasing after the three kids who can walk, or feeding the baby, but I promise, at some point I'll get back to you and head over to your blog (if you have one) to leave you a comment too:)