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As I’m writing this my in-laws are working diligently to get our family garden up and ready for the season. Every year my MIL changes the design and layout of her garden. It’s always unlike any other garden you may see anywhere else. I can’t wait until she is done with it and I can take pictures of the finished product and I can share them with you. Last year her garden was like a little haven. This year it is starting to look like a work of art.
Arranging Your Garden
I’ve always wondered about why she arranges her garden the way she does. Like there is a method to my madness when I do things, there’s a method to her gardening styles. She has started using buckets, cut in half barrels with swimming noodles, and the plastic containers (hint: We sell these in big batches), and she has stands set up for her lettuce too.
Please pin this image
Hints for the Most Growth
Strawberries
She uses the small totes we have and puts the strawberries in little cloth bags filled with fertilizer and potting soil. Then she places straw around the bags to keep them up. She stated, “It’s very important to NOT bury the crowns! If you bury the crowns you’ll kill the strawberries.”
She placed them in layers as you see in the picture for ease of access, but also so the planters have plenty of room to grow downward. She has thriving delicious strawberries every year so I am not going to argue with her logic.
Sweet Potatoes and Cucumbers
She has taken plastic barrels and cut them in half and then covered the edges with swimming noodles to keep the plants from getting cut. She put them high up on plastic pallets so that they have plenty of room to grown downward. Here I thought she was just adding a mixture to the look layout and putting them up high enough that she wouldn’t have to bend over as much. Little did I know, that she was giving her plants plenty of room to grow and access to the sun more.
Bell Peppers and Tomatoes
She’s trying out a new concept this year. We’re using buckets with holes in them and having the roots buried at the bottom of them. She then places all of the buckets inside a pool filled with water. This way she doesn’t have to water her plants as often and the plant should still receive plenty of nourishment.
Lettuce
The trick to lettuce is to have it up closer to the sun. She put them in planters and still has to put straw around the base of the plant to ensure the lettuce stays off the dirt. Plus it keeps insects from destroying the lettuce too. If lettuce touches dirt it starts to rot faster.
Hint: If you plant marigold plants into your garden you will have your insects go to it versus destroying your garden.
Decorating Your Garden
LTD Commodities has many items on their website that are only going to enhance her garden when they come. These are going to make some really neat Mother’s Day gifts for her. I can’t reveal some of the things I have in mind yet because she’s going to read this post too. However, by the time they arrive her garden will be done and I can showcase everything.
I will give you one hint though. You can go to LTD Commodities and join in their #LetYourGnomeRoam photo challenge and win a $100 Gift certificate between now and May 3rd.
Before You Leave: Enter to Win $25 LTD Commodities Gift Code
This giveaway is open to US residents 18 and older. In order to win you need to fill out the Giveaway Tools form completely. Then keep an eye out for winning email notification from tidbitsofexperience@gmail.com and respond within 48 hours with all required information.
Please share with us a gardening tip you have.
Really creative ways to have a garden Crystal. I especially like the lettuce tree idea.
This is all my in-laws magic. I’m eager to see the finished product.
I’m excited to see her garden too! She grows so many awesome things! Love that lettuce tree!
I am in awe! I can’t garden to save my life LOL so I envy anyone that can! Love all of these ideas … Pinning for my gardening friends 🙂
Thank you. I’m sure they will enjoy them. I can’t garden worth a dime either, but I love watching my MIL work her magic.
love love love all your mil great ideas for gardening thanks I’ve learned allot
I wish I was able to garden! I love fresh fruit but with how much we travel it is impossible to be able to have a proper tendered garden. I had not heard of using pool noodles like that what a great idea!
I agree that is a neat idea. Thank you for stopping by and commenting.
I do not have a green thumb whatsoever and that’s sad since my grandma loved planting and owned a farm. I would love to do better in the garden area especially when it comes to veggies. I probably will kill the flowers lol
I also do not possess a green thumb either. I love to admire my in-laws garden though. I guess that’s why I admire this so much.
These are all such great ideas. We are always trying to think of new ways to improve our gardening and these are some great ideas. I never knew that lettuce would be better facing the sun…and this might also help with keeping the lettuce away from the animals who love to eat it, either.
Glad this post could help you improve your garden in some way. Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I hope to see you again soon.
I just started my garden last weekend and boy was it way more work than I expected! I am glad it’s done now though. I love the idea of using a fence post to hold pots vertically, that’s a great way to get full sun in a smaller space. I will have to try that for some herbs, that’s the only thing I haven’t planted yet.
I’m glad that we could give you some ideas of how to improve your garden. Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I hope to see you again soon.
I am busy getting my garden planted and the work on the farm is busy. Our greenhouses are currently full of seedlings to be planted. We don’t do any container gardening but it sounds like your MIL has fun with it. I just love a chance to get outside in the dirt.
Playing in the dirt is always fun. I use to enjoy playing in the garden with my stepfather when I was a little girl.
Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I hope to see you again soon.
She does have a lot of fun with it. Every year it’s always different.
such great ideas! Im not a garden kind of person, tho I have a huge backyard. Ill pass these on LOL
Dee T
@HauteFrugalista
I am glad you think they are worth passing on. I think they are all pretty neat ideas.
Your MIL knows her stuff Crystal, I wish I can steal her for a weekend so that she can help me set up a garden in my new home. I live in the concrete jungle and I keep saying that I will plant a garden when I finally mine in, however from the looks of this gardening requires a lot of skills. I’m really looking forward to seeing the finished product!
Your MIL knows her stuff Crystal, I wish I can steal her for a weekend so that she can help me set up a garden in my new home. I live in the concrete jungle and I keep saying that I will plant a garden when I finally mine in, however from the looks of this gardening requires a lot of skills. I’m really looking forward to seeing the finished product!
What an amazing garden set up. I am truly in awe at how creative and ingenuitive her placement is. Her garden looks like it is thriving, I tried to garden once and I failed miserably at it. But looking at how she has set everything up and why, makes sense. Thanks for this post, I love it! It has inspired me to start a tiny garden with some of her tricks and see how it goes.
Oh my goodness… are these ever clever ideas! I just adore the strawberry tower and the lettuce “post”. So awesome!
Pinning this to my Deliberate GARDENING board.
Thanks for sharing and for linking up to the #SHINEbloghop.
Wishing you a lovely week.
xoxo