Spring is here friends! Want to know what that means to us girls here at Over the Big Moon? It means we get to start planning our gardens and flower pots! I am SOO excited, because I get to garden this year again! Last year, we were in the process of moving 4 hours up state and I just couldn’t pull it off! We are now working on TONS of home projects in our new house, so I wanted a smaller scale garden. So, that’s what I am sharing with you today – How to Build a Family Garden for $100!! We built our house new last year, so there are MANY projects that are in the works. Our backyard is one of the top priorities (along with our basement -haha)! Last Fall we put in our sprinklers, grass and underground tramp. So far this Spring, we had our fence installed and this last Saturday I put together my adorable little garden! Next up landscaping around the edges (bushes, flowers, rocks) and a tree.
The garden was SOOO simple, took just a few hours and cost about $100! I’m going to share how I went about creating it, as well as things to consider and know to create and nourish your garden!
1. CHOOSE THE RIGHT GARDEN FOR YOU! I’ve had several types and sizes of gardens. All were right for me at that time in my life. There is NO shame in just having a small and simple garden that is just enough for your family! This year we have LOTS of projects going on and some traveling, so I didn’t want to over commit myself! However, in past years I’ve had gardens 6 times as big! (You can see pictures of my past garden and Lisa’s amazing garden in our Garden Basics Series!)
This year, I decided to go with a Raised Bed and it was the best decision I made. The raised garden bed was SO easy to assemble! NO tools were even needed! The price has gone up $20 from when I purchased mine (mine was $51), so watch it and it may go back down. I’ve also seen awesome deals at Costco or you could easily build a simple bed out of railroad ties or wood you buy at your local improvement store.
2. SOIL PREP MATTERS! I’ve got a full post on Soil Prep here, but basically you want to make sure your base is a combination of ground soil and compost. And then I added some Azomite Minerals and topped the bed off with Miracle-Grow® Garden Soil to top it off! I love the look that Garden Soil gives to the top of your garden!
3. WATCH FOR BUGS & BUY LOCAL PLANTS! Imagine this… You invest your hard earned money to build a beautiful garden for your family. Then you’ve spent months loving and nurturing your garden. Then right as your lovely plants start producing you yummy and gorgeous produce it is ALL taken over by pests and bugs! Cut Worms, Squash Bugs, Tomato Worms – they are your enemy! Sad, right? I highly suggest you educate yourself on bugs! Find out more info here!
One of my top suggestions is to buy your plants from a local nursery! I have found that we have had a lot less risks for disease and fungus and also they generally only offer variations that do well in your area and soil type!
4. FERTILIZE – WATER IS NOT ENOUGH! I love the feeling of hand watering my garden! It is such a relaxing task, I don’t have to think about anything! Just enjoy the beautiful weather and breath the fresh air! So, I like to use the Miracle-Gro® LiquaFeed® Universal Feeder! It allows me to fertilize as I hand water and it makes sure that my plants are getting the right amount of fertilizer! The convenience cannot be beat! And, allows you easily feed no matter how you water – using a soaker hose, sprinkler, watering wand, hand sprayer, etc. I love not having to worry about measuring the fertilizer or adding a step to my routine!
We did add drip lines, because we will be traveling throughout the summer and I wanted to make sure my garden stayed alive! But, majority of the time I hand water!
5. ENJOY THE GARDEN AND GET YOUR KIDS INVOLVED! Take this opportunity to educate your kids and teach them to garden! I loved letting my kids help pick out or plants! We actually have 3 different Tomato Plant variations, because they chose different ones! We thought it would be a fun experiment to see which one does the best, so next year we could plant the best type!
I also love to have little helpers weed the garden if they decide to surface! And, let’s not forget that they are the best little veggie pickers out there! Just make sure and set some ground rules on when they can and cannot pick the veggies! We have a strict rule of only being able to pick with mommy or daddy’s permission! I created a fun little printable to help you remember my Tips & Tricks! Just click on the image to download it!
Here is a breakdown of the money I spent putting my garden together! Garden Bed $52.00 + Compost $10.00 + Azomite: $7.00 + Garden Soil $8.00 + Garden Plants $28.00 = TOTAL $105.00
Do you have any extra tips you’d like to suggest?!? I love learning about gardening and how to make the most of it! If it waters, now it feeds with Miracle-Gro® LiquaFeed® Universal Feeder. It’s a great tool to help you reach your gardening goals by providing the essential nutrients your plants need to thrive all season long. This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Miracle-Gro®. The opinions and text are all mine.
If it waters, now it feeds with Miracle-Gro® LiquaFeed® Universal Feeder. It’s a great tool to help you reach your gardening goals by providing the essential nutrients your plants need to thrive all season long.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Miracle-Gro®. The opinions and text are all mine.
The post How to Build a Garden for $100 + 5 Tips to Make it a Success! appeared first on Over The Big Moon.