Natural Vegetable Garden Tips And Tricks

How many little garden tips and tricks can you find in the picture above?

I am a very frugal and DIY type of lady. My garden has evolved over the years, this is my 4th year as an urban gardener and I have picked up a few things along the way. Far from expert, and open to any new information that anyone has to share.

Marigolds

I know they look puny now but they will grow into 13+ inch bushes of wonderfulness. The strong smell helps repel a variety of pests and insects. I built a fence around my garden, then I made a flowerbed around the fence and lined it with the tiny rocks that I raked out of the garden.

Lemon Mint

I planted lemon mint in-between, it helps to attract butterflies and bees for pollination. It’s also yummy for tea and seasoning meats and making drinks and all kinds of things. Most important of all, it was FREE. My neighbor saw me gardening a few weeks ago and asked me if I wanted any of her extra plants. Mint grows quickly and takes over so I should have plenty of my own to give away soon enough.

Fence

A no-brainer for keepin’ out city varmint like possums and stray dogs. You may think I am crazy when I say stray dogs, but there was a pack of them that used to ravage a friend’s garden less than 2 miles from here. I constructed my fence from pieces of free fence that I got from my grandpa and my dad. It’s not really pretty but it works real nice!

CD’s

The shine of the CD keeps the birds from ripping out my tiny seedling. I don’t know why but shiny things keep birds away. I hung some cd’s across the garden and that seems to work to keep the birds out as well. The birds that are brave enough to hang out in the garden are beneficial, they keep harmful bugs away.

Tomato cages for the cantaloupe.

I have learned that you can train any vine plant to grow vertically. You usually have to support the fruit or vegetable, but in a small garden it’s the only way to go.

Netting

After everything I had done, rabbits were slipping in through the larger holes in the fence and shearing my greens down to the ground. I had used a gift card to obtain some tulle from amazon a couple of years ago and it was perfect to wrap around the exterior of the garden, securing with clothespins. It actually worked.

Rocks

I used rocks from around my yard to line the back of the garden, securing the fence and helping to keep rabbits out.

Coffee Containers

Coffee containers had been used to protect the kale before the netting was in place. I never took it down. The kale is in its second year of growth, I never pulled it up and it produced through the winter. Super kale?

Water Bottles

I bought a case of water for $3 and used all the water to hydrate my plants. Then I cut off the bottom and use them to keep the tiny swiss chard, pepper and collard seedling from being affected by the elements.

Owl

I used to keep the owl straight up in the middle of the garden but it fell down. I didn’t want to risk smashing any of my plants so I took it out of the garden and used it to block the entrance from that beagle sized possum I’ve seen creepin’ around.

Compost

I make my own compost using yard waste and kitchen waste in that blue barrel over there. It’s on a frame with wheels that makes it easy to spin, tossing the compost for maximum efficiency.

I can only explain my recent lack of posting with one word, gardening. I just love growing food and flowers.

Tags: gardening, how to, lifestyle, local, natural, nature, outdoor, plants, urban garden, urban gardener