Veggie Bins - Success? Part 1

We love to grow vegetables, there's nothing like the fresh taste of a veggie from the garden that you grew yourself (and know was not doused with chemicals) but these past couple of years have been challenging for our veggie-gardening activities.  We had a larger plot of veggies, then it kept being reduced as our time for it also was reduced.  We have been doing well with our other gardening pursuits (and by that I mean Those Plants Who Are Hardy Enough To Survive Under Deep Neglect, ha ha) just kidding, actually we tend to grow PA natives, perennials, shrubs, trees, and such, not as much edible for humans, but more to attract other wildlife - birds, butterflies, and small mammals too. 

Last year I saw this great idea for a space-saving eco-friendly temporary growing bin, we called them veggie bins since that's what we grew in them.  They were basically made of 4ft turkey wire fencing that you put into a column shape (any diameter, but ours were approx. 2 ft. across) and then you line them halfway up with newspapers (thickly, like 8-10 layers), fill with yummy amended organic soil and voila - an above-ground growing space that is temporary from year to year. 

We decided to grow some token vegetables and herbs for our toddler, Violet, to see as examples - we did not expect to feed a village on the small sampling of what was being grown, but it was fun, manageable and a great teaching garden for her (and easy for us!). 

I want to give you the pros and cons of the bins - in case you want to try them yourself.  Here is a photo of the first 5 bins set up in the backyard (we ended up with 7 total).  We planted one crop in each:  radish, blue potatoes, Italian pole beans, baby carrots, basil, cherry tomato, green pepper. Nothing too fancy - just some fun things that we thought Violet would enjoy.  The Italian pole beans are from seeds that have been carried on in my family for generations - coming from my father's side of the family who came over from Italy.  We need strong supports for those nice flat beans - that is the bin with the three poles in it. 

to be continued...