Last year in early May, I wrote a post on making raised garden beds using inexpensive children’s swimming pools. So did you wonder how that project went? Well, how about we peek in on this year’s garden:
I added in a second bed this year. It is playing host to two types of bush beans and a pumpkin plant. The beans are easily encouraged to grow up with various tomato cages, that I run hemp garden twine around (the vines need something to grab on).
Last year’s bed is back, filled to the brim with carrots. Walker asks daily “are the carrots ready?” Soon!
So…you just have to try this type of gardening. It exceeded my hopes last year. It is cheap and easy to put together. Go buy a standard kiddie pool, about 4 feet wide and 7 inches deep (buy made in the USA ones!), take home and drill drainage holes. Toss in some rocks at the bottom and about 4½ cubic feet of garden soil/potting mix. As I noted last year, keep the mixture light (not heavy on topsoil!) and it will grow great vegetables. Keep it watered, add in mulch every year and you have about the simplest garden you can make. And yes, the swimming pool survived the winter with no cracking, even with long periods of below freezing temperatures. And survived a move.
*OK, fine, yes…those fancy-pant decorator raised garden beds might look better in the yard, but they are not doing anything more than this one is. And this one runs $9-12 for the pool. Where as the fancy raised beds that are recycled plastic “boards” can set you back $50 to 100! You can always sink these pools into the ground and put bark around them, to hide the uglies. If you must. Or just claim your kids have their own garden 😉