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When it comes to growing flowers, I do not have a green thumb. But, I do remember taking care of some vegetables with my mom when I was younger, so that’s why this year I thought it might be fun to start a vegetable garden. We started most of our garden from seeds, which was an adventure in itself, and after evaluating the backyard I realized I would need to do a raised bed or start a container garden. Maybe next year, we’ll try the raised bed or a shelf system for some herbs but this year we’re starting a container garden and this is how we went about it.

This year we're starting our first vegetable garden. See how we set up a container garden in our backyard.

How to Set Up a Container Garden in Limited Space

One of the first things to know about container gardening is picking your containers. You should also consider the size and space that you’ll have your containers set up in. We have a modest sized deck and a smaller backyard. So for me, it was a matter of finding a spot that would get good sun exposure for the plants and to keep the containers in one spot.

I made a lot of mistakes that I will hopefully learn from, but I’ll get to that below.

For our garden this year, we’re growing the following plants:

* Cherry tomatoes (two plants from seeds and one that we bought and transplanted)

* Blueberries (both plants that we bought and transplanted)

* Squash (zucchini and yellow squash)

* Potatoes (Yukon gold and purple/blue)

* Sugar snap peas

* Vidalia onions (… already dying, sadly)

Each plant is going in it’s own container so we don’t have one taking over. Next year, I think I might try to find some old bathtubs and use those instead or in addition to the containers we have this year.

The type of containers you use for your container garden will really depend on you. You can use a wide variety of pots, holders, and materials for your garden.

The main thing to remember with your containers for your container garden is to make sure that they have some sort of drainage system. If you’re making your own, be sure to poke a few holes in the bottom of the container.

Another thing to keep in mind is to get containers that will be deep enough for your roots.

When I transplanted the seedlings, I put about a foot and a half of potting mix and then evaluated how much space I would have left for the plants. I wanted to make sure that they would have at least that much room (foot and a half if not more) to grow.

container garden

We’ll see how our container garden goes this year but so far, so good (except those onions… might just buy the plants instead)

Have you ever tried container gardening? If so, did you see success with it?

Update – March 2016

My adventure with container gardening was up and down. I had success with the peas and the cherry tomatoes. I did manage to get a few seedling potatoes but nothing substantial. We never got around to the cucumbers last year and my squash was a dud. I overcrowded the squash which is probably why it never grew.

So I’ve made a few beginner’s mistakes with my garden and to be honest, I was expecting that.

At the very least, it gave me some experience and a better plan for what to do this year. I’ll still attempt some container gardening but for the most part, I think I’m going to go with a raised bed, and do herbs in small pots. But we’ll see what happens! I will be certain to post about that when we do start our garden and update anyone who might be curious enough to see if I have better luck this year.

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Kori

Digital Product Creator at Kori at Home
Kori is a late diagnosed autistic/ADHD mom. She is currently located in Albany, NY where she is raising a neurodiverse family. Her older daughter is non-speaking autistic (and also has ADHD and Anxiety) and her youngest daughter is HSP/Gifted. A blogger, podcaster, writer, product creator, and coach; Kori shares autism family life- the highs, lows, messy, and real. Kori brings her own life experiences as an autistic woman combined with her adventures in momming to bring you the day-to-day of her life at home. Kori is on a mission to empower moms of autistic children to make informed parenting decisions with confidence and conviction.

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