Our beautiful friend Bianca (or B as she is lovingly known) is truly an inspiration in all ways, shapes and forms. She has this innate ability to make friends where ever she goes (and then keep them) and we are testament to that, having met her at a bar one night. She’s well-travelled, has many interesting stories to tell and has built a very successful career working in the not-for-profit sector. Her infectious laugh is one you don’t forget and kind of miss if you haven’t heard it for a while.
And now she’s turned her talents to vegetable gardening which I’m sure will be just as successful as everything else she has done. I just hope she shares the fruits of her labour with her neighbourhood fan club (aka Koren and I) – hint hint.
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I returned from an 11 month trip in South America with a refreshed outlook on life and how I was choosing to live it; I made a decision to change a few key factors. I wanted to be more conscious of exactly what chemicals, additives and products I was subjecting my body to through the food I ate. I soon realised that, although I ate a balanced and healthy diet, much of the food I was eating was not organic. Among other goals I set one was to start growing my own vegetables.
I rent an apartment so had a limited space to work with and I had to create a ‘crop’ that would be transportable should I change my residence. So the reasonable solution was a vegetable box!
I mentioned the idea to my wonderful and ‘handy’ boyfriend, Stevie, who offered his tools and supervision – as a carpenter he knew a trick or two. So one Saturday morning we started the construction of … B’s Vegetable Garden Box.
The equipment we used included:
- 4 planks of wood approximately 1 metre long each
- Gauze cloth
- Nails and hammer
- Electric drill
- Electric saw
- Shovel
- 125 litres compost soil
- 50 litres plant mix
- 25 litres cow manure fertiliser
- Vegetable seeds
Stevie and I made this box together. I don’t have a lot of first hand experience using an electric tools so Stevie’s explanation and instruction on how to safely use the heavy duty tools was needed. It turns out he had quite a knack for teaching as his ‘apprentice’ learnt a thing or two that day!
First of all we made the box structure. We measured each piece of wood to the same length and sawed the pieces to size. Using a plane we ensured the ends were square so the box would fit easily.
Next using the drill we screwed each plank of wood into each other to make a box. Then we grabbed the gauze material and nailed it to the inside of the box; to create a bottom that would hold the soil etc in the box but still allow for drainage. This gauze will also stop weeds from ‘invading’ the vegetable box!
The next step was to fill the box with the 200 litres of soil, manure and potting mixture. Using the shovel we spread and mixed the contents nicely as to spread the love … and cow dung! The final step was to plant the seeds. Now apparently you are only supposed to plant one or two seeds in each hole … being the enthusiastic person I am … I put a few extra in each hole, like 12 seeds or so. 🙂
My theory – the odds are greater with more seeds … so I emptied the contents of each packet!!!
Each vegetable had different needs in regard to spacing between each set of seedlings or distance from other plants so I simply followed the instructions on the package. To identify each plant I mounted the relevant seed packet onto a stick and plunged it into the soil at the head of the relevant row of seeds. In the end we planted carrots, tomatoes, bok choy, broccoli and lettuce.
The carrots needed a deeper amount of soil for growth so clever wee Stevie built a retaining wall out of branches and sticks to create a section of the garden with a deeper amount of soil – everyone loves a clever and resourceful lover!!
Now, after two weeks, I can happily say that I have remembered to water the garden every day – which is always helpful!! And the result … green sprouts are breaking through the soil representing the beginnings of my own vegetable garden!
I can’t wait for the time when I can simply walk out the back door, grab a tomato or carrot, and bring it back inside to chop and add to whatever I am cooking!
Next, I am going to start on the herbs … then I will have my own little food market in my backyard. 🙂
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Love Alana xx
No food with a face 