Veggie Garden Flower Box

Veggie Garden Flower Box

If you are living in an area with confined space for planting, such as a townhouse or an apartment, consider growing fresh veggies on your deck!  Flower boxes lined with fiber from coconut shells and rich soil offer great drainage and are able to absorb a lot of sunlight.  Choose veggies or herbs that do not need a lot of space to thrive and that do not grow too tall for the boxes to support.  I planted green beans, green peppers, and banana peppers.



What You Need

• Flower Box
• Coco Liners
• Planting soil
• Seeds

This is quite a simple process that does not require much effort in maintaining.  It is great for little ones who like to help with messy tasks and can observe the growth of their garden each day from your very own deck.

Simply place the coco liner in the flower box (it will not fit perfectly because it is made from natural coconut fibers and each one is slightly different, but arrange it the best you can.)  Fill with soil leaving about 1" of space from the top of the liner.

 The seeds I used are all heirloom seeds and were purchased from MyPatriotSupply.com, which carries a wide varieties of fruit, vegetable, herbal, and medicinal seeds.  The package also includes detailed instructions on how to plant the seeds.

I planted 'Blue Lake' Bush Beans, 'California Wonder' Peppers, and 'Sweet Banana' Peppers.

 The Bush Beans pictured (4 seeds) were planted about 2-3" apart and about 1-2" deep.

I planted about 5-6 seeds in each pepper box and they were planted about 1/4" deep.

 The final step is making sure that the soil is moist before hanging them.  This must be maintained if there is not an apply supply of rain and the soil begins to appear dry.

The great thing about the coco liners is that they do not hold water and therefore are great for flower boxes because the water constantly drains and the plants cannot become over-watered.

Finally, hand the boxes securely from your deck and wait for growth!

(I will update to show off the growth of my veggies.)

Update

                        

My first pepper has begun to reach a nice size, so I thought it was a good time to update.
Of the three veggie boxes that I planted, the 'Blue Lake' Bush Beans began to come up and then died.  The 'California Wonder' Peppers have two thriving plants, and the 'Sweet Banana' Peppers (pictured) have three thriving plants.  The biggest problem I encountered was squirrels digging in the boxes, so some sort of deterrent will be necessary next time.