How To Create a Vegetable Garden / Beginner Gardening Tips / DIY Raised Garden Beds

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This is our first big garden to build in this house. And boy, did I learn a lot. Sometimes when you have a vision in your head, it seems a lot easier to do than when you’re actually doing it. But as a beginner gardener, I’m going to share all of the steps I took to build our own vegetable and fruit garden. There were a few mistakes we made, which I’ll explain in today’s video so that you can avoid them if you are building your own garden, and all of the tips I learned along the way. I’m so excited for today’s video. But let’s start all the way back in February when I first bought the seeds to start a garden. With the food prices going up and holistic nutrition being a big part of our lives now, what better way to get some plant-based foods directly in your home than to grow it yourself. Now, we have grown some vegetables in the past before by accident. And when I mean by accident, we would throw compost out into our flower beds and then they would mysteriously start growing stuff and we wouldn’t know what it was growing until um it actually grew. For example, we um grew pumpkins before, lots of tomatoes, cucumbers. They didn’t taste as good, but we were accidentally growing things in our back flower bed, and that was as close to a garden as I had gotten. About 2 years ago, we did do some DIY planter boxes in our old house. And if you’ve been following for a while, then you know that we moved last summer. So, we did not get to ever fully utilize them like I wanted. We built them a little bit late in the summer, kind of past harvest season, and then we were prepping to move. So, I didn’t want to plant a bunch of vegetables and then move out. And then last year, again, we were just busy with the move. So, I’m so glad that finally this year, we get to set this up. If you are new here, then welcome. My name is Michelle. I’m a mom of three and my goal is always to inspire you on my channel. Whether that be through motivation in different aspects of your life or balanced living, I would love for you to subscribe and join this community. Now, whenever I bought seeds to start planting, I went with a friend who kind of helped guide me to say, “Okay, these are the types of vegetables you should be seeding right now so that they have the perfect, you know, spring bloom time.” And those consisted of different types of tomatoes, green beans, cantaloupe, lettuce, and cucumbers. I did have some broccoli in there. I ended up not planting that or not seeding those. And then I did seed some carrots. Now I’m just getting about I’m reading the directions on the back and just getting one to two to three seeds and then placing those about 1 in deep in each of these. Now, the reason why I am seeding these in these little trays is because we do not have our planter boxes built or set up yet. My original plan was to go back to Home Depot and build the wood boxes that we did in our old house, but Chris, my husband, was like, I really, really want the metal boxes. I think that they would look nicer. So, why don’t we do some research and see? We do plan on being here for a long time, and I do plan to take this up as a hopefully a serious hobby. So, I agreed and uh did a little bit of research on the different gu uh vegetable garden boxes that I wanted. So, on the side of the house is where we get the most amount of sun and that’s where we decided to set up this garden. So, now that we have everything seated, then we do have a little bit of time to get everything set up, ordered, and put together and eat. Y’all know that I’m going all in on my health, which is what inspired my organic garden to begin with. But meal planning and grocery shopping is pretty timeconuming. And being a busy mom and feeding a family of five, I need something that is healthy and simple to make. And that’s why I’m using Hungry Root. And thanks to Hungry Root for sponsoring today’s video. Hungry Root is like your personal shopper and nutritionist wrapped up in one. When you go on the site, you can enter in your nutrient preferences and health goals, and they will tailor recipes as well as take care of the weekly meal planning and grocery shopping. From there, they will ship the foods directly to your door, so no need for expensive takeout meals during the week. My Box was customized for quick family recipes and kid-friendly snacks. By the way, all of their meals can be made in just 15 minutes or less with over 15,000 different tasty recipes. There’s something for every taste and nutrition preference, from anti-inflammatory to gut friendly, glutenfree or dairyf free, high protein, and more. So, shopping, planning, and cooking food can really be simple and stressfree. The recipes are so easy to follow. And tonight I’ll be making the roasted chicken and classic potato salad. This was kid and familyfriendly and definitely a hit in our house. They have awesome grocery options like smoothies, kids snacks, ready to eat meals, salad kits, and even supplements. And my favorite part is that there is no high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, or preservatives in any of Hungry Roots foods. They only source top quality meat and seafood free of hormones and antibiotics. This recipe was so simple, easy, and quick to make, especially after sailor softball game where we’re rushing to get home, get something to eat, and then get to bed and get ready for the next day. This meal was amazing. So, take advantage of this exclusive offer. For a limited time, get 40% off your first box, plus get a free item and every box for life. Click the link below or go to hungryroot.com and use code omali. That’s 40% off your first box and a free item of your choice for life at hungry.com with code Ali. For our planter boxes, we decided on the VGO garden or they might be called Ve Garden. I’m not sure. They were pretty expensive and um you can opt for different sizes though and I really liked the look of it. We did get the 32 in one and it is pretty massive and that is my actual inspiration for this garden. They do have other um less expensive options. So really um I think overall if you’re if you’re considering this brand I I seem to really like it and I think that the quality is good. The assembly wasn’t as hard as it looks because Chris can assemble things really well. Now, if you’re like, I don’t want to spend that kind of money. I don’t want metal boxes. This is an old video from our old house. And this is a DIY planter um box made of wood and cedar boxes. Like, we literally did not spend that much money. We bought these cedar blocks for $3.38 each. And then we got the plywood. I thought we got cedar. I’m not sure, but we did get it for about $15.58. I have a whole video on how we built this and I will link it below and then that can give you some alternative options if you do want to build a garden and maybe you just like the wood look better or you are going for like a more budget friendly option and they turned out so amazing. This is actually what I wanted to do in this house. Um I did plant beautiful sunflowers in there but um it was something that was fairly easy to do and looks really good. So, just throwing out a few options there. Now, these were very tall. We didn’t we did do a measurement, but I was like, Chris, you wanted these really tall ones, and he said the purpose of it is that you’re not like constantly bending over every time, you know, you’re doing vegetables, planting it, watering, etc. So, we got the tall ones, and we just didn’t realize like how tall they actually were. They are extremely heavy. And um this is the space that we are going to put this vision together. We have um a lot of plants on the side. So Chris, if you’re new here, Chris is a landscaper. So a lot of times whenever he does somebody’s yard, he will um if the customer no longer wants those plants and they are still really good plants, he will replant them. And then this is that’s kind of an inventory pile for his work. it’s not um us over hoarding. So, our plan is to grab all of that stuff and put it on the other side of the house and then make that side of the house my beautiful garden. So, we have four of these big boxes that we are putting together. And that is kind of just step one, but this is going to have to be done in phases. And this video really is just phase one. We still have to build a walkway around it because it holds a lot of water. This is just the initial phase of getting the boxes set up and then getting everything planted and then hopefully growing vegetables and fruit. So, I am still trying to like come up with a vision for what the side of the house is going to look like. And I found this random app. It’s not random, but I just found this app and it was called Deck AI. And basically, you take a picture of the space and then AI will like come up with a design. I took a picture of the side of the house and then I just had to like note that it was a yard and then you kind of find your style. I just picked zen and then color palette surprise me and then it will process and then come up with a design or some ideas. I like that I could customize it a little bit and then I can put I want to replace that section with some planter boxes and then it will come up with a new design and then you can kind of regenerate and then continue to recustomize. I got some good ideas although I don’t know um exactly if I’m going to like create something like that. One that initially sparked my inspiration was something like this. So, for phase two of this project, we are going to get stepping stones and then do something around each of the boxes and then also do stepping a stepping stone walkway from the gate and then I might do um some more flower boxes or not boxes but just like flower beds next to the fence. So, who knows? But that is kind of long-term inspiration. But we do have all four flower boxes set up. We are just going to add the final touches. And then our next phase is going to be to fill them up. Oh, come on. So, we had some late nights going on. We had some extra dirt on the side of the house. We’re going to start filling up the first flower bed. Chris brought home some um stepping stones to kind of test how we’re going to build out everything. So, I think what I’m going to do is three stepping stones in between each box. We kind of needed to get that idea so that we could space them before like space them accurately before we started filling them because once these guys are full they are not moving. Now I think when I bought them there was an option to like have a a um a bottom on these maybe so that you don’t have to use as much dirt. Another option we could have done was filled the bottom with like wood or something um just to kind of save dirt. But luckily Chris does get pallets of dirt at aable price through um his landscaping business. So we decided that we were just going to fill everything with dirt. And I realize I keep saying dirt. It’s more like bulk mulch. But in over the next couple of days, him and his crew were able to get um a trailer bed full and fill up about three and a half of these boxes. the the one there at the end is only about halfway full. And then they also had to get in and get everything leveled evenly. That way, you know, whenever um you water it, it’s not like all going to one side. So, eventually all of the flower beds around are going to be filled with stone and rock and everything, so it will hide all of that. But for now, we have everything set up to start planting. I went to um Whole Foods. I ended up getting a pepper tree since it is now a little bit later in the season and it’s kind of a little bit too late to start planting things from like directly into that flower bed. Um I’m going to start swapping over the plants that we seeded into this flower bed. Now, I will say the very first mistake I made for new garden beds was using the bulk mulch on the top. I planted everything nice and neat. I tried to get an idea of what plants should be planted together. So, I have my phone. I’m kind of googling where to place everything, the spacing between everything, and um just trying to get an idea of where it should be planted. But after a few weeks, uh, after planting everything, I realized that nothing was really growing. I was either getting really impatient or I was like, “These were growing great when like when I seated them, and now that they’re in these garden boxes, they’re not growing and they’re turning yellow.” So, I went to our local garden store to get some more uh herbs. I was going to do some more herbs. And then when I started talking to the guy there, he was saying that like especially for the first year, if it’s your very first season to plant, then you should probably be using some really good potting soil. Uh not potting soil, I’m sorry, raised raised bed soil because it really needs those organic nutrients to produce well. So, a and some other stuff. I I don’t recall. I just was like, “Give me what I need to do.” And he gave me the exact bag that would it would do best in. And then he said, you know, over the years it’ll be, you know, the soil will be good enough, but right now the soil, you know, our bulk soil is just not it’s mixed with other stuff and it’s it’s not great for like newly new plants. Maybe I’m saying that wrong, but anyway, we eventually kind of scrape off the whole top layer of these beds and then resoil it with the um raised raised garden mix. So, that happens a little bit later in this video. But what I’m doing right now is again trying to organize uh which which um vegetables I want planted where. So when I was doing a lot of research, it was like tomatoes are good with these these these these these and then like these plants are good with tomatoes but they’re not good with these. So it’s like trying to mix and match everything. I was I was getting confused. So if you have some great tips like what three plants do you plant in one of your beds? Um which plants do you completely avoid? Leave me all of the tips in comments uh below. Don’t look down. I no gravity when you’re with me from home till I found you in front of me. Don’t look down. So, this is my dedicated herb bed, but in the front, I was also planting lettuce whenever we were trying to um plant it. It kept all of the soil kept falling apart. But, uh in the back here, I did get some cilantro. I got some rosemary. And then what is there? I think that last one is basil. I cannot remember off the top of my head. That second box over there, remember the first box we don’t have enough soil for yet. So, I didn’t plant anything there. Um that second box there, we did tomatoes and I did that pepper tree or that pepper plant. And then, um the next one was my herb one. And then the last one I am doing cucumbers and carrots and green beans. Now you can see my little little carrot or are those the tomatoes? I think those are the little tomatoes that are sticking up a bit. So I have um some stuff planted in there. This next box is that is all the lettuce. It’s it’s hard to see cuz it’s still very small, but um those are my little lettuce ones. They kind of fell apart whenever I was planting them. And then there in the back are my three herb plants. And then I have those little carrots. They did really well in the little containers. And then I had some cucumbers in the back. I got some garden labels. I actually won a box of planting gear from one of Sailor’s softball game things. So these little labels came in that box. And um I’m just going to uh use those to put in the garden. Don’t look down. I don’t look down. No gravity with me. All right. So, this one is still a work in progress. And I ended up buying a lavender plant as well. I want to make some either lavender tea or lavender soap or lavender bath wash. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I have some ideas to make stuff with lavender. Or if you have any suggestions, I am open for you to leave those in the comments. I did seed the kale and it has been a couple of days and I have little little tiny kale leaves sprouting up. I don’t even know if I planted these too late, but the whole purpose I learned through experience. So, the whole purpose is to just do it one year and then see what I’m going to change for the next year. So, a few days later, we finally got more of the dirt or mulch and we are going to finish filling up this bed. A new place, a new home for a while. Let me feel. Nothing to hold me back. Take my time. Just enjoy the ride. Passing by. Life is good. Best I’ve ever felt. Get me up somewhere I can’t find myself. Oh, I feel I feel I feel I feel so alive as I reach out reach out reach out reach out to the sky. I find my way. I found my way. I was in the dark against it all but made it through the day. Cuz I found my way. I found my way. Bad times. I know I’ll be okay. Cuz I found my way. So, I mentioned earlier that a few weeks later after we planted everything, I was getting really discouraged. Like the all of the plants seem to like shoot up at first and then completely stop. And after a lot of discussions with my garden person at the local garden store, I discovered, you know, it could be a soil issue. So, um, we ended up getting two bags of this garden mix per box to kind of like scrape the top off and then basically replant all of the plants in this soil as the top layer. So the person there told me that if your plants start having like yellow leaves, which all of our cucumber plants started turning yellow and then completely stopped growing, like I should have seen some growth in 2 to 3 weeks and I didn’t. That um that this is could be one of the issues. So we’re going to try again. And I’m also got some merry golds to pair with all of uh all of the vegetables and fruit. So, not only do they look prettier in the garden, but they do um attract um predatory insects and pollinators like bees and butterflies. And they are also what he said like a natural pest control. So, we are going to add orange and yellow merryolds around all of the raised garden vegetables. And then I went there and then I was just like, I need some already, you know, more mature vegetables. So, I got some different types of tomatoes and like he really helped me out on this. I got a lofah, you guys. I’m going to make my own bath lofah. I got some spinach. Uh those are the ones that I had already grown before. Uh but I did get some What is that? That’s the cantaloupe. Those are Minnesota midgets. So, they are supposed to grow smaller. And these are the sugar baby like little watermelons. These are the strawberries. So, I’m going to plant four things of strawberries. And then I also got um a lot of herbs. So, the very first box I am going to make that my fruit box. It was suggested that I put the cantaloupe and the watermelon close to the edge because it kind of like vines. that way it can kind of uh drape down the sides and then produce that way. Next, I have all of the strawberries. And in the back, I still have the the the ones that I planted. And those are I think those are little cantalopes. I replanted everything or I re uh replanted everything with the new soil. So, I’m going to see how they do. I don’t expect them to produce, but um we will find out. The next bed I didn’t show. Again, I did all the merryolds. And I only have two different tomato plants. I still have some of the tomato plants that I did. We’ll see if they they again if they produce. And then the back I ended up getting not only the pepper plant I originally had, but I got banana peppers. And then I got a jalapeno plant. And the third planter box, it is basically all herbs. Still have some of the lettuce there. We covered up a lot of it. it just to be honest I think it it wouldn’t have survived but I do have holy basil I have peppermint I have mjito mojito mint and then I have um just a regular mint and then as well as the herbs that I already had which was the rosemary the cilantro and the basil and then in this last box we are doing the long cucumber the lofah and then the two plants ants I have there in the back. Those are also cucumbers. So, you see how some of those leaves are turning um they’re kind of dying off and they’re turning a little bit yellow. We are going to try and refl um replant those and see if they do any better. We also have some of uh some fertilizer to help them grow. Supposedly next year the soil will be nice and full of nutrients, so I don’t have to worry about them not growing or their leaves turning yellow or dying. But if I were to have started over, I probably would have just started from this state uh opposed to trying to seed everything. But this definitely was a lot more work than I expected. But I know that it’s going to pay off in the long run. I actually am super excited to come out every day and see the new growth. We have a couple of things that were ready and we were able to pick just within a couple of days. Some of these already came with a little bit of fruit on them, but um so we have some stuff we’ve already planted. And then this is everything that is newly planted. So what we also did in the back, and I I didn’t get a video of it, but we raised all of the sprinkler heads. So whenever we turn the sprinklers on, uh this whole area gets uh watered. So I don’t have to come out here every day. And especially since they are so tall, if we kept the sprinklers like in the ground, I don’t think it would have hit um these beds as well. A couple other things I got, I got these blackberries and um I need some good pots to put them in. And then we also got blueberries. The reason why I didn’t plant them into the garden box is because um he said, you know, they get pretty tall. I don’t I think I might need a a trellis for these, but they get pretty tall and since the box is already pretty tall, um they might be a little bit hard to reach. So, because I got a whole bunch of new plants, I ordered some more of these copper um name plates from Amazon and I’m going to fill them out and then finish up everything. I pull into your driveway. It’s a Saturday night. You look like a million bucks wearing that dress I like. You’re smiling, but there’s something missing in your eyes. Girl, I can tell that you have something on your mind. or I will make you forget all your sorrows. Let go like there’s no tomorrow. Let’s have a drink. Just relax. All your problems will fade. If you’re ready for a good time, count on me. There’s a party in the backyard. Dance your problems away. I’m all about the good vibes. I know you’re all about the good vibes. Do you know how much I love you? Want to see you smile. Where’s that happy girl that I know with a heart on fire? I’ll do anything to make it fine. But I can tell that you have something on your mind right now. But I will make you forget all your sorrows. Let go like there’s no tomorrow. Let’s have a drink. Just relax. All your problems will fade. If you’re ready for a good time, count on me. There’s a party in the backyard. Dance your problems away. I’m all about the good vibes. I know you’re all about the good vibes. We are all about the good the good vibes. We are all about the good the good times. It seems like my plants are so far thriving. I will keep y’all updated as we continue this project and especially continue the stepping stones and area around the beds. This was a lot more work than expected, but I know over the long run it will be so worth it. But thank you guys so much for watching. If you did enjoy this video, then be sure to subscribe and I will see you all next week.