Mavis Mail – Stephanie From Kentucky Sends in Photos of her Patio Garden

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has sent in their photographs and stories. I hope by sharing other peoples pictures and stories here on One Hundred Dollars a Month we can all have a rock star garden this summer. Keep them coming!

Check out the pictures Stephanie from Kentucky sent in. I am totally blown away by her use of space. She has a full-on garden growing in a little patio area. Just goes to show that space issues are no excuse when it comes to growing your own food. Here’s what Stephanie had to say:

I grew up gardening, so while I always assumed I’d own a house with a large backyard plot, the practicality of a grad-student (and post-grad school) existence required a more pragmatic (read: dull as doorknobs) existence in an apartment complex with one of those ubiquitous 6x11ft patios. After a couple summers lusting after the gardens I saw everywhere, I finally decided to make due with what I had. This is my success story of gardening on concrete!

We chose an apartment on the southern exposure to get as much light as possible in the covered space and maximized our space by thinking vertically, rather than horizontally. I love cucumbers, so I ran bird netting around the rails of the patio and trained the cucumbers to grow along them. I must say, I was feeling pretty ingenious once I saw the cukes take off!

Of course no Kentucky garden would be complete without tomatoes, so with the limited space we stuck to varietals that grew well in pots, mostly determinate varieties, although I couldn’t resist a few Black Krim! The hanging tomato basket has seeds with “Hundreds and Thousands” – my new all time favorite cherry that is not only incredibly photogenic, it is prolific! Hanging the pot from the patio roof also freed up space on the ground.

We grew lettuce, herbs and other relatively shallow rooted plants in baskets along the rail. While we certainly don’t have the largest harvests – and aren’t able to grow enough to can or preserve – it’s certainly better than no harvest at all! My husband and I both get the satisfaction of growing (some of) our own food – enough to keep the two of us in good supply of fresh salad ingredients all summer long. To all your readers who think they need to have those beautiful big garden beds that make us all green with envy (in places other than our thumbs!) – just give it a go! A little dirt, sun, water and patience is all you need.

Cheers,
Stephanie

If you would like to have your garden, chicken coop or something you’ve made featured on One Hundred Dollars a Month, here’s what I’m looking for:

• Your Garden Pictures and Tips – I’d especially like to see your garden set ups, growing areas, and know if you are starting seeds indoors this year. If so,  show me some picture of how you are going about it.
• Your Chicken and Chicken Related Stories – Coops, Chicks, Hen’s, Roosters, Eggs, you name it. If it clucks, send us some pictures to share with the world.
• Cool Arts & Crafts – Made from your very own hands with detailed {and well photographed} pictures and instructions.
• Your pictures and stories about your pets. The more pictures and details the better.
• Garage Sale, Thrift Store and Dumpster Diving pictures and the stories behind the treasures you found including how much you paid for them.

If I feature your pictures and the stories behind them on One Hundred Dollars a Month, I will send you a $20.00 gift card to the greatest store in the world: Amazon.com.

Go  HERE for the official rules.