Jill Edward Wylie - Container and Raised Bed Gardening for Beginners

Container and Raised Bed

Gardening for Beginners

A Simple Guide to Growing your

Vegetables, Herbs, Fruit and Flowers

at Home

Jill Edward Wylie

Copyright 2020 Jill Edward Wylie

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the author. Reviewers may quote brief passages in reviews.

Introduction

Have you ever wandered through a farmers market and marveled at the array of fresh vegetables, herbs, fruit and cut flowers?

Did you find yourself dreaming of being able to grow your own? Perhaps you were brought down to earth when you remembered your limited space, or even recalled your not-so-green thumb which has let you down countless times!

Well, help is at hand: Drawing upon a lifetime of gardening experience, come with me as we journey down the garden path to a bounty of vegetables, herbs, fruit and cut flowers. By using a highly successful method growing above-ground in containers or raised beds , or a combination of both, I will show you how to become a successful urban gardener in whatever space is available to you.

In just a short time you can be harvesting your own garden-fresh, organic produce throughout the year; the sooner you plant, the sooner you reap the benefits!

Each chapter presents clear and concise information which will enable you to reach your gardening goals, without intimidating even the beginner gardener. Useful tips along the way provide every day, common sense solutions to gardening problems.

Coupled with all the information you need to grow a wide variety of vegetables, herbs, fruit and cut flowers, are my tried and tested signature recipes: Savor the aroma of a pot of Spaghetti Bolognese sauce simmering on the stove, enhanced by Italian herbs grown in your own garden.

Join me as we decode gardening basics, learn whats involved in sowing seed, understand the process of planning your garden, and explore quick-reference growing guides for edibles and cut flowers; finally enjoy the fruits of your labors from your garden to your table.

Having taught English for many years, sharing knowledge is an integral part of who I am. Combined with a lifetime of garden experience, the next logical step was to share my gardening knowledge in a book.

If you are a beginner gardener, or somewhere beyond, I hope you able to put this knowledge to good use and find the same joy in gardening as I have.

Chapter 1 - Take Your Garden to a Higher Level - Above-Ground Gardening in Containers, Raised Beds and Vertical Gardens

Gardening is learning, learning, learning. Thats the fun of them. Youre always learning

Helen Mirren

In chapter one we will explore the world of above-ground gardening: gardening in containers, raised beds, and even vertical gardening.

The essence of this approach is that every square inch is used to the max!

This enables the urban gardener to leverage whatever gardening real estate is available to them.

In-ground gardening with wide rows between plants

B EFORE WE CAN EXPLORE what makes above-ground gardening so successful, its important to understand how this method differs from its traditional cousin - in-ground gardening .

In-ground gardening can be back-breaking, slow and costly. Its also not urban-friendly, as it takes a lot of space; vegetables are grown in rows with 2-feet between rows to allow access.

This traditional gardening method often has disappointing results. This is because many garden soils are depleted in nutrients; they simply dont have the ability to produce a good harvest. Small wonder the beginner gardener blames their lack of success on their not-so-green-thumb!

On the other hand, above-ground gardening is often a sure way to jump-start your urban garden and get quick, bountiful results.

The secret lies in the quality of the soil mix ; instead of trying to improve the soil quality in large garden beds, all the effort is concentrated in a defined, smaller area .

The quality of the soil mix allows for closer planting in above-ground gardening

A S MY GRAN USED TO say, How can the plants not grow! Good quality soil mix ensures that you can plant your crops closer together; a boon for the urban gardener with limited gardening space. There are three types of above-ground gardening: containers , raised beds and vertical gardening.

Lets explore each of these options:

1. Containers

Vegetables, herbs and flowers flourishing in containers

I F YOU HAVE LIMITED garden space available to you, this is probably your best bet. From deck to balcony, containers enable one to raise a good quantity of vegetables, herbs and flowers.

And dont let that stop you growing fruit either. The key is to select a dwarf variety more on that later in the growing guides in chapter 6.

So many choices! You only have to stroll through a garden center to appreciate that containers are big business today. The choice includes wood, traditional terra cotta, ceramic, plastic, etc. There are even environmentally-friendly fiber pots; they are good for the planet and promote healthier root growth.

Its not only the choice of gardening containers thats overwhelming, but there is also a mind-blowing range of gardening products available. To make life easier for you, Ive created a gardening collection of everything you could possibly need, from containers and raised beds kits, to gardening gifts, and many things in between.

As the chapters unfold and you continue on your gardening journey, you will come across many products that will make you a more successful gardener. To save you time searching for them, Ive put these products in easily accessible categories in my shop; Ive taken the time to do this, so you dont have to!