ORC – Spring 2021- Cedar Vegetable Planter

Are you loving gardening especially during pandemic times? Learning to grow some of our own food has been a huge learning experience for our kids and me. I also want the vegetable area to look good too.

Design – Bueno, Bonito y Barato

Projects I share on this blog follow the principles of this saying in Spanish that my husband uses – Bueno (good), Bonito (pretty) Barato (inexpensive). I think that with creativity it is possible to find this balance.

I have been experimenting over the past few years with adding more edibles to our garden.

Rather than have a bunch of mismatched pots I’ve built simple cedar boxes. I find it’s less watering because they don’t dry out as quickly, there’s more space for roots to grow and the look is more streamlined.

Cedar Planters Stained Black – ORC 2017

Instructions on how to build these cedar boxes from our last home can be found in a One Room Challenge from 2017.

How to Build a Cedar Planter & Privacy Screen

What I like about building cedar planters is that you can customize the size to fit your needs and choose a paint or stain to suit your style.

Kelowna Vegetable Garden 2021

We were fortunate to have raised beds already set up in our current home. Last year for One Room Challenge I painted them white and built a few extra cedar planters as supports for deer fencing.

This year I am maximizing all available space in our vegetable garden by adding a couple more planters in the empty areas.

Unused space beside fence – perfect for another planter!

I used 4 untreated cedar fence boards to create each of these planters. I cut them with my hand saw and used white paint on the outside.

Planter in progress, trellises to come next.

In the background you can see there is still some available space where I will build another planter later. I also plan to make trellises along the fence here to maximize vertical growing space.

Books with Inspiration & Practical Ideas

Edible Landscaping by Senga Lindsay and Edible Spots & Pots by Stacey Hirvela

Last year I shared these books that helped me with design ideas and learning about growing vegetables. There are many other gardening books that gets lots of hype online but I haven’t found any of them as useful as these too – both of which can be found at the library.

I highly recommend Edible Landscaping by Senga Lindsay for ideas of how to set up different styles of vegetable gardens and making them look good.

Edible Spots & Pots by Stacey Hirvela is a wonderful resource to learn about growing vegetables, herbs & edible flowers. There are lots of ways to use containers in smaller spaces to grow food and she explains how.

Salad, Fresh from the Garden

For the past week we have been able to eat salad from the garden everyday. I’m learning about which seeds to start when and it’s working! In March I put cool season seeds for spinach, pea and various lettuces out and they are all taking off now.

Last year we had 4 months of eating from the garden and this year I’m trying for 5 months. I’m a beginner and sharing what I’m learning along the way.