Here at Once A Month Meals we’ve already caught spring fever by starting our gardens, cleaning, and filling our freezers. I personally feel like I’m being pulled in two directions. One outside to get my hands dirty and start the garden; the other to purge out our closets, and to scrub every surface for a good deep spring clean.
Today we’re partnering up with Rentals.com to show you that even in the smallest space, leased or owned, you can embrace Spring! For our Get Real series, we talked about starting your edible garden just a week ago with our blog partner Rachel Tayse of Harmonious Homestead. I know a bigger garden is in the plans for me this year; however, starting small is good too. The challenge is to just start somewhere. One of the ways that you can start small, especially if you have limited space, is to start a container garden. Starting a container garden can be very simple. Here are some easy steps for accomplishing one.
Choose a Container
You can choose a simple urn or terra cotta pot, or go bigger to a square window box or even a pre-made raised bed. Assess your space and what you have available. You can usually find adequate containers at your local hardware store, dollar store, discount store, thrift store, or by perusing garage sales. Make sure that you have enough containers for what you want to start but not too many that you can’t get around them to water them properly.
Seeds or Starter Plants
Next, you can start your herbs or small plants from seeds, or get starter plants from your local nursery or farmer’s market. I like to get my starters from my farmer’s market because I know how they were started, the soil they grew in and if I have problems I can come back to them and ask the following week.
Choose Your Soil
Next, choose your soil. This can be tricky because you want soil that will retain moisture and nourish the plant, but not smother it. There are potting mixes available for container gardens at nurseries and big box stores. Just be sure to pick the right one for plants or edible gardens. When transplanting your starters, it’s important to break up the bottom and give the roots space to grow in their new home.
Water and Watch Them Grow
Then simply water them and watch them blossom! Get your children involved too and make it a project for them to take care of and watch together. And who knows you may get them to eat more veggies and try out some new herbs! Here are some other great links to help you get started:
- Lacking a green thumb? Check out the Rentals.com guide for the top hard-to-kill houseplants that can help add to a room’s décor
- Rentals.com has ideas to help you create your ideal outdoor space no matter the size even on the patio of your apartment.
- Start your very own herb garden with this list of tips from Rentals.com
***This giveaway is now closed.***
1. Leave a Comment telling us what you’ll be planting in your garden this Spring. 2. Follow @Rentals_com on Twitter – leave a separate comment saying you did so. 3. Tweet this contest – Follow @Rentals_com and @onceamonthmom and don’t forget to leave a comment below stating you have done so. 4. Pin this post and share the love with others! (Leave the link to your pin as proof of this step and entry). This giveaway ends April 25 at 5 PM (EST). As a special thank you to our sponsor be sure to “Like” Rentals.com on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Rentals.com or follow them on Twitter @Rentals_com to get their latest tips on making the most of your home this spring. When you’re ready for a new place to call home, Rentals.com has the information you’ll need to find the perfect property for your family – choose from rental houses, apartments, condos or townhouses.