My Journey to a Love of Gardening

My Journey to a Love of Gardening

My mother did not grow vegetables, but she had the most beautiful flower garden. She knew all of the names of the plants in Latin. She had green thumbs. I did not acquire her talent or desire for gardening, but when I got married...almost 32 years ago...I really wanted to try to grow vegetables.

Each year my husband and I would till and weed and plant, hoping to harvest something. I had fair to good luck...some years...but other years, my brown thumbs were showing and most everything would die. Most every year, by July, it would be so hot and weedy, that I would give up...until the next year when, with hope renewed, we would try again.

I never "loved" gardening, but I did want to grow at least tomatoes. A few years ago, I decided that I was DONE with gardening. We were getting older and I was tired of failing. I asked my husband about trying to garden in containers. I got a few and tried it and...viola!...I grew tomatoes. I didn't even have to weed the garden.

That was eight years ago. My husband started making boxes and expanding our garden. We were truly successful in the garden for the first time..and no weeding. Over three years, we expanded our garden to about 20 boxes. The only trouble was that I was having to water all of the boxes by hand...in Oklahoma and my husband was working in Chicago. I called and asked him if there was an easier way to water all of the boxes because it was a lot more time consuming than I hoped.

He got to thinking about the situation and over a couple of summers, came up with a solution. He invented a watering system that watered all of boxes at once. It was amazing! No weeding AND self-watering. Truly self-watering. I didn't have to do a thing but hook the watering system up to the hose. (you can also use a rain barrel)

We loved this way of gardening so much that we decided that we needed to start a business and share this easier way of gardening with others. That is how Garden Anywhere Box was born. We travel around to fairs and farmers markets to share our easier way of gardening. We love this so much that we have to share. We talk to so many people like us. People who have tried to garden, but gave up or people who have never gardened because they just don't know where to start.

www.gardenanywherebox.com

There are people everywhere who love to garden. They love the process of getting the ground ready, composting and even weeding. I am not one of those people. I do believe that gardening should be as natural as it can be...composting and replenishing the soil, but...if you can't do that, do you do nothing? I say do what you can to grow your own food. Garden Anywhere Box is making gardeners out of people who had given up or had never gardened before.

Like I said, I never loved gardening. I thought that I was a failure. It has only been in the last few years that I have discovered a LOVE of gardening and accepted the fact that I really am a gardener. 

Instead of weeding and watering, I go out every morning before it gets hot, harvest what is ready, visit with the bees, take pictures and come inside.  

Gardening gives me joy. I have found joy in the garden after all these years. It is our mission to share GAB with others and help them find joy in the garden, too. 

It's never too late to garden.

If you have read this far, thank you for taking the time to read about my journey to a love of gardening. It took almost 30 years.

A couple of years ago, I found a quote by Alice Walker. It really touched my heart. "In Search of my Mother's Garden, I Found My Own."

My mother was an amazing gardener, but I never connected with her through gardening. She's been gone 11 years. I wish she was still here so that I could show her that I found "my" green thumbs and share my love of gardening with her.

My Kind of Garden

I don't garden in the ground. I garden in boxes. I used to have a traditional garden. For years, my husband would till the ground, we'd weed and all of the traditional garden things...until I just got tired of it. I was never a "green thumb" gardener. I never had high yields. Plus, I don't like to weed and the Oklahoma heat can be brutal. I had given up on gardening, but still wished that I could grow at least some tomatoes.

That is when we started gardening in boxes. The first year I was successful. I got tomatoes and cucumbers and I didn't have to weed the garden. I was hooked! The picture on the left is our first attempt to grow tomatoes in a box. The picture on the right is two months later. 

That was eight years ago. My husband started making boxes to expand our garden. About five years ago, I had about 20 boxes that I was watering by hand...in Oklahoma, and he was working in Chicago. I asked him if there was an easier way to water everything besides dragging the hose around to every box. He thought about it and through trial and error, invented a watering system that would water all of the boxes at once. 

Our watering system is what is unique about this type of container garden. All of our boxes are connected by tubing. The watering system hooks up to an outdoor faucet or rain barrel. The watering system senses when the water level is low in the boxes, comes on, waters everything and shuts off. It uses gravity, not electricity. Plus, you can go on vacation and your garden will be watered while you are gone. A lot of people ask if this is hydroponics or aquaponics. It is neither. Just potting mix.

We liked this way of gardening so much that we felt that we needed to share this with others. This led to us starting a business to share an easier way of gardening.

We call our company, Garden Anywhere Box. No weeding. Self-watering. Portable.

We also say, "Garden Anywhere Box...Turning Brown Thumbs Green."

Garden Harvest...May 21, 2015

The portable part is how I am able to have a garden year 'round.  My husband built a simple greenhouse onto our house. Most of the produce was started this winter in about January. As it got warmer, we moved the boxes outside. Now, with the the heavy rains and flooding that we've had recently, our garden is protected in boxes with plastic over the top. When some gardens are getting drowned and washing away, mine is staying put.

I always felt like a failure in the garden. Every year I would try and hope that my garden would be successful, and then, by July, it would be too hot and weedy to care anymore. I never really enjoyed weeding. Some people love the whole process of gardening. I'm not one of those people, but I do love the harvest. I've just found an easier way to go about it.

Here's a picture of our pool deck garden from last June. No weeding. Self-watering. Portable. This is a pic of three weeks worth of growth. We planted June 1. This pic was taken 23 days later. We travel to farmers markets, fairs and expos in Oklahoma sharing our easier way of gardening.

There will always be traditional gardeners who love the process, but there are others like me who either have never gardened before because it's a daunting task or who've given up. This is an alternative. And, if you love the traditional way, GAB is an option. You can still have your garden in the ground, but can also have one in a GAB.

You can garden year round. When it's cold outside or the weather is unpredictable like where you are, start your garden indoors, bring it out when the weather is warm. When your ground can be worked, plant a traditional garden along with your GAB, and then when the weather turns cold and your garden in the ground is done for the winter, bring your GABs back inside and continue gardening. The best of both worlds. I believe that that a traditional garden is the ideal way to garden. Composting and replenishing the soil, but if you can't do that, do you do nothing? I believe GAB is an alternative for those who don't have the time, space or ability to have a traditional garden.

This is a picture of Miss Gloria's garden. She is 80 years old and had never gardened before. Now she's growing tomatoes and harvesting lettuce. 

I love GAB so much. It has given me joy in the garden. That is what I want to share with others.  

Visit our website to see more harvest pictures and to learn more about GAB. 

www.gardenanywherebox.com

Top Ten Reasons Why I Love Garden Anywhere Box

There are several reasons why I love Garden Anywhere Box. 

 Here is my Top Ten...

1. No Weeding-the plastic on top keeps the weeds out. Not only does the plastic keep the weeds out, but it also keeps excess moisture out. If you get a big rain, your garden will not get washed away. 

2. Automatic watering-our exclusive watering system waters your garden for you. Hook up the GABs to the watering system and to a water source (outdoor faucet or rain barrel) and your garden will be watered automatically (needs no electricity). The watering system detects when the water level is low, comes on, fills the water reservoir in each box and shuts off when the boxes are full. 

3. Portable- when the weather turns cold, you can move your garden inside or into a greenhouse and garden year 'round.

Winter, spring, summer, fall...Garden Anywhere does it all!
 

You can also take your garden with you if you move.
Our greenhouse is really simple. My husband made it out of 
PVC pipe and plastic. It is attached to our house. 
I go out my laundry room door and into my greenhouse. 

4. Water Conservation-uses up to 70% less water than a traditional garden. The plastic keeps the moisture in. No wasted water. 

             These are not just ordinary totes, hydroponics or "dirt in a box." 

         We modify the totes and turn them into "gardening machines." 

5. Freedom-you can go on vacation and your garden will be watered while you are gone. 

6. Convenience-garden out your back door or inside your home or greenhouse. No need to slog around in a muddy garden. Harvest herbs and veggies for cooking right when you need them.

7. Safety and Security-know what you grow. No GMO's. Know that you can grow at least some of your own food. That is a good feeling. 

You can be prepared for what may come.

8. Time Saving-no tilling, weeding or dragging the hose around to water. You don't need lot of tools to make gardening "easier". All you need is a pair of scissors.  When I garden, I wear my apron with pockets. In one pocket is my scissors to harvest my veggies and in the other pocket is my phone to take pictures of my veggies.  

9. Easy-GAB truly is an easier way to garden. You get the time-saving benefits and gardening success. Plus it's really easy to get your garden ready for the next growing season. Again, no tilling or weeding. Redress your GAB with new fertilizer, dolomite and plastic and you are ready to garden again. 

10. Affordable-For $199 (plus tax) you get our Starter Kit, three GABs and our exclusive watering system. It may seem like an investment, 
but it will pay you back in tomatoes. 
We've been using the same boxes for eight years.

 You will need to buy a 2 cubic ft. bag of potting mix for each box. It costs about $12 per bag. Once you buy the potting mix it lasts for many years. You will also need to redress each box and replace the fertilizer, dolomite and plastic each growing season, but again the cost is minimal. If you add the cost of $199 for a Starter Kit plus $36 for three bags of potting mix and divide by 8 years, that comes out to about 
$30 a year for a garden. 

One GAB gives you a little over 2 square ft. of gardening space. 

Our Starter Kit-3 GABs offers you about 6 1/2 square ft. of gardening space. You can add many boxes together (like box cars) to one watering system and make your garden as big as you want.

The cost of redressing the boxes for the next growing season is very affordable, too. No costly chemicals. All you need is a big bag of fertilizer, dolomite and a roll of plastic. You can get these items at a feed store or nursery. These three things should cost about $30 and should last for many growing seasons.

Take it from a former "brown thumb." If I can be a successful gardener, anyone can.  At Garden Anywhere Box, we pride ourselves on customer service. We are committed to helping you discover an easier way to garden. We are here to answer questions. We want you to succeed.

Visit us at www.gardenanywherebox.com to learn more about an easier way to garden and to order your Starter Kit today.
Don't let another summer pass you by.
You CAN garden in a box.
Garden Anywhere Box

Bonus:
11. Taste- I forgot to mention how amazing your vegetables will taste! 

Fun Things to Grow

It's been a little while since I've written a blog post. With Larry's two trips to the hospital for pneumonia and stents in his heart in January and then back to the hospital three weeks later for a stroke, I just haven't been motivated to write. He's doing better now. His stroke could have been so much worse than it was. Luckily, I think we got to the hospital in time.

We are back in the swing of gardening. Attending home shows, expos and beginning this weekend, farmers markets. I call Larry, "the Energizer Bunny." No matter his health issues, heart, stroke or the macular degeneration that he developed last year, he "just keeps going and going. He loves Garden Anywhere Box and loves to talk about the boxes.

I finally feel inspired to add to my blog. I felt inspired to write post about fun things to grow in the garden. 

Once you realize that you can be a successful gardener, you will start to get excited about gardening. Not only will you want to grow tomatoes, but you'll want to see what else you can grow. 

The pictures below are of things that I have grown or will grow this year. 







A couple of years ago, I grew Strawberry popcorn. It's cute little red ears of corn. Let it dry, remove it from the cob and make your own popcorn. 

You can find Strawberry corn at Baker Creek Heirloom Seed. 









Bear Paw corn is something that I want to try this year. I got seeds at Cherrygal.com, but can't seem to open the link today.Seed Savers also sells the seeds. Read the interesting history behind the seed on their website. 

I first read about Cucamelons in a post by James Wong, a gardener in England. I thought they looked like fun to grow, but wanted to find seeds available in America if possible. I found a place in AZ called Terroir Seeds. They have all kinds of fun seeds. Check out their website.

Cucamelon looks like a miniature watermelon, but tastes like a cucumber. Wouldn't these be perfect in salads? 







I also wanted to try to grow cotton. We went to the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture several times last year. They had a nice little garden out in front of the building. One of the things they were growing was cotton. I thought that would be fun to grow as a decoration. I found some seeds from Reimer Seeds. They have some other fun stuff like sugar cane. I'm going to try that, too. 

I grew Cosmic Purple carrots last year.  Baker Creek Heirloom Seed has those seeds and also the Strawberry corn seeds. Purple carrots! How fun is that! And they taste really good! The picture to the left is an experiment that I tried last year.

We sell a Per-PET-ual Pet dish. This hooks into our watering system and allows you pet to have fresh water. I wondered if I put in a clay pot, would the water wick up into the pot so that I didn't have to worry about watering. It did!  I grew carrots and I didn't have to worry about watering the pot every day. Yay!



                               What fun things to you want to grow this year? 

Highlights from the January 2015 Home and Garden Show

There were so many fun things that happened this weekend. 

Where to begin?

Our #1 highlight from any show/fair/farmers market is the people. We love meeting people and talking with them about their gardening experiences.

We want to thank the people connected with The Home and Garden Show for allowing us to be a featured booth, especially RaeAnn Saunders. The H&G staff was present and available if anything was needed. We also want to thank The Oklahoman and Tim and Jim, the writer and photographer for doing a story about Garden Anywhere Box. So many people that stopped by our booth said that they read about us in the paper and came to the Home and Garden Show just to see us. How exciting!

Here are a couple of pictures from the show. Larry is demonstrating the watering system in the first picture. Our friend and mentor, LB stopped by to talk about GAB with people. He has been a long-time friend and big supporter of Garden Anywhere Box from the beginning.

 

Rodd Moesel stopped by our booth at the end of the show. I'm sorry that I missed him. I had just taken a load of stuff out to the car. Rodd was a part of the Oklahoma Horticultural Society booth across the way. I knew of the Moesel family in high school (Go Knights! Northwest Classen!).  They ran a very successful nursery called Moesels Hort-haven.

Rodd went on to found American Plant Products and Services, Inc. APA is a 35 year old wholesale company that sells greenhouse structures, equipment and supplies, as well as nursery, garden center and landscape supplies. The business was started by Rodd in 1974 with a $500 4-H Scholarship and now has sales of over five million dollars annually and approximately 30 employees.

Because of the article in The Oklahoman, old friends saw it and stopped by to say hi.

The picture to the right shows Larry demonstrating how the watering system works to an old friend from elementary school. 

We were happy to see the librarian,now retired, from the elementary school that my older sons attended. She read the article in the paper and wanted to stop by. It was nice to see her again and nice that she got to see the boys all grown up. We all remember her fondly. Good times. 

Speaking of schools, we love when teachers stop by our booth. Several teachers want to get boxes for the classroom. We believe that Garden Anywhere Box is perfect for schools. Because the boxes are portable, you can garden year 'round. Unlike a garden in the ground or a raised bed, GAB can be brought inside the classroom. It can also be taken home for the summer after school lets out. You can't do that with a raised bed. 

We have an idea for a fundraiser that we believe would be beneficial for us and the schools. We are just getting started with this through the Agriculture department of Larry's high school alma mater. The Ag. dept. has an annual plant (flower) sale. This year they hope to expand and sell vegetable plants as well. We would partner with them to sell boxes. For each Starter Kit sold, the school will receive $25. This could add up fast. This would provide extra money for the school, new customers for us and lots of people gardening.

Another highlight from the Show was a cooking demonstration from Uptown Grocery. Their chefs made the best kabobs. Our booth was near the Lifestyle Stage, so we got to hear different speakers and sample the food. Bonus!

I was visiting with a lady who said that her town had just begun water rationing. She was

waiting on her husband to be able to show him the boxes. Unbeknownst to me, her husband was stopping by different booths to learn about guttering and rain barrels and other means of water conservation. When he got to our booth, he started talking with Larry about the boxes. It wasn't until later that Larry told me that this man owned an Ace Hardware store and was interested in selling GABs. He is trying to do all he can to accommodate the drought that his city is faced with.  We are really excited about this. Obviously, we want to sell boxes. This is our family business and we have bills to pay...but this will also be a great opportunity to get more people gardening and save water in the process.

Garden Anywhere Box uses up to 70% less water than a traditional garden. The plastic on top keeps the weeds out, but it also keeps the moisture in. The only evaporation is through the plant. This method of gardening is perfect for drought-stricken areas.

Speaking of water conservation, Larry was asked to be on KTOK 1000 on Saturday. The Garden Show was doing a live broadcast. Larry has been on there before and was happy to have the opportunity again. He was asked about water conservation using the boxes. He was able to share that Garden Anywhere Box is a great way to garden and conserve water at the same time.

In our booth, we had a loop of GAB videos playing on the television. One was our News 9 clip from last summer. Another video was a cartoon that one of our sons made that is on our Garden Anywhere Box You Tube channel. This is a short, cute cartoon that shows how the boxes work. Two different people approached our son about his talent and want to visit with him about other projects. Very cool! Our son is self-taught in animation. When he was twelve, he asked for a flash animation program for his birthday. After we figured out what that was...lol...we bought him one, He learned how to animate cartoons. He and his brother used to do a cartoon series in their teen years.  They did the voices, drawing, music and animation. It was very good in my humble mom opinion. Very proud of my talented children! 

 Here are pictures of three of our sons explaining how the boxes work. Mom fail moment because for some reason, I did not get a picture of our #3 son. He was also talking to people and showing how the boxes work. I also do not have a picture of our daughter who is 15. She and our daughter-in-law (wife to #2 son) stayed home and made Grow Packs for the boxes. 

We had our baker's rack set up with plants and books. People really liked our "Chicken Greenhouses". I save the containers that rotisserie chicken comes in and use them to start seeds. When they get big enough, Larry will transplant them to cups to continue growing until they are ready for GAB. 

We were very busy the whole weekend. There was a lull Friday night towards the end, but I understand that it was because the Thunder was playing.

We love sharing Garden Anywhere Box with others. GAB has made such a difference in our lives. This truly is an easier and successful way to garden. To get your own Garden Anywhere Box or to learn more, visit our website at www.gardenanywherebox.com

We will be at the Home and Outdoor Living Show in March. Hope to see you there.


An update to our story... This event and these pictures occurred just two weeks after Larry was released from the hospital. He developed pneumonia the day after Christmas. We were in the hospital for eight days. While there, his x-ray showed that his heart was enlarged. He left the hospital pneumonia-free, but with 3 stents in his heart. Three weeks later he had a stroke. I call him the "Energizer Bunny." He just keeps going and going. His stroke was not as bad as it could have been, but at times he has trouble saying all that he wants to say.

Thoughts About Gardening in a Box...

Small rant...One of the speakers across from our booth at the Home and Garden Show said that gardening used to be very popular, but then it started to decline. The gardening industry panicked and began offering "gardening in a box." Our ears perked up since that is what we offer. After listening to him...and going online when I got home to try to clarify for myself his line of thinking... I concluded that he was talking about flower gardening. 

Quote from the article ..."It’s such an exquisite example of the pandering, avarice-driven, disrespectful motives espoused by portions of the American gardening industry. “Our exclusive garden in a box makes it simple” sums up their true opinion of today’s American gardener: You’re too busy, too lazy, and way too stupid to learn about garden design, so send us $125 and we’ll ship you your next garden via UPS. Plunk it in according to the diagram, and boy, won’t you be proud.

“BUY IT, PLANT IT, WATCH IT GROW!” Do you sense what they’re NOT saying? Don’t learn, don’t investigate, don’t experiment, don’t decide which perennials you love, or those you hate. Don’t worry about your soil, don’t think about disease, don’t even water the thing, for that matter … just buy it, plant it, and watch it grow." (Yikes!) 

I think what he does not realize is that not everyone fancies themselves a gardener. Some people need help. Some people want easy. That does not mean that they are lazy or stupid. It just means that they look for another way to solve a problem. 

Even though I "think" he was talking about flowers (it does not matter), his words still resonated with me. We offer an easier way to garden. It is folly to insinuate that a person is not a true gardener just because they don't want to spend laborious hours in the garden trying to figure it out. 

I realize that there are some people who are gifted that way. My mother was. She would spend hours in her flower garden. She knew the Latin names of the plants. She had so many different colors and kinds of flowers. Her garden was beautiful. Planning, planting and design gave her joy.  I did not get that gift. I did not have the "gardening gene."  I did not have joy in the garden. 

As I got older and got married, I wanted to have a garden...not flowers, but vegetables...but I discovered that I did not have green thumbs. In fact, I did not have much success at all. I did the work, but still my plants did not thrive. My husband and I would work really hard in the spring, tilling, weeding, making straight rows, planting seeds. By July, it was hot and weedy and I had very little harvest to show for my work.  I was done...for the year...until the next year with renewed hope, I would try again...with similar results.

It got to be too hard to try again. I was older and did not want to work so hard for so little to show for my efforts. That's when we started gardening in boxes.  

With Garden Anywhere Box, I have success. I do not consider myself either lazy or stupid for wanting an easier way to garden. If it is a garden in a box, so be it. It works. Some people love to garden in the ground. They love the process. I do not begrudge them that at all. I think it's amazing to see beautiful gardens, flower or vegetable, that are thriving and huge, but I know the work that goes into making them beautiful. I am not that person.
I have found a way to grow and harvest vegetables without tilling the ground. weeding or investment of "sweat-equity" in the garden. I do not apologize for that. I revel in it. I want to shout it from the roof-tops. I have found joy in the garden. To those of you who were not born with green thumbs, who have given up on ever having success in the garden or who have never tried... Garden Anywhere Box works. You CAN be a successful gardener.

And the part about being "too stupid about learning garden design"...your education is just beginning. Once you realize that you can be successful in the garden, it's time to start really learning. What do you want to grow? What is companion planting? What herbs repel bugs? How can I attract bees to my garden?  What does it mean to grow organic and why should I care? What are GMO's? "Oh, the place's you'll go"...in your quest for gardening knowledge.

You CAN garden in a box 

You can garden in your socks. 

You can garden here...or there. 

You can GARDEN ANYWHERE.

I discovered a quote by Alice Walker a couple of years ago. It says, "In search of my mother's garden, I found my own." That is how I feel. I didn't arrive at my destination the same way as others, but I did arrive.