Vegetable Boxes: A Smart Idea for Starting a Small Space Garden
Gardening is a great way to relax after a hard day of work. It’s also an especially rewarding activity when you harvest your very first crop of vegetables or flowers from your own garden. However, starting a garden when you lack space or live in an apartment can seem impossible. Luckily, vegetable planters are here to help.
If you know anything about gardening and cared to try it out, you are probably familiar with vegetable boxes. Veggie boxes are just what they sound like – deep containers where you put soil, seeds and plants. But there is more to choosing a good veggie box than picking one based on its looks; this choice will impact your pleasure and success in gardening too.
Vegetable Boxes Explained
Vegetable boxes are specially designed containers that are used to grow vegetables indoors or outdoors. The reason why they are called ‘boxes’ is that they take the shape of a box. They are available in all kinds of sizes and with different features – some contain special lights, while others are open, allowing sunlight to shine through the top. There are also self-watering garden vegetable boxes on the market that can make the whole experience more convenient.
Most vegetable boxes will be made with a polythene plastic material that is easy to clean and maintain. They are quite strong, allowing them to be transported easily without risk of damage. Once you get your veggie boxes, make sure that you place them in an area where there is plenty of sunlight as this is what helps promote the healthy growth of plants when they are in their early development stage. There should also be good ventilation and drainage assistance for the plants too.
When buying a vegetable box, it is important to look for one that has been specifically designed for growing vegetables in your conditions as this will ensure that you have everything you need to get started straight away.
How to Choose the Best Vegetable Box
There are several factors to consider when looking for the most suitable vegetable planter. The first thing you need to look at is the size of it. You should always choose one that will be large enough to accommodate all your vegetables and herbs.
Some of the best veggie pots are a little on the larger side, so this should not be an issue. If you do have a small garden, then you may have to compromise on some of the other features such as durability or construction quality in order to get a suitable box.
The second thing that you need to look at is how easy it would be for you to set up and use. You want something that is easy to assemble and disassemble as you will want to move it around from time to time in order to avoid over-crowding or make space for another plant that has just been growing too well.
Another factor that you need to consider will be how you need to maintain a garden vegetable box once it has been installed. Some of them are fairly self-sufficient but others will require more attention than others in order for them to stay in tip-top condition. Some of them are self-watering, so that if you’re a busy person or forgetful and can’t manage to water your vegetables as often as you should, getting this type of garden vegetable box can be of great help.
Self-watering pots can offer a variety of benefits to gardeners. They are easily portable and you have the option of adding various additives that may promote root growth or deter pests. Since self-watering pots do not require frequent watering, it is also easier to attend to larger areas of your garden when you are away from home for short periods of time. You even may be able to go a week or two between watering!
The self-watering planters are basically reusable plastic containers with a reservoir of water on the bottom. They use gravity to feed the seedlings with water, so you never need to worry about over-watering or under-watering. A great advantage of these is that they keep the roots warmer, and keep your plant healthier than just setting it in a saucer of water.
Some of the best vegetables to plant in self-watering planters are cherry tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, garlic, cilantro and other herbs. Plan on planting them in different seasons so you can keep harvesting all year long.
What type of material your veggie pot is made out of will determine whether it needs to be lined with plastic or not. A wooden vegetable box that is used as a raised bed does not need lining because the wood will absorb water from the soil itself. When choosing your planter box, make sure that it is made from rot-resistant wood and that the wood will last at least five years. If you are looking at buying a plastic vegetable planter box, it should have at least five sides so that water won’t pool up around the plant roots.
How to Store Vegetables for Freshness
Whether you are a busy person who wants their bento box lunch packed with fresh garden veggies, or you just want a nice, freshly cooked meal at home, it’s important to know how long vegetables can be stored before using them. Storage is important because the nutritional value of vegetables starts to degrade a few days after harvest. If they are not stored properly, they will lose some of their nutritional value and freshness. There are a number of ways that vegetables can be stored including using oxygen absorbers, cellophane, plastic wrap or containers.
If you are storing your veggies on a kitchen work surface or in a vegetable rack, make sure they’re not touching each other. This will help them to avoid bruising. Use glass jars or airtight plastic containers and place your veg loosely inside so that there’s still some air around them.
Finally, when storing your produce for a long time, try to cut back on washing them before storing them – this will reduce the amount of water in them which could cause rot over time.
Saving Money With Your Small Veggie Box Garden
The best thing about buying a vegetable box is that it saves you money because you don’t need to go to the supermarket to buy your veggies. Another way these boxes save you money is that you usually end up with organic produce, which means it doesn’t have any pesticides on it. Making sure your veggies don’t have any pesticides on them is important because some of those pesticides can get into your body and cause health problems.
When buying a vegetable box, make sure you understand exactly what you’re paying for. The most popular time of year for buying a vegetable box is when the seasons change because many people like to eat fresh fruit and vegetables during different seasons.
With good garden vegetable boxes, your produce will grow strong, providing you with clean food and good health. Vegetable boxes are no longer just for farms, they are an excellent idea for all areas of life. If you one day hope to have a vegetable garden, or even just fresh fruits and vegetables on your table, then these vegetable boxes are an ideal choice. Think about it; they are cost-effective, take up little space and can easily be transferred anywhere! What more could you ask for?
