Transitioning: From Community Garden to Deck Garden Upgrade

So, it was my first growing season after moving to Connecticut. I had down time and researched and signed my family and I up for numerous town events. That was when I saw the advertisement for the community garden. $30, ground rototilled and water on site, for a 20 foot x 20 foot plot, available from early May until early October! What a bargain! Right? All that was needed was the help of my familial farmhands, and I could garden like my dad did during the summers of my youth, where we had fresh cucumbers and tomatoes straight from the vine, green beans, eggplant, and collards ready for the fall harvest. I even took inventory of what extended family members wanted grown in the garden, planning so that I would limit waste. No problem. Right?

Well, reality is that my little family is not cutout for farm/row gardening life. Planning, planting, growing and harvesting in this community plot was a memorable experience, and it mostly brought me great satisfaction and valuable lessons in gardening, but it was NO JOKE! It required lots of attention, including maintenance to protect and support fruit and vegetables as they matured, refilling of the ollas (terra cotta root watering reservoirs) every few days and thorough watering during sustained heat waves, and then there was pruning, pest control and harvesting. Managing plots like this is best when duties are shared in rotation or together, and when timely. I made the most of this garden, but knew that as the day to day care was mostly my responsibility, it was not something that I wished to do again.

Then came the challenge. How could I transition from this garden plot to a more satisfying container garden setup, that satisfied all of the senses and my garden wishlist; a garden that would provide favored fresh vegetables/fruit, that would supply a feast for the eyes, areas that were fragrant, and a garden that would promote pollinator interest and support?

This is when I began to sketch where I wanted particular areas of interest on my deck and porch. The end result was deciding to include a variety of larger separate planters to complement my three self-contained Earthbox planter systems, to achieve the desired results. Now each year it’s just a decision of what I wish to plant (by food preference, color theme, etc), getting a jump on things with indoor seed-sowing where possible, scheduling planting such that harvesting is not all at once (succession planting), and tweaking the visual effect via changes in planting containers or coordinating with deck decor, if desired. The best part is it’s right outside my door!

The In-Ground Garden Adventure that Inspired Expansion of My Container Garden