Building a Vegetable Box

I have always wanted to have a vegetable patch to grow my own organic vegetables! Here is the process of building the vegetable box, planting some small plants and seeds and the joy of watching them grow in the glorious sunshine we have been having lately!

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The box is built. Now we filled it with some rich fertiliser on the bottom layer and some top soil for the top layer.

We added a ring of copper plating around the upper inside of the box which the slugs can’t grip to to prevent the slugs from getting in and eating the leaves. No need for artificial pesticides!

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I planted the sweet potato plant I had been growing on the kitchen window sill from half a sweet potato in the top left hand corner of the box, and the small mung bean plants in the bottom right hand corner, grown from some old mung beans that I had in the cupboard and just scattered over a planter tray containing nutrient rich soil! I also planted a row of some old carrot seeds I found in the drawer in the back right and some chive bulbs planted in front of the sweet potato plant that were left from last year.

Also I planted a couple of medjool date seeds, hemp seeds and broccoli seeds! Will be interesting to see if they sprout!

We also put a scaredy cat plant next to box which gives off a smell that repels cat when they touch it, so the numerous cats in our neighbourhood wouldn’t use it as a litter box!

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The plants are getting very big! The sweet potato plant with the heart-shaped leaves has grown so tall and is winding around the bamboo sticks like ivy! Nearby are the chive plants. As you see we added a curly-leaved parsley plant which is doing really well in the sunshine, and tastes delicious. The mung bean plants have overtaken the vegetable box! You can just see the row of carrot leaves in the back row which are growing very quickly in the glorious sunshine!

I can’t wait to be able to pick my own sweet potatoes to bake for lunch! And I’m already using the parsley in my Quinoa & Lentil Burgers and will eventually use the carrots to make Carrot & Coriander Soup when they get big enough in the autumn!

It’s so convenient just to pop out into the garden to get your herbs and vegetables.

7 thoughts on “Building a Vegetable Box

  1. I have tried to grow sweet potatoes several times, but all I have succeeded in getting are some very small tubers. I will be interested to see how your box does as it seems very shallow for sweet potatoes. I agree that you cannot beat homegrown veg and herbs. I have an allotment where I grow most of our veg, but I have pots of herbs and boxes of salad leaves on deck and therefore to hand xxx

    1. I will let you know how big the sweet potatoes grow! I’ve never grown them before. May have to grow them in a deeper bag next year if they are only small, we’ll see! That’s great that you have an allotment to grow your own veg. I think homegrown veg tastes better and is rewarding to grow. It’s great you have herbs and salad leaves to hand! xxx

  2. Yay! Don’t your veggies look fab!!! 😀 I love growing my own too! I made a veggie box out of my old Ikea bookshelf, and grew red cabbage, brocoflowers, swiss chard and purple carrots in it! Sadly I missed the planting season this year, so it’s in need of a bit of love! I’m going to put some turnip seeds in there though soon, and hopefully they’ll be done by Christmas! 😀 I also grow herbs in my kitchen window and have a bunch of ghost chillies dotted around the house! 😀 xxx

    1. Wow that’s really inventive using your old bookshelf to grow veggies! Cool I’ve never seen purple carrots! I love swiss chard with it’s bright purple, red and orange stems! I have herbs on the outside window sill that aren’t doing too great, but the ones I planted in the rich soil in the veggie box look happy! I have several peace lily plants dotted around the house as I read that they cleanse the air by absorbing toxins. I may make a second veggie box and grow some kale as I love kale and it is in season over the winter! 🙂 xxx

      1. Ohh! Peace lilies are beautiful! I didn’t know they cleansed the air, amazing! 🙂 I don’t think we’d be able to have one though, our resident plant muncher (My kitty Muffin) would probably eat them and make herself sick! (She eats everything, even my ghost chillies! Hehe!)

        I’m not much of a kale eater, but maybe I should plant some too! I only have a little spinach and lettuce a few times a week, so I’m sure I don’t get enough greens in! 🙂 xxx

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