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July 5, 2010 · 7 Comments

Deck Garden, Year 2

How to

Deck garden today (that’s my brother’s foot in the corner.)

Last summer, I wrote two posts (here and here) on how to build a garden box for a deck, based on the one created by my sister and her husband. They hosted a barbecue on the 4th of July this year, and I got a chance to see how the deck garden is doing in its second year.

The answer: great! They planted different tomatoes this year, opting for slicers rather than cherries, and have plenty of green ones on the two plants growing in the box. They also have several beautiful looking basil plants, as well as oregano, parsley, rosemary, and chives. All of this is just outside the door to the kitchen, making it convenient to snip a few herbs for cooking projects. The deck box, which is made of cedar, remains attractive, despite heavy rains this year and its sunny location.

Related posts:

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Comments

  1. Laura says

    July 5, 2010 at 12:33 pm

    An easy project with tasty results! I love a little patio garden! Especially when it has tomatoes!

  2. timber decking says

    February 10, 2012 at 1:11 am

    It may sound slightly ironic to get your garden ready for the early spring during the winter months, however, by choosing this method, it takes all the pressure off you to get the garden ready in record time.

  3. Naveen says

    April 22, 2016 at 3:30 pm

    Hey Quick question. Did they have to change the soil a year later ? or the old soil worked fine ?

  4. Mary Schier says

    April 24, 2016 at 1:52 pm

    You do not need to change the soil every year. Just add a bit of compost or fertilizer. After a few years, you may want to change out part of the soil each year.

  5. Natalie says

    September 20, 2016 at 11:23 am

    What do you use for compost and do you make your own compost/fertilizer? So glad I found your blog!

  6. Mary Schier says

    September 20, 2016 at 3:56 pm

    Natalie — Thanks for stopping by. I do make my own compost but I also supplement with bagged compost or manure. Our city also has a compost pile, which is free, and I will occasionally pick up compost there.

  7. Natalie says

    September 21, 2016 at 1:26 pm

    Hi Mary! Thanks for your reply. How nice that your city has a compost pile. I live in Kampala, Uganda and I haven’t yet seen bagged compost or manure easily available in the city, hence me wanting to make my own. I think we’re going to try a compost bin on the deck as we use so much fresh stuff and it would also be a great way to recycle it. I left a comment on one of your other posts asking how much water you give each garden box? I am using 5l for 3 boxes similar to what you have. I am so scared of over watering.

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2 cups sugar
1/2 lb butter
1/4 cup molasses
5 eggs 
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cloves 
1 tsp mace
1 tsp cinnamon 
1/2 tsp nutmeg 
1/4 cup or more brandy
1.5 lbs total dried fruit (I use citron, raisins, dates, candied ginger)
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