New project this spring that is up and running–an elevated vegetable garden table planter!

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After a good amount of research, I found this awesome mom-and-pop company in Cali, called Mini Farm Box, that makes all kinds of planters using cedar. It was exactly what I was looking for…perfectly sized for urban homes where you have limited space. The planters are gorgeous, it was incredibly easy to put together, and it’s very sturdy. I love the clean, minimalist design–no chunky, knobby, unnecessary decorative accents. I may have gotten my sister on board with using Mini Farm Box planters for her Brooklyn terraces too this summer!

Here’s the planter on Day 1 (this is a 2’x4′ raised bed table garden):

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I used a square-foot gardening approach, so I had 8 squares to work with. I started with seedlings for some of the plants and planted seeds for others. For soil, I used Baccto potting soil, mixed in about a cup of E.B. Stone’s Tomato and Vegetable Food into the top 6-8 inches of soil. Then poured a little E.B. Stone Sure Start mix into each seed hole before covering it up.

Starting with the top left square going clockwise, we planted 16 arugula, 9 spinach, 2 garlic chives, 2 parsleys, 1 cherry tomato, 2 basil with 2 parsley, 16 carrots, and 2 leaf lettuces.

The arugula, leaf lettuce and carrots sprouted by Day 6. I couldn’t stop staring at the little sprouts:

Arugula sprouts on Day 6
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Lettuce sprouts on Day 6
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Then on Day 7 and 8, very tiny fragile spinach sprouts showed up too.
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These are updated photos of the arugula too. So adorable.
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The oregano is growing fast, with healthy fuzzy leaves. The bottom two “branches” of the plants were only about a centimeter long when I planted them. And it smells like heaven when you rub the top buds just a little.
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Here is the basil.
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For some reason the cilantro’s lost the original pungent cilantro smell that it came with when I bought the seedling. Not sure why that is but I hope it still works in a salsa!

Written by devotchkaa

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