"Where's Your Garden, Miss Pattie?"

Long story short. I used to host these Open Garden events and neighbor kids came and helped dig and plant in my backyard food garden (plus, there always seemed to be some art projects going on). After seeing how much they learned, and how much they seemed to enjoy it, I decided to plant a "demonstration garden" around my mailbox so more kids could see how things grew. It ended up being my most productive bed last year, with okra and tomatoes and peppers and basil and potatoes and peas and radishes and lettuces and . . . AND I ended up meeting so many neighbors whom I hadn't met before. But then my neighborhood got all new mailboxes right before Christmas (and we recycled most of the old ones, which was a project unto itself!) and I had to dissassemble the garden (I put that wooden bed on the side of the house).

Two months have passed, and a few neighbors have asked me if I planned to redo that garden. One neighbor even said she didn't buy basil all summer--she simply walked around the block and plucked a few leaves every time she needed some! A teenage girl admitted she nibbled on the cherry tomatoes, and another teenager saved okra seeds to plant in a garden she plans on starting this year.

This past weekend, I was pulling out of the driveway to pick up my mother at MARTA (I had been borrowing her car for the last few weeks since mine is broken down for good and I am between a mom-van and a Prius right now, and I have scootered, walked, bike-rode, trained, bussed, carpooled and borrowed several cars in the meantime) when I noticed a neighbor and his grandson standing by my mailbox. The three-year-old said to me with outstretched arms,

"Where's your garden, Miss Pattie?"

And that was all it took. The next day, I headed on out and got what I needed to build a new one. I was going to buy a custom-made raised bed garden from Farmer D for $79 (the one I built last year cost $50, but Farmer D's is much nicer), but then I saw those scalloped concrete edgers for $1.16 each and decided I would see just how cheap and easy I could make a garden, with the hopes that more people would be inspired to join me in growing their own food--and opening up the eyes of children to the possibilities of this aspect of sustainability. (Also, expanding the garden is a snap when designed this way.)

I did the whole thing for about 25 bucks, folks, and it took less than 30 minutes. I double-dug the dirt, lined the space with the edgers and added compost and some scoops of casings from my worm bin. I planted some onions already, plus an arugula plant, a couple of spinach plants and some cilantro, all taken from my back garden. I'll add more as things warm up, and I'll share the progress with you. But most importantly, I called that little boy and left a message, telling him to come see the garden.

By the way, here is the mailbox garden last August (tomatoes, okra, basil, peppers) and November (lettuces, potatoes, peas, radishes--you can see in the picture that I just picked something):