emusicmommy
04-11-2010, 07:59 PM
Hi Patti and all!
I currently live in the high desert of Southern California, but in June, will be moving (via the military) to Okinawa, Japan. We're very excited to learn about one of the healthiest cultures in the world!
I have always managed to find a way to garden no matter where I've lived or what limitations I've had....except here in the desert. Ugh...the searing heat, high water bills and terrible soil could have been worked around, except that once you do actually grow something, every critter within a mile comes in and eats it. Even simple gardening proved to be too daunting and expensive here, so I've been chomping at the bit to get my hands dirty again. Faithfully, I go through my seed catalogs and even buy packets - not sure why, except that I can't help myself! LOL! So I store them away in the hopes that when I move I'll be able to grow some of them.
So, that leads me to my unique situation. Being that I'm a military wife who will be living on base in Okinawa, permanent gardens are not an option. On top of that, I discovered that planting "edibles" directly into the soil is not allowed, (something having to do with the contamination of the ground). My heart just about sank when I heard this, because I suddenly encountered entirely new hurdles. This meant that my garden would have to be EASILY move-able/disposable, aesthetically pleasing, made of light material (not wood), and cost effective. Wow, right? Unfortunately, most products that are made and marketed to gardeners are NOT cheap. So, I've had to be extremely resourceful in my ideas so far. (I'm not moving until June, but I plan on getting my green groove on as soon as I get unpacked!)
Here were two ideas I had, but I'm leaning more toward whichever is the cheapest. One, every summer I see those huge storage buckets with the rope handles. In fact, I have one for my son's sport-related toys. It's good size! I thought that if I had about 20 of these, and drilled holes in the bottom, they could easily serve as a mobile garden. Unfortunately, the best price I've found for these would cost me a few hundred dollars IF I bought them here and had them packed before I leave. The bad thing is that I am severely limited as to the poundage we're allowed to take over there, so I may have to pay for shipping and order them online, which will be REALLY expensive.
So, enter in the second idea...I just saw square plastic storage bins at Walmart for $4.50 a piece. They look like they are roughly the same size as the round buckets, but considerably cheaper. I could get 20 for about $100. Not bad!
But here's where I go batty....I've never tried vegetable gardening in a sub-tropical, windy, humid zone before, nor do I know how many plants would go into each bin, or even if I could get away with crowding them a little to get the most out of my space. I plan on growing everything I can...tomatoes, potatoes, onions, garlic, melons, herbs, summer squash, beans, cukes, peas, lettuces, peppers, carrots, pumpkins, winter squash, etc.
I know that my growing zone there will allow me a much longer growing season, but I don't know the first thing about how or where to find a program that would organize everything for me and give me a calender schedule of when to do what in order to perpetuate everything.
Overall, I just want to prove that people CAN have veggie gardens even in the most unusual circumstances without a lot of money invested in permanent beds...containers that can be easily dumped, rinsed out, and moved to the next location. There are lots of gardeners in the military, but also lots of room to influence the ones who think they can't do it because of where they live or because they move too much.
Sorry for the long post, and if you've read all this, thanks! I'm up for any and all suggestions and ideas! I would very much want to start a garden community there, if one isn't already present. Most bases have garden plots, but since land is scarce on Okinawa and edibles aren't allowed in the soil, I think there just might be room to create a garden community with containers. :)
I currently live in the high desert of Southern California, but in June, will be moving (via the military) to Okinawa, Japan. We're very excited to learn about one of the healthiest cultures in the world!
I have always managed to find a way to garden no matter where I've lived or what limitations I've had....except here in the desert. Ugh...the searing heat, high water bills and terrible soil could have been worked around, except that once you do actually grow something, every critter within a mile comes in and eats it. Even simple gardening proved to be too daunting and expensive here, so I've been chomping at the bit to get my hands dirty again. Faithfully, I go through my seed catalogs and even buy packets - not sure why, except that I can't help myself! LOL! So I store them away in the hopes that when I move I'll be able to grow some of them.
So, that leads me to my unique situation. Being that I'm a military wife who will be living on base in Okinawa, permanent gardens are not an option. On top of that, I discovered that planting "edibles" directly into the soil is not allowed, (something having to do with the contamination of the ground). My heart just about sank when I heard this, because I suddenly encountered entirely new hurdles. This meant that my garden would have to be EASILY move-able/disposable, aesthetically pleasing, made of light material (not wood), and cost effective. Wow, right? Unfortunately, most products that are made and marketed to gardeners are NOT cheap. So, I've had to be extremely resourceful in my ideas so far. (I'm not moving until June, but I plan on getting my green groove on as soon as I get unpacked!)
Here were two ideas I had, but I'm leaning more toward whichever is the cheapest. One, every summer I see those huge storage buckets with the rope handles. In fact, I have one for my son's sport-related toys. It's good size! I thought that if I had about 20 of these, and drilled holes in the bottom, they could easily serve as a mobile garden. Unfortunately, the best price I've found for these would cost me a few hundred dollars IF I bought them here and had them packed before I leave. The bad thing is that I am severely limited as to the poundage we're allowed to take over there, so I may have to pay for shipping and order them online, which will be REALLY expensive.
So, enter in the second idea...I just saw square plastic storage bins at Walmart for $4.50 a piece. They look like they are roughly the same size as the round buckets, but considerably cheaper. I could get 20 for about $100. Not bad!
But here's where I go batty....I've never tried vegetable gardening in a sub-tropical, windy, humid zone before, nor do I know how many plants would go into each bin, or even if I could get away with crowding them a little to get the most out of my space. I plan on growing everything I can...tomatoes, potatoes, onions, garlic, melons, herbs, summer squash, beans, cukes, peas, lettuces, peppers, carrots, pumpkins, winter squash, etc.
I know that my growing zone there will allow me a much longer growing season, but I don't know the first thing about how or where to find a program that would organize everything for me and give me a calender schedule of when to do what in order to perpetuate everything.
Overall, I just want to prove that people CAN have veggie gardens even in the most unusual circumstances without a lot of money invested in permanent beds...containers that can be easily dumped, rinsed out, and moved to the next location. There are lots of gardeners in the military, but also lots of room to influence the ones who think they can't do it because of where they live or because they move too much.
Sorry for the long post, and if you've read all this, thanks! I'm up for any and all suggestions and ideas! I would very much want to start a garden community there, if one isn't already present. Most bases have garden plots, but since land is scarce on Okinawa and edibles aren't allowed in the soil, I think there just might be room to create a garden community with containers. :)