Step 1. Marry someone strong who will do all the heavy lifting in the project. Step 2. Download Lynn Gillespie’s e-book Cinder Block Gardens for $19.95. Read the book. Step 3. Make a list and head to Home Depot, Lowe’s or your local garden shop. A pickup truck is handy for this trip. The supplies weigh in total almost 1500 pounds. Basic supplies include: • 24 cinder blocks ($0.79 each) • 2 bales 3.8 c.f. peat moss ($12.00 each) • 10 50-lb. bags all-purpose sand ($2.80 each) • 3 bags 2 c.f. compost ($6.00 each) • 1 roll commercial-grade weed barrier ($11.00) If you are a novice gardener, consider these additional items: • garden hose • spray nozzle • sink adapter if you don’t have an outside water source • shovel and rake • rebar stakes and sledgehammer if building on a slope Costs to consider down the road: • mulch • cages for plants such as tomatoes • trellis for plants such as pole beans Related Post: Garden Update and Garden Update II Step 4. Find a flat space and follow instructions in the e-book for garden construction. Step 5. Consult the “Vegetable Reference Guide” chapter to decide what and how much to plant. Buy seeds or starter plants from a local garden shop. Be sure to buy the tomato plants that come with the lady with the red foot. Plant accordingly. Step 6: Watch your garden grow. Step 7. Consider starting a compost pile. Purchase a compost container on-line or from your home-garden center, or construct one following Ms. Gillespie’s instructions. This is the one I have my eye on. It only costs $500.
Pictured above is garlic. I planted each of these cloves in its own cinder-block hole. Each one will grow into a full bulb. I also planted two bunches of basil, two bunches of cilantro and one bunch of oregano. Each of these grows in its own cinder-block hole as well.
