Create an Eco-Friendly Vegetable Garden in Your Lawn Without Tilling

Yes, it is possible to grow tomatoes and other vegetables in your yard without having to chew up a large portion of your lawn. I just grow a few tomatoes and serano pepper plants, ten plants total. They do just fine growing them this way, and it is much easier than a full garden. The maintenance and weeding is so much less time consuming. Even in a small city yard you can grow your veggies.

1) First thing to do is dig a hole about 16 inches in diameter and about 10 inches deep in your spot of choice. Break the soil up real good so it is soft and will be easier for the roots to flourish. Remove any rocks you find so that you will have a nice clean mix so the roots will be able to spread easily. Add some potting soil to the mix (or your preference of soil) and hand mix it with the soil in the hole. You should have enough now to create a decent mound.

2) Hand form a mound of the mix about 6 or 7 inches high right in the hole you dug, taking care to not pack the soil too much. After you are done forming the mound, use your hands to scoop about a 2 inch wide moat from around the bottom of the mound. This moat makes it very easy to water the plant, as the soft mound wicks the water right up out of the moat. The end result is that the mound should be at least 6 inches higher than the surrounding lawn.

3) Now, carefully hollow out a hole in the top of the mound just big enough for the root bundle, and set your plant. About 3 inches deep from the top of the mound, just putting the root pack just below the surface of the mound works very well. (Try not to bury any of the plant stem because this can slow the plant growth) Add some water or rooting formula into the hole before you set your plant, as the roots take better in damp soil. Hand pack the soil back in and around the plant just firm enough so the plant stands on its own.

4) I use a 3/4 inch piece of plastic pvc pipe about 2 feet long as a support stake, and also as a feeder tube for my Miracle-Gro tomato food. This pipe is pushed down into the top of the mound about 6 inches or so, just below the plant roots. As the roots grow down, they grow right into the area that the feeder tube drains into. Please read the instructions on any plant food that you use to avoid overfeeding.

There you have it, a simple lawn eco-garden, almost maintenance free. I put my plants just far enough apart to fit my lawnmower through. So when I am done cutting the grass the plants are weeded all around the moat with no effort from me. Do some experimenting on your own, and try some different varieties of veggies. Just use the proper gardening habits that you would apply to a standard garden. Please see the pictures above if needed for clarification of the finished product.

Good growing, and thanks for reading