Gardening can be a great way to get outside and have some fun while trying your hand at growing fruits and veggies. It can, however, be intimidating to get started. One person took to Reddit to ask for advice on how to begin in a less-than-ideal backyard.
Unfortunately, the community in r/gardening was more interested in telling the poster what they were doing wrong than giving helpful advice.
The post showed a few photos of a raised bed resting on a paved patio. Around the patio were a small grass lawn and tool shed. The poster said: "Halfway through a raised garden build. Putting it on the grass is absolutely a no as well. Overall just wanting input." In the comments, he clarified that his mom recently installed sod and didn't want to lose it.
Building a garden with the hope of growing a few vegetables is a great way to save money at the store while taking up a healthy pastime. There are plenty of studies that exalt the benefits of gardening, including its reduction of stress and fostering of a more balanced diet. In addition to those health benefits, gardening can save you up to $600 on produce during the growing season.
While this Redditor was hoping for suggestions on how to create the best garden possible, they got pushback.
"See if you can find a community garden," one person suggested. "... This will never work."
Another Redditor agreed: "Raised beds need to be placed on ground, not tile. There are 2 important reasons for that. That bed is too shallow for most vegetables. You also will have a serious drainage problem."
The original poster responded: "Fair enough. I'm brand-new to this, so I didn't expect some of the feedback I got. I appreciate you saying why … I'll talk to my mom."
Someone else, however, explained that they had a similar situation and found success: "I've had my three raised beds on pavers for 5 years now. I had no choice as the prior owners paved over the entire backyard. Anyway, it can absolutely work BUT it has to be higher. At least 2-3 feet tall. And yes, it will mess up the brick underneath."
Let's hope this Redditor found a solution to successfully grow some veggies at home.
A few folks in the comments also bemoaned the focus on preserving the grass lawn. Grass lawns may look tidy, but they need a lot of upkeep, including pesticides, herbicides, and, as noted by the Environmental Protection Agency, a ton of water.
Plus, grass is not great for the local ecosystem. On the other hand, alternatives such as clover or wildflowers can support native pollinators.
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