Growing my own healthy Greens...

 

I love Greens.  You know the greens that are so good for you.  Kale, Collards, Mustard and all the others that people seem to snub their nose at.

My yard has awful soil and although I've changed it in spots, just for veggies, nothing grows without the critters digging them up or the soil killing them.  So I went to a garage sale this past week and there was this LARGE flower pot.  Maybe it will deter the critters from climbing in but it's perfect for my greens.

 

 Did I tell you I only paid $5.00 for this huge pot.

First I bought some good potting soil and amended it with several goodies.   Where to put it?  Well the best spot was in full sun and somewhere I could keep an eye on it.  Right out back in my flower garden.  As you can see there are no flowers this time of year.  I might be in Florida but the weather is so wrong right now.

First I layered the bottom of the pot with styrofoam I had saved then added some bricks left over from my front porch.  This gave it some weight.  Can't have the critters tipping it over.

 

 Added some wood chips then several bags of good organic soil.

 All together I planted  27 baby green plants and it still has room to spare.  Last night I poked in a few garlic bulbs that were sprouting on my kitchen window sill.  Garlic might chase the critters?

 Since the back yard is so dark in the night I added a solar light just for fun.. looks good from my upstairs balcony.
It's so nice to run outside and pinch a few green leaves to add to salads or soups and I make loads of both.  If the kale grows as hoped I can make chips for a snack.  
From everything I've been reading buying greens from other countries is getting to be not safe.  They have so many different fertilizers added and the chemicals are damaging our systems and buying local organic is not always easy.  Have you ever read the tag on veggies in the grocers?  Peru, Chili, and who knows where else so I have been growing my own this past few years.  Using this big pot saves me both space and getting angry with my critters.

 Our weather has been going up and down in temperature for the past few months and right now it's on the cool side, in the 40's last night, perfect for greens.  But here, tomorrow might go up to the 90's,  I never know?  I'll be sure to post a photo next month when the plants get a big spurt of growth.

I'm linking up to

Thrifty Things Friday 
Fertilizer Friday 
What to Do Weekends 
Sunny Simple Sunday 
Outdoor Wednesday 
Mad Skills 

(((hugs)))