What a great idea! If you have never heard of these awesome, little things, let me explain. A garden box is basically a miniature garden inside a box exactly as the name suggests. I have noticed that many people in my community have been using this method of gardening due to many reasons. Some of these reasons would include lack of space, lack of equipment, or maybe a lack of money.
There are many options when creating one of these garden boxes. You could build the most common type, a raised one, as pictured below. Some people who are very limited on space have built tiered boxes. Others have built their boxes from stone.

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Garden boxes like these have become so popular that you can now buy kits to create your own. But why would you spend all of your money on a kit when you can do it yourself! When researching this idea, I found many pins on Pinterest that could assist you. There are also many other websites that can help you in this process! I have even seen some that are decorated, and, in my opinion, that just helps to make your garden truly YOUR’S.

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I have asked many of our local farmers that use this method of farming about the details of efficiency, plant health, and overall production. Their feedback on this project was all great. They said it was very cost efficient, space efficient, and time efficient. One specific gardener talked a lot about how convenient it was for her to be able to walk out her back door with a minimal amount of tools and work in her garden, as she is getting older and having a large garden wouldn’t be easy for her. People have grown anything from strawberries to tomatoes to bell peppers. These garden boxes are just great!
I hope I’ve given some of you an idea or two on how to make a small garden that is just as beautiful and just as productive as a larger one. If you need more information on this great project, head on over to eartheasy.com. Make sure to represent who you are in your garden! Thank you for reading! Have fun in the garden!

~Emilee McQueen, 9th grade student at OCHS