3 min readSpring is the perfect time to try your hand at gardening.I bought gardening equipment too early this season and finally got to use it—here are my honest thoughts on my new planter system.
I got too excited during a Fool’s Spring weekend and bought a tiered garden planter. It’s my first spring having a backyard, and I want the full seasonal effect. It’s a small yard, but it has plenty of room for a grill, smoker, and a couple of chairs, though none of them particularly add beauty to the space. There’s no grass, just a dirt patch covered in green turf, which is convenient but ugly.
Buying the tiered planter wasn’t too far of a stretch—gardening is a hobby I’ve always wanted to get into, but never had the patience or space for. When I was a kid, my grandfather would be in the garden for hours, digging, clipping, and pruning in a cut-off Ralph Lauren button-up from Goodwill and a sun hat tilted forward. It’s an idyllic childhood memory I want to reenact, myself in place of my family’s patriarch.
Gateway Gardening Tools
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For Digging out Weeds
Fiskars Steel Garden Knife
For Cutting Neighbors’ Overhang
Although my yard is mostly concrete and turf, there are still a fair number of weeds that pop up throughout the year. I bought the Fiskars Shears to clip weeds and trim my neighbor’s tree when it hung too low over my grill (we’re friends, and he’s cool with it). This is where I got the bug to till my (rented) land. I’m lucky to have a private outdoor space in New York City and should keep it tidy to enjoy, not just to function.
After many months of just clipping weeds at the stem, I realized they need to be cut out by the root. I went to the hardware store around the corner and bought this garden knife to dig deeper and pull weeds without having to dig a full hole.
Seeds and Soils
My Future Garden
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Soil to Start With
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For Moving to the Planter
Back to the Roots Expanding Soil
I’m no expert, so I bought different soils for initial seed potting and for planting in the planter. When looking for whether this was necessary on forums, I gathered that people have their own opinions, and it’s a “do what works for you” situation. As this is my first time starting a garden, I have yet to see what works for me.
Danny Perez
My brother-in-law, who’s an avid gardener, offered up this advice: “I don’t use soil with food already mixed in. Homemade compost would be my top pick, but I know you don’t have the space. I tend to mix in a fair amount of perlite to any soil I buy to make sure water can get through it efficiently. Just get whatever organic potting soil you can find, and you’re good. Plant mint and lemon thyme—they’ll grow like crazy.” I hope I can prove him right.
Raised Beds and Garden Planters
Tiered Planters 1
The Planter I Should’ve Gotten
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Growing herbs and flowers in the ground wasn’t an option (maybe it was, and I didn’t research enough). Either way, I wanted planters. I’ve never been to the Palace of Versailles, but that garden is impressive for its vegetation and presentation. The vessel in which you grow spices and herbs adds to the zen and shouldn’t be an afterthought.
Danny Perez
Admittedly, I got a tiered planter that is slightly too large. I like the tiered design and ample gardening space it provides, but it takes up more space than I’d like in my backyard. Check the dimensions of your space and decide how much of it you want to dedicate to this endeavor.
Danny Perez is a Reviews Editor for Popular Mechanics with a focus on men’s style, gear, and home goods. Recently, he was coordinator of partnership content at another product journalism outlet. Prior to that, he was a buyer for an independent men’s shop in Houston, Texas, where he learned all about what makes great products great. He enjoys thrifting for 90s Broadway tees and vintage pajama sets. His spare time is occupied by watching movies and running to impress strangers on Strava.
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