Jug plants in a small yard

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I lived in a house with a small fenced-in front yard. Money was tight, and I had no plow. I got to thinking how in the world would I plant tomatoes, green beans and cucumbers and still share the yard with three dogs.

So I took eight, 20-gallon plastic jugs, cut the top out, cut a whole in the bottom about the size of a half dollar, and then filled with potting soil. In six buckets I put one tomato plant and a 5-foot stick. I placed them in two rows, three feet apart.

In the seventh bucket, I put in three string bean plants and placed it against the fence.

In the eighth bucket, I put in two cucumber plants and placed it against the fence three feet away.

Every Monday I would take a gallon jug, put in one tablespoon of Miracle Gro and fill with water. Each plant got one gallon. On Friday, each plant got two gallons of plain water only.

My tomato plants grew taller than me (5 feet, 6 inches) and really put out the tomatoes!

I put some on the porch to ripen. Some went bad so I just pushed them off to the ground. One day I looked beside the porch, and lo and behold there was a plant growing. I put blocks around it and started doing the same with it. It grew as tall as the porch!!

My string beans ran up and around the fence, as did my cucumbers.
I was blessed with so much, I was giving tomatoes, string beans and cucumbers out to friends, neighbors, family and strangers that would stop and admire the plants.

There was no weeding and the dogs had plenty of room to run.

We had plenty to eat until things got better. We were able to share and make some new friends.

Carol Killough
Indian Trail
Union Power Cooperative

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