Cook Portable Warehouses

Guest Post by: Catie

Catie loves to write, and try new things (and wrangling her loved ones into the process). She currently works for a marketing firm in Kentucky where she plays skee-ball, drinks hot chocolate and, oh, writes all day long.

Growing up my grandad always had a huge garden.  We’d get together and help pick strawberries, blackberries, corn and more.

I, being a little grossed out by bugs and dirt, ...would wear a hat, longsleeves, gloves, pants and don’t forget the boots...just to pick the corn.  (yes, they all thought I was being ridiculous too)

Guest Post by: Catie

Catie loves to write, and try new things (and wrangling her loved ones into the process). She currently works for a marketing firm in Kentucky where she plays skee-ball, drinks hot chocolate and, oh, writes all day long. 

Ready to start a garden? Not sure your thumb is green enough? The first reason you should start a garden is because you want to.  But if you haven’t found a love of gardening just yet, that’s ok, because I’m not sure I have either! So let’s discover the benefits of it together.

From the research I’ve done and my own experience over the last few weeks, here are some of the things I’ve learned.

Guest Post by: Catie

Catie loves to write, and try new things (and wrangling her loved ones into the process). She currently works for a marketing firm in Kentucky where she plays skee-ball, drinks hot chocolate and, oh, writes all day long. 

Last week I visited our local extension office for a free container gardening class and I learned a ton!  

Kathy Wimberley of the McCracken County Extension Office hosted the class that I was able to attend with a few of my coworkers.  We had a great time and all left with a few FREE plants! I now have another tomato plant to add to my balcony.  

If you've missed any of this container garden series, check out more here: 

My Adventures in Container Gardening (how I got started!) 

How to Start a Container Garden [VIDEOS]

Make Gardening a Family Event

The class was great, because there were a lot of hands-on activities while we learned a lot of helpful facts and tips.

Here are a few of the highlights that Kathy talked about:

Guest Post by: Catie

Catie loves to write, and try new things (and wrangling her loved ones into the process). She currently works for a marketing firm in Kentucky where she plays skee-ball, drinks hot chocolate and, oh, writes all day long. 

There are many reasons you may want to start a container garden, from working with a limited space, to wanting 

to control your growing environment a little more.  Or, you may just want to cut back on your large garden to something a little more manageable.  

I decided this year that I wanted to start a container garden. You can read about the beginning of my adventure here!

So, how do you get started? I talked with a local farm supply store to get a few answers! Sarah Alvey had some great insights. She's the Assistant Manager at Phelps Farm & Home Service in Paducah, KY.

Guest Post by: Catie

Catie loves to write, and try new things (and wrangling her loved ones into the process). She currently works for a marketing firm in Kentucky where she plays skee-ball, drinks hot chocolate and, oh, writes all day long.

You just saw above the quick video of how to put these container gardens together.  A few minutes is all you really need!

But...that wasn’t the case when I first started.  Let me tell you about all the mishaps along the way. Hopefully you won’t drive your spouse or significant other crazy during the process. It’s a wonder my boyfriend is still with me after the many frustrating trips we took to farm and home supply stores to buy or return items.

So, lesson number 1: It always takes longer and more money than I think it is going to.