Vege Gardens and renting

Garden Goodbyes when you're living in a rental

Around two and a half years ago my husband offered to move my soil from my gardens from our old rental property to our new rental property. I had worked hard on that dirt to get it just right, and it was finally producing some abundant veggie crops.
Vege Gardens and renting The last hurrah
I was busy doing house cleaning so I am not sure how many loads he had to do, but I did know that he had to do a hell of a lot of wheel barrowing of soil down a really annoying side entrance with a big drop. Needless to say he regretted making the offer, and vowed that he wouldn't be moving it again. The soil was staying put. 2 years later, and me 4 months pregnant, we were given notice to leave our current tenancy (moving whilst 6 months pregnant is going to be a hoot!). We knew a move was on the cards as realistically knowing I'd be going on maternity leave and dropping down to single income. So we couldn't afford the stupid amount of rent we were paying for our inner city workers cottage. The first thing in preparing to move was pulling down the gardens. If you've been following me for a while you'll know that gardening is my happy place, and the thing that keeps me sane (along with running) and being 6 months pregnant, no garden, no running, throw a move into the mix and my mental health was being affected big time. Luckily pineapples in pots seemed to keep me somewhat happy. I am so grateful for all the food this little patch had given us, I've tracked a lot of what we've saved $$ wise just by having this small space and we're still enjoying some of the preserved goodness from the garden as well as the last haul of sweet potatoes. I know our next place will only be temporary, and 5 years ago that idea would have stopped me from bothering creating my garden. However, the hard work pays off (replaces the need for a gym membership) and the rewards of home grown organic food are totally worth it - in my opinion priceless. There are some considerations when it comes to renting and creating your new garden, particularly if you're creating a new garden on a lawn. You will need to check your lease agreement, and make sure you leave it as you found it. For all our properties the lawns were extremely poorly kept and had bare patches or were full of burrs. So we've been safe. So much can be grown in such a small space in just a season, so if you're holding back on starting your own veggie patch because you are renting then don't. Just start. Here is a little celebration of my garden, that no longer exists.
Starting out Starting out
Addition of the aquaponics (top right) Addition of the aquaponics (top right)
Veggies growing in abundance Veggies growing in abundance
Veggie garden while renting vege-gardens-out-of-control vege-gardens-chillis
Gardens while renting New beds!
Renting with Veggie Patches Beets vege-gardens-renting-last-hurrah Sweet Potato Haul Farewell old friend I cannot wait to start the next chapter of garden making, temporary or not, hope you'll follow me on my journey.
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