Success Story: Lou’s Kitchen Garden

Lou watering her awesome pallet garden

My pal Louise was one of the first people to sign up to The Bee Project. I told her about Speedy’s success on her first go, so she decided to give it a go herself.

She had tried to grow some flowers on her front verandah earlier in the year, but they had been scorched by the sun and died, but this was her first foray into growing from seed.

What can I say about Louise’s effort? It has been beyond amazing. Not only has she extended past bee-friendly flowers, she has grown a huge kitchen garden filled with lettuce, tatsoi and so many tomatoes and she and her husband Dave have created their own brilliant Pallet Garden prototype! Dave owns his own company called Tom’s Pallets.

So what did she do right??! Well so many things, but she mentioned 3 things that I believe set her up so well for this bonanza of healthy thriving veggies and flowers, first time.

Who’s Garden Is This? Louise and Dave, Lota, Brisbane

Have You Planted Seeds Before? No

What Worked Best? Pink zinnia flowers, lettuce, tatsoi and the cherry tomatoes

Lou’s Tip #1 — start with the right materials. She had good seed trays, Searles potting mix and bought a watering can. As mentioned they also created an awesome Pallet Garden as all their seedlings grew. So they had everything they needed to get off to a good start.

Lou’s Tip #2 — put your garden in the right spot. In my opinion, they placed their Pallet Garden in the perfect spot. Her plants all get great direct sunlight til about midday each day and then it’s shaded. It’s the perfect balance between enough sun and not too much like she had on her verandah when her flowers got scorched in the hot Brisbane sun.

Lou’s Tip #3 —make daily watering a habit. Lou said her success came down to watering every day. She started this garden in coronavirus lockdown and had the time each morning to come downstairs and water everything. She said it helped her to slow down.

Amazing job Lou and Dave!