I transformed my small garden into a ‘little food forest’ – we got rid of all the grass, it’s much more of an oasis now
A GREEN-THUMBED Reddit user showed off her flower beds’ dramatic transformation.
She showed her followers a side-by-side comparison of her small garden before and after her magic touch.
In a Reddit post, user OkNefariousness6711 shared her experience elevating her small outdoor space and turning it into a “little food forest.”
She revealed that the entire garden transformation took five months to complete.
“We got rid of all the grass and turned our little row house garden into a little food forest,” she told her audience.
The poster showed readers the small space, which was originally lined with a short wooden fence.
Her sparse lawn was covered in tools and equipment as she was pictured working on a flower bed.
In the second picture, her garden appears much more full and almost looks bigger than before.
It featured an arched walkway between flourishing flower beds and a small playhouse as well as a tool shed.
“The harvest has been great, and it’s been so rewarding in other ways,” the Redditor wrote.
“It’s much more of an oasis now, before, it was just a little sad grass patch and now it feels like its own ecosystem.
“We’ve seen so many great insects and other wildlife that wasn’t here before.”
Speaking about the impressive turnaround, she explained how she tackled the patchy lawn.
“I mostly just ripped it out by hand but we did it all in stages so it wasn’t that intensive,” she said.
She also broke down the contents of her flourishing flower beds in the comments section.
“We made a herb spiral with nearly every herb under the sun,” she wrote.
“We planted tomato plants, several types of salads, Swiss chard, broccoli, red and white cabbage, brussel sprouts, rhubarb, beets, daikon radish, red radish, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.”
Easy gardening tips to save money, maximize space, and repel pests
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- Banana peels, vinegar, and coffee grounds are often recommended as natural fertilizers.
- Dollar Tree sells four packs of seeds for $1.25.
- Try a vertical planter like Amazon’s Mr. Stacky 5 Tier Stackable Planter, $35 to make more use of a small space.
- Use netting like the Garden Netting Pest Barrier, $8, from Amazon to keep away bugs that eat your vegetables.
- Try sacrificial planting to reduce the use of pesticides and keep pests away from your garden. Deliberately growing certain plants to attract agricultural pests can keep them away from the plants you want to protect. Examples include marigolds, lavender, catnip, and chives.
- For pesky weeds in your garden, the Grampa’s Weeder – The Original Stand-Up Weed Puller Tool with Long Handles, $45, from Amazon is a helpful tool you can use without having to bend over.
The poster went on to list even more items in the harvest, including Hokkaido pumpkin, corn, eggplant, celery, romanesco, chilies, and several berry bushes.
“We also planted echinacea, asters, borage, fiddleneck, and sunflowers for the bees and other pollinators,” she explained.
She added that volunteering at her local garden left her with a “boatload of amaranth and tomatillos.”
“It’s always a nice surprise finding something ripe to harvest in the garden!” she said.
Reddit users shared their thoughts on the transformation in the comments section.
“I love how much bigger densely filled gardens look. Great job, looks amazing,” wrote one impressed viewer.
“This is the best kind of glow-up. We need more close-ups!” said another follower.
“Wow! It’s amazing! I’m so inspired. I can’t believe you did that in such a short time! Yay! Thanks, nature!” commented a third person.
