VG Garden - Introduction

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]Hello, I'm Viji behind the Viji Gardener and this is my garden.

[00:00:07]I'm going to spend some time explaining what I'm doing here and something about background my background and how I started this garden.

[00:00:18]Um so I'm here in North Carolina, Charlotte region, zone 7B 8A.

[00:00:27]Um I'm here in this house for 7 years.

[00:00:31]So this is my 7th year gardening.

[00:00:34]Um so initially I we started in the little space over this fence. Uh that was just uh 10 by 3. Um we didn't plan the raised garden bed, we just tried to plant in ground initially and then uh I know slowly we expanded uh things and finally it's like a 500 square feet garden. Uh this area is uh so 10 uh less than 16, that is almost uh uh 30. So I know it's uh close to 500 square feet area and in this area I'm growing pretty much everything we needed, uh variety of foods like um you know all the uh green veg leafy green vegetables, um spinach, arugula, palak, Indian amaranth varieties, um and cress greens, um and many other green varieties and also um uh the root vegetables, carrots, beets, um turnips, um radishes, um um and other root vegetables and uh all the summer crops, um eggplants, tomatoes, chilies, peppers, um capsicum, um and the items, and also zucchini, squash varieties, all these things, cucumber, and Indian gourd varieties. So, you know, I'm going to explain you in the upcoming episodes how I manage the space and how, you know, I'm planning for every season.

[00:02:20]So, I plant everything like, you know, it's like a flowers that supports my gardening and herbs for my home usage as well as to the garden support. So, all these things I'm going to continuously going to explain to you all in the upcoming episodes.

[00:02:45]So, I have I [clears throat] When I first planted, as I said, we just pick up some spot here and we started in ground and then accidentally I used to step on in in that many times. Then I followed some of the YouTubes to you know, make it as a raised garden bed and this is doing very good now.

[00:03:10]I have this this one is 4 by 8. I have three of 4 by 8 setup and this one is 8 by 2. Initially I started 8 by 2. Now, you know, after the those woods got rotted last year, we replaced it.

[00:03:29]So, this one is almost 8 by 2. That one is also so I have five of 8 by 2 and that one is 6.5 3.5. I know we had a huge tree in that area. We didn't know left that area as it is. So, we just built a raised bed. Initially I planted only flowers in that area. And now that she dead and we removed it, that is also used as a garden bed now.

[00:04:02]Um, apart from this raised garden bed, I do planting in that grow bags. You see this one is a grow bag. So, you know, uh, every year when I save some potatoes, I always start the first potato set in the grow bags. So, I have many grow bags to grow flowers. Um, this this one is um, uh, no. So, I have herbs, flowers, all these things. This is catnip. So, all these things, you know, I prefer to grow it in the grow bags so that it won't occupy the space in the garden bed and it will support as well.

[00:04:47]So, after this this is the cattle panel trellises.

[00:04:51]So, Indian gourd varieties they used to take a lot of space. I initially planted to have trellises only here, but that that wasn't sufficient to me. So, we extended, you know, using the cattle panel.

[00:05:06]So, we have three cattle panels here, but still that wasn't sufficient to me.

[00:05:11]I grow all these vine types, cucumber, watermelon, and then Indian gourd varieties, and also the bush beans, you know, so many varieties. So, you know, this wasn't sufficient. I always take that fence area as well. So, you know, this is the good spot you know, for many of the vine varieties, but you know, but the disadvantage of having this space used for the Indian gourd varieties is this will make a shade to that that side. So, until August, this used to be good, but after August, I cannot plant anything in anywhere. Like, you know, everything will be shaded, and hardly will get 4 to 5 hours sunlight, which wasn't sufficient. So, that's why I started expanding my garden to the other area.

[00:06:08]Initially, I didn't consider expanding that section because the two that she is that very huge trees, and that space is always shaded.

[00:06:19]So, no, I I didn't consider expanding that area, but you know, now I'm thinking of moving some of the 5 to 6 hours plus sun required items in there.

[00:06:33]I'm still not sure how it's going to work out, but you know, I'm I'm trying to experiment how that's going to work out.

[00:06:41]And uh This is just a setup, and I do my compost.

[00:06:49]So, you know, whatever I grow here, only the diseased plants and diseased leaves will go to the trash can, but all others will go straightly into that compost bin and all the kitchen scraps and everything.

[00:07:08]That will go in there.

[00:07:18]Uh I like this this this one better than that one because, you know, we can collect the water. This is called as compost tea. You see that this dark water.

[00:07:30]This coming straightly out of the compost. So, you can use that for the plants.

[00:07:36]That's more effective.

[00:07:38]So, you know, so I like this one better.

[00:07:42]It's handy and you can rotate it. That one it's a little hard for me to rotate it. I have to you know rotate all the way from the back and then rotate whole or do a full circle. This one is easier.

[00:07:59]Like you know.

[00:08:02]This is super easy. This is what it is.

[00:08:09]So I you see this PVC pipes that I have.

[00:08:13]It's a multi-purpose. So when I start yearly in the spring season, this used as you know frost cover. Whenever there is a frost, then I use this as a frost cover. So mild frost tolerant plants that can survive with this help, but not the summer ones.

[00:08:33]The deep summer when I need some shade to some plants, then I I'll use the same thing.

[00:08:41]No, it's not the tomato eggplants that they will outgrow from this height.

[00:08:46]No, other plants if I needed then I can just use this for that.

[00:08:52]Yeah.

[00:08:53]So do you see this PVC pipes?

[00:08:56]You might be wondering why I'm having these things. These are used as a No I I use this for covering using the frost cover and I have that the frost cover and I'll use to cover this on top of this. And I need to support you know the sides so that it will protect that young plants that I planted early in the spring season.