Do It Yourself Kiddie Pool Vegetable Garden: Hot Peppers, Tomatoes, Zucchini + More!

I think it is time for an update on the kiddie pool vegetable gardens. It has been an adventure so far for sure. I love watching things sprout up and reach for the light. If I wanted to sit out by them I swear I could observe them growing throughout the day.

Probably the most challenging issue has been the watering. Living here in New Mexico presents a different problem, especially in May when the temperatures can vary a lot, usually it is pretty dry and the winds do blow. At first, we did not put any drainage in the plastic pools. We decided to watch and wait. If you live in a wetter area I suggest doing that at the beginning. We have now drilled a couple of holes about 3 inches up from the bottom.

It was pretty nice not having to worry about as much watering now that the days are getting hotter, but the container with peppers, garlic, onions and herbs starting sprouting mushrooms.

That issue, along with the fact that the tomatoes appear to be showing the affects of yo-yo watering…heavy soaking alternating with a bit too dry… inspired rethinking the drainage situation. I would suggest the holes from the beginning just to be safe. It has been very windy here as well, and that can also affect the leaves.

The tomatoes are growing and producing buds, but hopefully the leaves will be okay.

We are hoping that straightens out now with the drainage. I sure hope the green onions and garlic produce. Before I do the next update, I will post my experience with using store bought green onions and garlic to start my own.I have already used some of the fresh thyme and basil. And, there is one pepper almost ready.

Making  a great recipe recently with zucchini made me want to add that to the garden. We were about ready to throw out a molded plastic sandbox, and I thought “why not!” So now we have more garden in our playground. We planted two zucchini plants, one in the sand box and one in the water pool. Our playground garden is growing!

So far, we are liking this new adventure in container gardening! A new way to garden and recycle.