Can you really have an instant organic garden? It seems some people want the results of an organic garden and great food, but they do not want to do all that back breaking work to get the veggies they like.

Can you garden without all that work? That depends on what you call work. Sometimes that is translated as time. You don’t mind the labor it is just the fact that there is little time with the job and kids.

Let’s make gardening fun with little work and involve the kids, too.

I have never tried this, but believe it could work, buy bags of top soil, mix in a little compost and set out your plants. The bags of soil are punched with holes on the back side and slit open on the top side. Now, the bags can be placed on the patio or out in the grass in a sunny location.

Make sure you keep a close watch on the amount of water the plants receive. If it is very rainy they need to be able to drain well and if it doesn’t rain they can dry out very quickly. Other than that, they are almost maintenance free. This can be a great way to get an instant garden. Be sure to stake any tall plants like tomatoes and peppers.

If you are interested in a little larger garden consider building a raised bed. A raised bed is made by making a wood box out of 1 inch X 12 inch lumber. The lumber should be either cedar or pine. It is best not to use treated wood because of the chemicals used in preserving the wood. Cedar will last longer than pine, but it costs more and a 12 inch board in cedar is sometimes hard to find. You will be surprised how long a plan wood board will last. When it rots, just tear it out and build a new one.

Make your box about 3 foot wide and 8 foot long. It usually last longer if it is screwed together, but nails will do. Now, set your box in a sunny location and fill with topsoil. Mix a little compost in the top inch of the soil and start planting.

You can put a trellis on the back side, the one away from the sun, so it will not shade the smaller plants, and start planting. Most any vegetable will grow in your raised bed, but a large plant will take up a lot of your room, of course you can build more beds after you get started.

Again, water is a factor, because a bed will drain quickly. During periods with little rain you will need to check the bed often and water when necessary.

There you have two ideas for a very quick garden. You really have no excuse for not getting started. Just decide which method you are going to use and make it a weekend project. Let the kids help and they will enjoy the garden, too.