How To Convert Your Storage Shed To A Vegetable Garden

Posted By Cathy Scholes On 11-01-2016

One of the seemingly universal features of most homes in Canada, Modern or older, is the storage shed. Millions of lawn mowers, bicycles, weed-whackers, hedge clippers and tools of all stripes sit in these storage sheds all over the country.

Sometimes, however, the need or desire to store all of these items outside changes and you are left with space you don’t know how to use. Why not convert your storage shed into a vegetable garden? Here are four steps you can follow to make it happen:

Clean out and make repairs
Get rid of anything that is not a gardening accessory. Check with local water authorities to make sure you are disposing of chemicals and anything else that needs to be disposed of safely in an environmentally sound way.

Making sure that your plants to be are receiving enough light is going to require that you make changes to existing windows, or if there aren’t any, adding some in to make sure that your vegetables can photosynthesize and grow.
Create your potting bench
This is the area where you are going to plant, tend to and grow your vegetables and arguably the most important component. First and foremost, you are going to need to decide how you are going to water your vegetables: do you want a sink or a hose?

If plumbing a sink is outside of your budget or area of expertise, you can buy benches that allow you to hook them up to a garden hose. There are benches of varying widths and heights depending on the dimensions of your shed and what and how you want to grow.
Install wall storage
Utilize the vertical space in your shed-cum-garden for all of the gardening accessories you are going to need on a regular basis (rakes, trowels, spades, pruners, fertilizer, step-ladders, etc.). You can mount smaller shelves for gloves, hats, boots baskets and books.
Store your equipment properly
You may still want to keep larger pieces of outdoor machinery, such as lawnmowers, in the shed along with your gardening equipment. Take care when storing gasoline and fertilizer. Fertilizer can fall victim to mold and mildew growth, so think about investing in pallets to make sure bags are up off the ground.

Converting your shed into a vegetable garden is a great way to repurpose space that has been sitting unused or unoccupied for a while. It offers additional protection from the elements, pests, or hungry animals, and can be a great way to add some multipurpose green space to your backyard with all the benefits of a private vegetable garden in a controlled environment.

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