Vegetable Tutorial

Want the .pdf version? How To Grow A 1/12th Garden In Just One Weekend

Easy Vegetable Planter Box

Part 1 of 6

Supplies:

4 - Skinny Sticks cut down to 5-5/8”

4 - Skinny Sticks cut down to 2”

4 - pieces of 1/4” corner molding cut to 1/2”

Scrap Styrofoam (aprox. 1/2” thick) cut to 5-1/2” x 2”

White craft glue

Dark brown paint

Accent color paint

Scenic “dirt” or dried coffee grounds

Tools:

Xacto knife

Ruler

Paint brush

Old paint brush for spreading glue

Instructions:

1. Cut wood and Styrofoam to sizes indicated above. Sand as necessary.

2. Paint top surface and sides of Styrofoam with dark brown paint, let dry.

3. Paint Skinny Sticks as well as corner molding the accent color of your choosing. Let dry

4. Glue the short Skinny Sticks to the ends of your Styrofoam, one above the other. Let dry.

5. Glue the long Skinny Sticks onto the long edges in the same manner, making certain to cover the ends of the side pieces. Let dry.

6. Glue the corner molding to the corners. Let dry.

7. Using an old paint brush, apply a layer of glue to the top of your painted Styrofoam piece. While wet, sprinkle with scenic dirt or coffee grounds. Let dry, then shake off the excess.

Green Onions - Fresh and Planted

Part 2 of 6

Supplies:

12 - toothpicks cut into 1” lengths

Regular office paper

Mod Podge

White or off white paint

Dark grass green paint

White craft glue

White/off white embroidery floss or craft thread

Tools:

Xacto knife

Ruler

Paint brushes

Fine blade scissors

Pinking shears (optional)

For Planted Onions

1. Draw rectangle on the office paper which measures 6” x 1-1/2”.

2. Paint the bottom1/8” of the rectangle in white/off white. Let dry.

3. Paint the top 1-3/8” of the rectangle in the dark grass green color. Let dry.

4. Cover the entire painted rectangle with a coat of Mod Podge. Let dry.

5. Paint the entire reverse side of the rectangle in the dark grass green. Let dry.

6. Cover the back side of the rectangle with a coat of Mod Podge. Let Dry.

7. Cut out the rectangle, then cut it into 1/2” long strips. This will give you 12 - 1/2” green onions to work with.

8. Cut down through the length of the green section of the onion creating 6 to 8 equal leaves, stopping just above the white strip of paint. Using fine blade scissors, cut a point into each leaf end. TIP: If you have pinking shears, cut across the top 1/16” of your leaves, then cut down each peak and valley.

9. Dip 1/8” of the toothpick into white craft paint and place on top of the inside, lower left edge of the onion. Let dry.

10. Apply a 1/8” band of glue along the bottom of the onion, then roll the toothpick tightly to the end.

11. Hold in your fingers a few moments, then leave to dry thoroughly. 

For Fresh Picked Onions:

1. Cut 2 - 1” strands of embroidery floss or craft thread for each onion.

2. Glue 1/8” of the threads on top of the inside, lower left edge of the onion. Let dry.

3. Apply a 1/8” band of glue along the bottom of the onion, then roll the thread tightly to the end.

4. Hold in your fingers a few moments, then leave to dry thoroughly.

5. Separate strands, cut to desired length then coat with Mod Podge. Let dry.

6. To add some realism, dip the onion whites and roots into a brown water wash. Dab off excess on paper towel and repeat until you like the “fresh from the dirt” look.

Leeks - Fresh and Planted

Part 3 of 6

Supplies:

8 - toothpicks cut into 1” lengths

Regular office paper

Mod Podge

White or off white paint

Dark blue-green paint

White craft glue

White/off white embroidery floss or craft thread

Tools:

Xacto knife

Ruler

Paint brushes

Fine blade scissors

Pinking shears (optional)

Instructions:

1. Draw rectangle on the office paper which measures 8” x 2”.

2. Paint the bottom1/8” of the rectangle in white/off white. Let dry.

3. Paint the top 1-7/8” of the rectangle in the dark blue-green color. Let dry.

4. Cover the entire painted rectangle with a coat of Mod Podge. Let dry.

5. Paint the entire reverse side of the rectangle in the dark blue-green. Let dry.

6. Cover the back side of the rectangle with a coat of Mod Podge. Let Dry.

7. Cut out the rectangle, then cut it into 1” long strips. This will give you 8 - 1” leeks to work with.

8. Cut down through the length of the green section of the leek creating 8 leaves of equal width, stopping just above the white strip of paint. Using fine blade scissors, cut a point into each leaf end. TIP: If you have pinking shears, cut across the top 1/16” of your leaves, then cut down each valley.

9. Dip 1/8” of the toothpick into white craft paint and place on top of the inside left most lower edge of the leek. Let dry.

10. Apply a 1/8” band of glue along the bottom of the leek, then roll the toothpick tightly to the end.

11. Hold in your fingers a few moments, then let dry.

  

For Fresh Picked Leeks:

1. Cut 2 - 1” strands of embroidery floss or craft thread for each leek.

2. Glue 1/8” of the threads on top of the inside, lower left edge of the leek. Let dry.

3. Apply a 1/8” band of glue along the bottom of the leek, then roll the thread tightly to the end.

4. Hold in your fingers a few moments, then leave to dry thoroughly.

5. Separate strands, cut to desired length then coat with Mod Podge. Let dry.

6. To add some realism, dip the leek’s whites and roots into a brown water wash. Dab off excess on paper towel and repeat until you like the “fresh from the dirt” look.

Swiss Chard - Fresh and Planted

Part 4 of 6

Supplies:

Leaf Pattern: if printing regular office paper is fine. (see image and .pdf: Swiss Chard Leaf Pattern)

8 - 2” pieces of floral wire

White craft glue

Leaf green paint

White or light green paint (or fine tip paint marker)

Mod Podge

Tools:

Fine tip scissors

Paint brushes

Instructions for planted Swiss Chard:
1. Print then cut out  Swiss Chard Leaf Pattern and Veining Diagram. Cut out around      the box with the leaf patterns.

2. Cut 8 wires into 2” lengths

3. Fold pattern in half length-wise along dotted line.

4. Glue wire to the back side of the bottom leaves using the wire placement diagram as your guide. The wires do not need to be perfectly centered. Let dry.

5. Apply an even coat of Mod Podge to the entire inside bottom of the leaf pattern sheet. Brush it right over the top of the wire stems.

6. Press the top half of the sheet into the bottom, making sure to press out any air bubbles.

7. Rub your finder along both sides of the wire to burnish the paper into the creases. Let dry.

8.  Cut out each of the 8 leaf shapes, taking artistic license with the shapes. Cut as close to the wire as possible on the leaf stem. Don’t worry about the lines or staying in them - they’ll soon be covered by paint.

 Swiss Chard Leaf Pattern and Veining Diagram

Instructions for fresh picked Swiss Chard:

1. Follow instructions as above for planted Swiss Chard.

2. Clip wires at the stem ends.

3. Curl and bend into natural leaf shape. (photo: SC Fresh Step 3 Bend Leaves)

4. Arrange in a basket or scene as desired. (photo: SC Fresh Step 4 Bend Leaves)

Green and Red Leaf Lettuce - Fresh and Planted

Part 5 of 6

Supplies:

Green crepe paper - you’ll need 24” L x 1/2” H x 3/8” W (makes 8 lettuce heads)

8 - 1” toothpicks

White craft glue

Light green paint (or fine tip paint marker)

Red/Purple Paint (optional)

Mod Podge

Tools:

Fine tip scissors

Tweezers

Paint brushes

Instructions for planted Lettuce:

1. Cut crepe paper into 24 - 1/2” H x 3/8” W pieces. See Orientation Diagram. (photo: Lettuce Crepe Paper Orientation Diagram)

2. Snip both upper corners to round off leaves.

3. Cut 8 toothpicks into 1” lengths.

4. Apply glue to bottom 1/8” of leaf. Place toothpick top onto glue, then roll tightly. Let dry.

5. Apply glue to the next leaf bottom, then wrap tightly again around the first leaf. HINT: Turning the prior leaf’s opening 1/4 turn to the right makes for nice leaf spacing. Let dry.

6. Continue with the next 6 leaves for each head of lettuce. Stagger the leaf openings for a more natural appearance, Let dry.

7. While holding toothpick, use the tweezers to pull out and shape leaves, creating a full lettuce head with a ruffled appearance.

Red Leaf Lettuce:

1. Mix 1 part paint to 2 parts water. I mixed Black Plumb and Alizarin Crimson.

2. Let paintbrush touch just the surface of the paint so that it absorbs very little.

3. Touch only the top edge of each leaf with the brush so that the paint migrates into the leaf. Let dry.

Instructions for Fresh Picked Lettuce Head:

1. Snip the toothpick very close to the bottom of the lettuce.

2. Paint visible toothpick in a lighter shade of green, then coat with Mod Podge. Let Dry.

3. Arrange in a bushel basket or any creative container you can come up with.

   

Planting and Displaying Harvested Vegetables

Part 6 of 6

Supplies:

Vegetable Planter Box (from part 1).

Onions, Leeks, Swiss Chard and Lettuce (from parts 2-5).

Baskets, buckets etc. for displaying harvested veggies.

8 - 1” toothpicks

White craft glue

Scenic “dirt” or dried coffee grounds

Tools:

Tweezers

Wire cutters

Instructions for planting vegetables:

1. Layout your veggies to decode on planting placement and spacing.

2. With the wire cutters, cut wire/toothpicks down to the depth of your planter box.

3. Have some glue ready - you are going to dip the wire/toothpick about 1/8” into the glue, then push them into the planting bed. HINT: an old bottle cap works perfect as a glue bowl.

4. For the Swiss Chard, plant 5 large leaves in an outer circle, then the smaller 3 leaves spaced evenly in the center. Shape as necessary.

5. Sprinkle some “dirt” to cover any glue residue around the plant stem. Shake off excess.

6. Continue this process for all the vegetables.

7. For the “harvested” vegetables, arrange in baskets etc.

I hope you're going to give this project a try! If you do, feedback is always appreciated!

Happy (mini) gardening!