Gardener shares ancient planting technique to easily grow plants in hilly terrain: 'Great use of your space'

Gardening is a perennially popular warm weather activity for which not all yards and outdoor spaces are inherently suited — but one creative Reddit user wasn't about to let a challenging layout get in the way of their garden plans, and they devised an ingenious solution.

The scoop

On r/gardening, the poster faced a conundrum.

In the title, they explained that having a "hillside for a yard" — a fairly common circumstance, particularly in hilly areas — forced them to get creative with bed placement. They attached six images to their post, the first of which depicted their finished project.

The land had a visible slope — and the user constructed a tiered or terraced series of beds to create flat parcels on which to plant.

While the gardening hack facilitated gardening on sloped land, it required sweat equity. The original poster explained "it was a lot of hard work busting through the hard packed clay and rocks in some places" — effort they said was worth it so the terraced beds would "stay in place." 

How it's helping

To be clear, it's possible to grow your own food even if you're working with sloped land.

However, garden designer Rebecca Sweet has said "gardening on steep slopes is problematic at best." She spent two years "trying to tame a pretty slope," which she acknowledged caused her "to shed a tear or two in frustration."

Sweet mentioned heavy rainfall, which she noted always left a "big, muddy mess at the bottom of the hill," as one associated difficulty. That's "where a tier or two in the garden can save the day," she added.

An irrigation system was part of the Reddit user's terraced garden beds, as seen in their photos. 

By functionally leveling the sloped land, the enterprising gardener ensured more even watering and access to sunlight. On top of that, sloped land can be uncomfortable to maintain, and the tiered approach is arguably more aesthetically appealing.

Would you take a gardening class if it were free? Heck yes! 💯 If it fits into my schedule 🗓️ Maybe 🤔 Probably not 👎 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Overall, growing food at home isn't just a way to save money — the practice has cumulative environmental benefits, including reduced waste and fewer trips to the supermarket.

What everyone's saying

One user said they wished they'd thought of the terraced garden depicted, commending its "absolutely awesome aesthetic" in a comment. "Bonus points on the irrigation system," they added.

Another user was instantly reminded of the famed terraced gardens of antiquity, specifically those associated with the Mayan civilization. "Great use of your space!" they wrote. 

One personally vouched for the hack from their "steep mountainside in Appalachia." After finding success with the method, they noted they'd "slowly been building more and more terraced beds over the years."

A few users discussed the best materials for constructing terraced gardens and how to avoid introducing contaminants to the soil.

Those concerns are common, extending to the management of common pests and weeds.

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