Having a small garden in your backyard can be very healthy and relaxing for the mind. The peace and tranquility that the plants provide is calming and can help you in dealing with the rest of life's trials and pressures.

Planting a backyard vegetable garden is easier than you might think and can be quite inexpensive as well. Gather a few containers, the bigger the better.

Usually you can find large black nursery pots that other people don't want and reuse those, they are perfect for the backyard veggie garden. Even one large round container can be divided and used for a mini "square foot gardening" type arrangement and produce and significant harvest.

I use the toy tubs that are sold for storage and kids toys. They are cheap and readily available at many stores. All you need to do is drill some holes the size of a pencil in the bottom and in the sides low down near the ground for drainage.

It's important that they are set up on blocks a few inches off the ground so the water can drain out and air can flow under the pot. If the container sits right on the ground then it will attract worms and wood bugs and just be mucky and icky.

These toy tubs do have their drawbacks when used for this purpose but if you are gentle with them you can use the tubs for 5 years or more before they really begin to show their brittleness.

When they are full and planted, the tubs are not meant to hold that much weight so they become weak and can split if they are banged in any way, so move them carefully.

If you can adapt and handle that then they are the cheapest and largest planter pots you will ever find. If you don't have to move them after planting then they will not break for years.

The toy tubs are big enough to be divided into 4 soil segments, this allows enough room to plant 4 different food plants at the same time. You can grow carrots, beans, peas and radishes all in one container or choose any combination you like. If you have two tubs, then you can easily have 8 different types and harvest all the homegrown veggies you can handle.

One veggie I recommend is pole beans, any variety or color is good. The image is of my 2012 pole beans enjoying the luxury of having lots of space in their own container with a bamboo tower for them to grow up. They definitely don't need that much room and can be planted with other veggies nearby and only one pole to grow up.

Buy an 8' pole (or taller) bamboo stake from the store and stick that down to the bottom of the pot right on the edge. Drill two small holes and tie the pole to the side of the container, so it remains stable when the bean plant gets heavy. Plant the bean seeds (4-6 of them) near the base of the pole so when they sprout and grow they can attach themselves easily.

They don't take up very much space and produce best when continually harvested throughout the season.

Second veggie I recommend is peas, they are easy to grow and delicious when picked young. I choose the variety "Tall Telephone" because they grow tall and straight up like a pole bean and not like a short shrub which takes up a lot of soil area. Set them up the same way as beans near the edge of the container and allow them to use the support of a pole.

The options and choices for other veggies and herbs are nearly endless. You can grow just about anything you want with a little ingenuity and creativity. Try growing some potatoes in bags!

Lettuce is another good choice, it's a cool weather crop grows fast and takes up very little space. Growing basil is one of my favorites as well and very easy to do.

Basil is amazingly expensive to buy in the store because it's sensitive to the elements. Solve that by growing it in your home, indoors like a house plant. If you have a vacant window sill then plant some basil and see how easy it is to grow basil from seed and dry for future use.

Your backyard vegetable garden is only an afternoon or two of planning and an afternoon or two of construction away. Happy planting!