My name is Scott Vesterstein and I am the father of a charming little girl named Sydney.
I have named this business after her and will make every product worthy of the Sydney’s Green Garden name. Giving my daughters name to this is an expression of my deep commitment to both her name and our product lines.
It began in 2003 when given what I thought was the best pickle recipe from my wife’s father, Bob, and mother, Anna.
Although we have a small yard I decided to grow my own cucumbers for the recipe, but my wife did not want me to destroy what little green space we had.
I decided to plant my garden on the driveway instead, in containers!
I started with 10 containers
Asking around, I was told by many experienced gardeners that you could not grow vegetables on driveways and my container garden would not work. The first year I harvested enough cucumbers to pickle over 100 jars. It was amazing at how much you could grow in such a small space.
The next year I started growing the other vegetables in the recipe including onions and bell peppers. I added peas, beans, carrots, broccoli, potatoes, zucchini, eggplant, herbs and more. Eventually I ended up with over 100 containers in my driveway and now grow all kinds of vegetables from containers. The yard is not destroyed although we do have a smaller driveway during the summer months.
Starting with very little gardening skills I invested 9 years of experimentation, study and research. Keeping records and making charts proving which vegetables grow well in what size containers, what type of soil to use, watering, fertilizing and all the other knowledge needed to grow vegetables in containers.
As my garden grew, so did Sydney. She would help me with some of the planting, weeding and watering (she liked to water me as well).
Not only was this father daughter time, but also she learned to love vegetables. Every day she was eating something fresh out of our garden. Picking the sugar snap peas and cherry tomatoes is a favorite.
I was really touched by this time spent with my daughter doing something so rewarding as growing our own vegetables. I wanted to share this with others so I began giving presentations about vegetable container gardening. Many of the people came back the following year to learn more and to share their gardening experience. It really caught on and the size of the classes grew each year. That is when I decided to put together a kit that included seeds, containers, all the needed information, and a simple easy to follow planting guide.
Seeds really make a difference. Bob Olen, the technical advisor for agriculture production systems and horticulture for the University of Minnesota has assisted in selecting the highest quality hybrid seeds perfectly suited for container gardening. Sydneys Green Garden seed packs consist of the very best vegetable seeds, which I have had tremendous success with year after year. Some are seeds you will not find in a nursery or store. Your garden is going to be bountiful and have many beautiful colors.
Information also makes a difference. We’ve done the hard part for you.
Following our easy to understand planting guide. Even someone with no gardening experience at all will be successful.
