A Rookie's Garden

Oh the possibilities.  I've dreamed for years of having a vegetable garden, but with a backyard roughly the size of a large quilt, it just didn't seem feasible.  So I've kept herbs in pots, and have gradually accumulated quite a large number of containers.  (I've now started buying more in secret, as my husband thinks we have quite enough.  But there's always just one more herb I want to try...)

So, with the help of my enthusiastic 3-year-old, we bought a kit (two actually) at Home Depot, and put in a raised bed planter.  Luckily, the yard has a 6-foot fence already, which I've heard is necessary to keep the deer away.  (As for the Japanese beetles that always feast on my roses, no idea how I'm going to keep them away from the veggies without poisoning us - help, please?)

I should have taken a "before" picture, but really, it was just a patch of grass.  With liberal amounts of clover and dandelion, which, though I know it is a weed, I just cannot bring myself to kill, as it looks so cheerful.  We got several opinions on the necessity of digging up the grass before installing the planter. I wasn't really that convinced the 19-year-old cashier at Home Depot knew anything about plants except how to scan them, so I consulted several gardening books (thank you public library!), and the consensus was that the garden patch would be more versatile, and the plant roots happier, if the grass was removed first. 

So, digging up grass (previously sod, with little green mesh squares underneath): NOT as easy as one might think.  It was quite a process.  And, to ensure that I would be able to remain mobile the next day, we had to do this over several days.  And go back to the store to buy more dirt.  And seeds.  And plants.  I read once that gardening was the most expensive hobby on Earth.  At the time I thought, "no way."  But after four trips to garden centers/nurseries in as many days... I believe it.  My exercise in growing vegetables to save money at the grocery store has cost WAY more, at least in the "building" year, than I would have spent at the markets.  But it's a fun project.

I planted the marigolds around the edges based on a tip that they help keep other pests away... we'll see.  And I am sure I planted some things too close, despite researching each plant's preferences and making a spreadsheet.  I figured the more things I tried, at least a few of them were likely to actually grow, right?

In the whiskey barrel planter (my first wigwam!), we planted beans (snow peas, actually), and nasturtiums.  My daughter was concerned.  She said, "But what if a giant moves in to our bean stalk?" 

So, this is why I haven't been experimenting in the kitchen much lately.  I've been outside, covered in dirt... and loving every moment.

Comments

[Beth Schillaci]

It looks great. I can't wait to follow the progress this spring/summer. I'm just not brave enough to tackle such a project. I'll stick to my herbs.

[Jess]

Looks good to me! What do you have planted in the raised bed? If it's mostly herbs, I wouldn't worry about them being too close together. :-)

[ADLawrence]

Alas any tips I'd give would kill every plant, so I'll only provide encouragement. Nice work! It looks like you planned well and the box is very pretty with everything. :)

[April F.]

I planted mostly lettuces (the cut and come again type), a few kinds of tomatoes and peppers, scallions, spinach, radishes and a couple eggplants. Only some annual herbs are in there (parsley, basil, dill, lavendar) - my perennials are in pots, as are the beans and cucumbers. Having killed many a houseplant, I am a bit nervous about this, but it's fun so far.

[Kiki]

Everything looks great! About digging up that sod-- what a pain, right?!

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