In a weekend recap a few weekends ago you might have seen the raised beds Scott made me. We finally took the time to put in the dirt.
First, we put down plastic.
I’ve read that you can put wet cardboard or newspaper down but we had plastic and the guy at the farmer’s market said since we had plastic, that’s just what he would do. He said to just make sure to put holes for the water to drain. Once we had it spread out, we poked holes in with the pitch fork.
The beds are 3’x6’x2’. We ended up using 4 bags of this compost:
Katrina at The Poorganic Life had a great post today on how to make your own compost for free. I’m not quite that adventurous yet.
We then mixed in 2 bags of peat moss :
Katrina had also recommended getting vermiculite but the guy at the farmer’s market said we could do it, but it wasn’t really necessary so we opted out.
We all really got into mixing it.
This picture reminds me of these:
Do you remember these garden decorations? That’s gonna be me this summer, baby.
So the girls really got into it. Like, literally, INTO IT and had to get sprayed down.
We had a lot of fun. It was nice doing something messy together and being productive all at the same time. I looked at Scott while we were mixing and said, “There’s just something right about this.”
I’m still not sure how it will turn out but for now, I’m excited!! They said we should plant on April 15th so just a few more weeks!
Looks like you all had so much fun, doing this project together, and the rewards will be great…fresh veggies…I love it.
I come from a long line of gardeners and yes there is definitely something right about growing your own food & getting your hands in the dirt! You’re going to love it this summer. Jeff started tilling our garden last night – I can’t wait to plant! My tomatoes are so ready to get in the ground. And good choice going with a plastic bottom. For small flower beds & square gardening I always use black plastic. Newspapers never keep out the weeds.
I was thinking of these…tomatoes, zucchini, squash, basil, parsley, cilantro. All doable for a newbie? Any other you’d recommend? I use a lot of onions but they kind of scare me.
All of those are easy growers in our area & don’t require a ton of maintenance. Excellent choices! And the squash will give you 2 blooms this summer if you get them in the ground soon. Cucumbers & pole beans are easy growers as well & you don’t necessarily have to grown them upwards.
Onions are also a great choice! Just remember with your herbs, that they won’t require as much watering. Over watering will kill them in a hurry. If you love summer gardening, you’ll have to try a Fall garden with lettuces & sweet potatoes!
You just wait – imo there is nothing better than a tomato & pesto sandwich grown from your own garden! And on your homemade bread? Oh my….
I might do a cucumber plant too. Thanks!
Oh, I love this! We’re hoping to put some raised beds across the back of the house for strawberry plants. We do a large garden but my husband doesn’t want anything in it that can’t be “plowed on up” when he goes after it with the tractor and cultivator. 🙂
Mmm, strawberries! I would love to do some berries for my smoothies!
full sun! a little jealous here. we got a plot in a community garden down the street because we don’t have any full sun in our backyard. have a wonderful growing season.
I’ve always wanted more shade in our backyard but it’s turned out pretty nice with the pool and garden now.
Hope you have great luck this season!