Last October, my husband built this. It's 186" x 88".
To say I've been obsessed about reading about vegetable gardens would be an understatement. I can't get enough. I've checked out books from the library, read blogs, asked around, and read the everything on the Douglas County Extension.
We first started out with a plan. After talking to the kids, we made a list of vegetables that we thought we'd like to try. The list included corn, beans, broccoli, tomatoes, beets, carrots, zuchinni, radishes, spinach, lettuce . . . .
Then, after reading and reading of course, I got out graph paper and came up with several sketches until we found one that we thought would work. A lot of tweaking, but Tom's an engineer and we had to make sure everything was properly spaced and in straight rows. At first I just drew a quick sketch, and now after I have my map, I'm glad we got it planned out.
I love reading about gardening from Thy Hand Hath Provided. She gives a great vegetable gardening 101 - perfect for a newbie like me. We downloaded their Spring Vegetable Planning PDF and have marked it up and think it's awesome! We have a calendar just for gardening where we are marking everything and the amounts of what we plant.
This week we made the newspaper pots and started our seedlings. This is the only south facing window we have, so we'll have to make due for some time. We've started tomatoes, peppers, and broccoli inside.
I have no idea if any of this is going to work - I really am hoping it will. Really really really hoping. Tom thinks I'm making it more complicated than it really is. I'm soaking up info like a sponge - so comment away and please bring on the tips!
This month our plan is to bring in a truckload of soil, and set up the drip system. We hope to be planting outside at the end of April.
This is just one of the many many many projects that are in our backyard! It's going to be a busy summer and hopefully we can get a lot done - we just need to get my cute hubby out of the office.
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23 comments:
I'm excited to follow your progress! I have only successfully grown Basil and Cilantro - but I'm giving tomatoes a try again this year. Our gardening space is nowhere near as big as yours, but someday I'd love to grow all my own veggies!
And B's an engineer, too - I think when he watches me do a project without regard for precise measurements and straight lights, he seriously wonders how we ended up together.
Sounds like a busy (and yummy) summer. I hope you do well...you seem very prepared. I will have to check out that 101 post because I'm growing tomatoes for the first time this year.
what a fun and BIG project. good luck. looking forward to future posts and seeing what your lovely garden will yield!
Gardening will be such a neat experience for your kids-I love to see my boys out in the garden snacking on sugar snap peas and grape tomatoes.
Last year all of my tomatoes got the dreaded late blight...I literally cried as I was pulling and burning the plants.
I've not been diligent enough to start plants inside, I buy some veggie plants from a farm near by, I direct sow the rest.
maybe I should try starters inside, the newspaper pots look like a great idea.
I'm exited to see your progress. Keep us updated!
Look at you girl! I'm impressed! I would love to have a garden. Maybe one of these days. You'll have to make an e-book or something, because I'm going to need all the help I can get. :)
Love it! We have so much fun gardening! I can't wait to hear if the newspaper trick works!
Have you heard of square foot gardening? We loosely use the creator's concepts for our raised beds.
Have fun!
I've never seen this newspaper idea, have I been living under a rock ? I am excited for your garden and can't wait to see it in bloom later in the season !
Kate
Good luck!! :) My father-in-law gave us some good compost late last Spring for 3 tiny tomato plants I bought from Wal-Mart. Those things were HUGE bushes by the end of the summer/early Fall and I didn't weed and rarely watered. :s Um...so I plan on being better about that this year. But good compost is FIL's secret to a bountiful garden. :)
Oh!!! This is so exciting...we have a tiny garden...your garden is going to be so much fun!! Never saw that newspaper idea, but lovin it! Keep us posted on the progress!!
Wendy
Oh Laurel,
I just love reading your blog and am anxious to see your results...good luck.
Love following the progress of this project. It's so orderly and organized and productive.
Tomatoes like a lot of mulch and sun sun sun. I planted an "Evergreen Heirloom Tomato" last year and it was amazing. Good luck with everything, looks like fun!
Laurel, I'm so glad our tutorial has been helpful! Your newspaper pot look awesome and I can't wait to see those raised beds filled. I'll be back:-).
what a fun project! nothing like fresh from the garden! I would love to have one! can't wait to see your pretty garden~
I had to chuckle when you said your husband thought you were making it more complicated than it is because that's what my husband tells me too. I like to research a lot and do things the right way and follow all instructions to a "T". My hubby says, "Poke your finger in the soil, drop the seed, cover it and keep it moist...God will do the rest." Simple, huh?! :D
It looks like you are doing just fine! Just don't let the seedlings dry out. A spray bottle is great to spritz them with. Hope you are blessed with a good crop!
Wow, the garden looks great. I want a veggie garden too, our soil is crappy so we're going for potted veggies and herbs.
I am so jealous! I am wanting to do a garden, but we keep talking about putting our house on the market so I am holding off. I am thinking of a container garden though. Good luck!
I'm coveting your whole setup. I want to plant a veggie garden but am afraid the dog might make it his personal potty, the monster. =]
Can't wait to see how your garden grows, L!!
Thanks for the link to that site - I can tell I'm going to love it. I think the humbling part of gardening last year for me was when a friend told me, " You are thinking too much about it. People have thrown seeds in the ground for millions of year. They didn't have blogs and books. And, they still ate."
I laughed, but it was so true. I enjoyed growing our own food so much last year. I know you'll love it, too. Some things didn't work at all for us, but I learned so much.
Love the newspaper pots. I made some of those last year! =) Hope your seeds do well. We had lots of luck with peppers, tomatoes and eggplant inside. The others, we pretty much had to buy transplants. But, we'll see how the seeds do this year.
Last year I tilled up all the grass in my backyard to put in a vegetable garden, but only a tiny bit got planted, because like you, I am a planner and I wanted to do all the reading and research possible before I started. A book that is helpful for urban gardeners like us is Gardening Made Easy
because it puts all the information you need to get started in one e-book rather than having to gather information from all different resources. If I had found it sooner, I could have gotten an earlier start last year instead of spending so much time on the research phase.
Wow, that is going to be amazing! Good luck with your seedlings... I totally cheated and bought starter plants. :) Also, mine definitely aren't planted in nice, neat rows. I took more of a potager garden (aka. "kitchen garden") approach and also used a few companion planting methods. Some plants work better planted next to each other than others.
Thanks for stopping in to check mine out, and best of luck with yours! I think it will be phenomenal.
Kate
what a great idea...i hope this works out for you. i called myself a "remedial planter" recently, and i wish i could grow the garden you are attempting to. can't wait to see the results of your hard work.
thanks so much for your kind words on my sunroom redo and for stopping by the cape on the corner!
Your raised bed is gorgeous and your np pots look stellar! You're on your way and you're going to do great:-).
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