Garden Bits

Spring arrived. Actually it was more like a sweltering touch down. None the less, it was great to see something other than gray in the sky. I finished planting my vegetable bed. Added a sun gold tomato, 2 broccoli plants (found these at the Ballard Farmers Market and couldn't resist) and 3 ghost pumpkin starts. On a whim I also bought 4 organic strawberry plants, tristar variety, and planted those around our patio. Now I'm set. Just a waiting. Checking all the time, fussing, watering, definitely smothering. Just can't stay away. I'm too excited. Here is the complete list of what's planted in the raised bed. Starting in the closest corner and going clockwise: 2 broccoli plants & 2 ghost pumpkins, tomato & 1 ghost pumpkin, snap peas (bush variety), potatoes, edible flowers, carrots, salad mixes, cilantro & parsley.

My mom suggested planting my tomato at a 45 degree angle. She said it would straighten itself out, searching for the sun, and end up with a stronger stalk. I tried it. It was straight 2 days later. hmmm. Has anyone out there heard of this?

Veggie Dreams

I have long been wanting a gardening area for the kids. I envisioned one where we could plant veggies, berries and kid friendly flowers. My husband, Bryce and I talked about this decided to build a raised bed on the south side of our house. We shared our idea with our neighbors, Peter and Michele, in hopes that we could, together, create a small children's garden in between our houses. They became excited about the idea too and decided to build a raised bed as well. Our plan was to have two shared raised beds.

Bryce found great building directions on Sunset.com. The raised beds would be 8 feet X 4 feet and constructed out of cedar. A few weekends later Bryce & Peter had them all ready to go!

Now for the super fun part, deciding what to plant! Michele and I planned on planting different things in each bed so we could have more variety. This would also allow us to gain more experience about what grew well. My mom suggested we try square foot gardening as a way to get as many plants as possible into our beds. The idea is that you get more room in your garden when you plant in squares instead of rows. I looked it up on line and found it was a common practice in urban gardens - perfect for us! Of course our beds are rectangles so we'll be taking a creative approach to the square concept, but hey, should be okay.

The girls and I started 7 different plants in peat pots a few weeks ago and they are ready to be planted. In our bed, we're going to plant: ghost pumpkins, carrots, sun gold cherry tomatoes, and potatoes. We're not sure about the rest. But I'll definitely keep you posted on our progress. Fingers crossed for no more rain, hail or snow, we're ready to plant!