Here is where most of the action will take place this summer. This is a 4' x 4' raised bed that my husband made for me out of some wood we had. I lined it with black plastic to make it last a little longer. It took 10 bags of topsoil to fill it up. I added organic fertilizer for some nutrition. I measured out the spacing and hammered in some nails to tie garden twine to so that I could have a Square Foot Garden. The boys and I planted onion sets on March 3. This is what it looks like today (March 25):
The onions are in the front four squares with Tonda di Parigi carrots in the next four and Swiss Chard in the four squares after that. Those were all planted on March 22.
In our front yard we have a raised brick bed. I planted spinach on March 3. This is what they looked like on March 17:
The seedlings look like blades of grass at first, but today, they look like this:
We also planted radishes in this bed. The first sowing was March 11 and the second was on the 22nd.
I just love their heart-shaped leaves. They are Purple Plum radishes. We also planted a lettuce mix on the 22nd, but they won't start sprouting for a few more days.
Yesterday, I bought a basil plant and some onion chives to fill in a gap in this bed.
Last weekend we went to Sam's Club and I found a raised bed kit for around $40. It is about 4' x 8'. I put it together in about 5 minutes, no tools required. The kids and I gathered up our fall leaves and some kitchen scraps to start composting right in the bed to prepare it for next year.
I'll keep adding shredded newspaper, grass clippings, coffee grounds and fruit and vegetable peelings throughout the year. I told the boys we needed to get some worms to put in it.
That's all the planting for now. In a few weeks it will be time to plant cucumbers, melons, squash, and zucchini.
