Gardening

This page will be my online diary of my planting schedule, my trials and tribulations to my process of learning the act of growing vegetables.  No expert advice here, I'm just a person interesting in bringing the best vegetables to my table.  I am new to this so it is all an experiment to see what works for me.  I am using the book Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew as my guide along with information I gather from the internet - I am hoping for a successful growing season.

March 18, 2012

It has been so warm this March that I decided to plant my first raised bed and will follow in the next two weeks for the other two.  Earlier in the week I mixed in a bale of peat moss and also worked in 10-10-10 fertilizer, I have seen allot of people buying it so I thought I would give a try this year.  In the bed I planted spinach and romaine lettuce plants - total of 9 each.  I also planted seeds - carrots, radishes, onions, swiss chard, pole and bush beans and peas.  Still to plant in the bed is another square of swiss chard, spinach from seed, yellow and zucchini squash.  We are expected to have showers off and on this week so that will cut down on the watering for me.

March 20, 2012
Planted more seeds today - spinach, yellow squash and zucchini squash.  Might be a little earlier for the squash but with 80 degree days we are having - worse thing that can happen is I would have to replant 3 seeds.  I have 2 more squares to plant - one more lettuce and one more of swiss chard.  I will wait on the chard until the first square comes up, lettuce I will plant using seeds.

March 22, 2012

And the radishes win!  First out of the ground is the radishes - so proud of those little guys.  I also planted 10 strawberry plants in the raised bed behind the garage.  I had originally planned on planting them tomorrow but with the light rain today and heavier rain coming the next 2 days I got them in the ground today.  I picked out an ever-bearing (quinalt) kind so hopefully I will have berries 2 times a year.  Plans are to get the bed behind the garage planted next.  I will add to that bed - cherry and grape tomatoes, hot peppers, eggplant, leaf lettuce, radishes, green onions, carrots and possibly bush beans.

April 2, 2012

The first bed is coming along nicely - spinach salad soon!  If you notice the half of Dew bottle in the ground I am trying to protect my yellow squash from an anoying squirrel how has already helped himself to the first seed.  The square where the sprinkler is still needs to planted with more Swiss Chard.  I finished planting the second bed, it's not as compact as the first only because I did not section that one off (may rethink that next year).  And the third bed is set up with the soil mix added and fenced off - I have 3 tomatoe plants ready for it along with 1 yellow bell pepper, still need to pick up 2 more tomato plants and a red pepper plant.

April 15, 2012

My second picking from the garden, nice head of romaine I cut on Tuesday and have since cut 3 more.  My first was spinach last week which I sauted for supper one night.  The radishes are also ready for the picking - nice to see things are progressing wonderfully.  I planted 3 tomato plants and a yellow pepper plant earlier in the week then we ended up having a light frost on the 11th and 12th.  Today I planted another tomato and red pepper plant and also some seeds - 2 different lettuces, radishes, carrots, beans and beets.