Saturday, August 25, 2012

Raised Veggie Garden

 First of all I apologize for the year delay in updates... hopefully this one can get me back on track :)

My project for this summer was to build a raised vegetable bed and grow some organic goodness.  I started out with an idea to build a 4ft x 8ft box.  I looked at some pictures on the Internet and it seemed simple enough.... so I got to work.
I actually had a box built in under an hour with a bit of Braeden's help :)
Dirt was delivered a few days later and, boy oh boy, did we overestimate.  After filling the box with the dirt and making a trip to the landfill for compost, I was left with a heaping pile of dirt left on the driveway.  

 The easiest solution was to build another box.  
We ran to the store and picked up more cedar.  This time I enlisted the help of Sean and Miles and we had a box in record time.
So now I had two 4ft x 8ft boxes!  More space to plant!



 We ran many wheel barrow loads of dirt and we STILL had leftovers!
A neighbor was doing a garden as well so we told him if he hauled it, he could take it.  
Problem solved.
  


I already had in mind what I was going to plant, but now that I had double the space... I could add a few more things.  I planted 15 different veggies/herbs.  
With this being my first garden, I think I got carried a way just a little..

Sweet Corn, Green Beans, Carrots, Bell Peppers, Strawberries, 3 different tomatoes, Lettuce, Spinach, Cucumbers, Squash, Green Onions, Mint, Cilantro, Basil, Jalapeños.
I knew that this summer would be a learning experience but I was pleasantly surprised at how well everything did.  

The good and the bad...
Bad: 
My corn did not pollinate correctly and the ears had hit and miss kernels.  
There were so many Japanese Beetles on the corn that I could not pick the beans (they were planted in between) 
My mom picked my baby onions thinking they were weeds.
My squash was ruined by a storm and I think it had blight so I pulled it out.  I did get one nice squash.
The lettuce and spinach wilted because of the excessive summer heat.

Good:
We have decent tomatoes although not enough to can like I had hoped.  
Plenty of bell peppers and jalapeños.
Basil and mint have done well and I am finally getting some good cucumbers.
The carrots are just about ready too.

I am looking forward to planting again next year and I think I might expand even a little more.  Maybe add space for a raspberry bush or two.

p.s. (I don't know what happened to the quality of a few pictures.  Just started using a MAC and have no idea what I am doing)  LOL

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