Wow. Looks great, doesn't it?
Finally, the last Spring frost has passed. That means that I can finally get going on the garden this year. As I had previously posted, this year I am going to try Square Foot Gardening.
Here is what last year’s dismal failure looks like. As you can see, the tomato vines really took off, eh? The ghosts of neglected tomato pasts still linger, like poles standing up in the garden there. Yes.
This year, I plan to do things a little better. I have gathered some of the wood that the old owner of the house left behind, and built up a box for a square foot garden. The best part is that the wood was for free. The crappy part? I am not that experienced in the whole wood cutting/measuring thing. What you want with a square foot garden is a 4 x 4 area of dirt.
The finished box back set against my pool
After measuring and cutting, assembled I reached 42 inches by 48 inches. Crap! That is slightly under! Will everything be screwed from that point on? Better stick to the day job! LOL
Here is a picture of what it looked like when the box was finished.
In all, it looks like it will be an awesome year. I am going to plant the following:
- Roma Tomatoes
- Cucumber
- Green beans
- Yellow beans
- Spinach
- Basil
- Thyme
- Oregano
- Peppers
- Parsley
Mixed this earth myself! Now to see it grow!
I am not sure what is going to come of the harvest this year, but I am sure excited.
Before I go, I will leave you with a good picture of Mel’s mix. It was a monumental pain in the you-know-what to get it assembled. (Cow manure stinks like… poo.) I am hoping that it will be worth it though.
Unfortunately, the rain came today, so I still need to back fill the box, dig it out, transfer the mix over, and place a grid on the top. Then planting can start!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Jason, I didn’t know you were planning on doing a square foot garden, that’s great. I love mine! I have five raised beds in my back yard that I sectioned out in the same manner. (They aren’t exactly 48×48 either, but who cares!) I have Mel’s earlier version of the book that I found at a thrift store for a DIME! So I didn’t use the fancy new mix recommendations, and last year everything grew like crazy!! (Plus making all that soil yourself is REALLY expensive, yikes! Part of the reason I garden is for the cost effectiveness…) Anywho, I actually let my lettuce (four different varieties) go to seed last year, and lo and behold this spring I have lettuce ALL OVER THE PLACE! Now THAT is easy gardening, hehe. I love using heirloom seeds, they can actually reproduce, unlike the frankenfood GMOs. Well, here’s to your budding green thumb!
Cassandra
That’s awesome! I do not have Mel’s new book, because irony says that it is not available here in Canada. LOL. I am jealous that you got the book for a dime! I think I paid in the neighborhood of 25$ for it! I am making the mix for amending the soil, and it seems alright. I can imagine what it would be like for 4 or 5 boxes though, that would be a crazy start up cost. I think that is why he suggests making one box at a time.
I was thinking on this earlier, and I think I want to do the next box with cinder blocks. Thing is, I believe that I can plant in the cinder block holes, nothing wrong with that!