Our back yard is about 18' by 18' and covered with bark/gravel stuff unfit for a garden. This evening we are going to fill a raised garden bed (4'x4') with about 12 cu. ft. of soil. My sister, Elsa, mentioned that we should look up stuff on Square Foot Gardening, and I think it will work well considering our backyard "conditions". We will divide the garden into 16 squares, then plant within those squares.What veggies should we plant? We're planning to transplant tomato plants, but I don't know which variety. Also, maybe bean poles because they are more space efficient than bush beans. Other considerations--peppers, onions, romaine lettuce, carrots. Any tips on keeping out pests and such? I'm going the nursery down the road to find out more about local gardening, but I just wanted to throw this out there to see what anyone else has learned from past/present gardening endeavors.
Wow have I got the book for you. It's called "Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew. We love it and we've used it for 5 years, and so have my parents and the center they used to work at. It has everything you need to know and more. Highly recommended, and I bet you could pick it up at the library.
ReplyDeleteGood luck! Sounds fun.
Man I love those kids!!! (Not to mention their incredible mother ...) What a lucky man I am.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's the same author as that site you linked to. It has a lot of good stuff about how to do climbing plants (tomatoes, beans, peppers etc), and it says that planting some marigolds in your garden or even nearby keeps bugs away and is pretty to look at too! It's honestly a great resource - I hope you can find it.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing, we like beef master tomatoes. They're big and beautiful with a great flavor - the perfect slicing tomato. And with tomatoes, consistent watering is the key, or else they get green hard patches on the bottom. Otherwise, tomatoes are pretty easy. And read what he says about pruning the plants so they can be more productive. Or if you can't find the book, call me. :)
ReplyDeleteWow. I guess I like gardening. I typed your ear off. . . (eyes?)
I'll have to see if the nursery has beef master. Do you think they are the same thing as beefy boy? I talked with a lady at the nursery before who suggested "supersteak" for big sized tomatoes--but they may be too big, like 16 oz +. Follow this link for a picture http://www.echters.com/TomatoVarieties.htm
ReplyDeleteI may just go with celebrity if I can't find "beef master", "beefy boy", or "better boy" at our nursery.
I feel like I'm talking about horses at the race track, spewing out all these unusual names.
I checked earlier today and the book's already checked out. Go figure. I'm going to check our nursery (we have a gift cert for $10 off a $30 purchase) to see if they have it. Then, we'll have it right away for a reference.
ReplyDeleteGlad to know you have it and have liked it. It makes me much more confident about buying the book.
Will try marigolds :)
We've also tried better boy and celebrity, and they've both been really great too. It's really hard to go wrong with home grown tomatoes. :)
ReplyDeleteLove your beach photos.
ReplyDeleteI love the square foot gardening book. I tried it one year and it seemed to work very well. I especially liked watering with warm water by hand while waiting for the seeds to sprout and having the seeds down lower for more efficient watering rather than up in a mound.
We have good luck with growing snap peas. They do better in spring and early fall rather than the hot summer months. Lettuce is easy too and you can plant it like a blanket and cut off leaves as you need them. You can find a variety packet with a mix of lettuces which looks pretty with reds and greens and different shaped leaves growing together. We've never had good luck with carrots but they're sure fun for the kids to pull out and find a carrot underneath.
We've found the key to a good garden is buying a bag (or more depending on size of garden) of good manure and adding it to your soil before planting. Also, seeds must stay wet until they sprout or they will die.
Thanks for the info. I'll be sure to pick up seeds for mixed lettuce. So far, I've transplanted 4 romaine lettuce plants and put in 16 carrot seeds. I'm soaking my beans and will plant them after they've soaked in warm water for a few hours. I'll remember to keep the seeds moist, but what about transplants? Seems like I'd want to water them lightly (not heavily) to help them stay up.
ReplyDeleteYou must always plant some flowers in your vegetable garden, preferably something you can keep picking through the fall. Startingl this late in the year you might just buy some already established...something you LOVE!!!
ReplyDeleteKari, your kids are getting so big and cute. How are things going? check out our epistle site for our going ons. I miss talking to you, sounds like you guys are having fun up there.
ReplyDeleteNicla! How's it going? If you check this again, email me at kea234@gmail.com. Can I comment on your epistle website?
ReplyDeleteYou're home and yard are lovely! Kids look great, too!