Friday, April 5, 2013

My First Vegetable Garden

As some of you may know, we have taken it upon ourselves to plan our very first edible garden. Well, our first garden period, I suppose.

I am notorious for killing plants. I’ve tried many iterations of growing foliage in my yards, but they all end the same: scorched and dehydrated. I even managed to kill bamboo. BAMBOO. Face palm.

When I decided to put in this garden, I wanted to go about it the right way. I wanted to give those poor little saplings and seedlings a fighting chance against my inevitable neglect. I convinced my husband to dig up the entire soon-to-be-garden area and painstakingly install a watering drip system. I tested the nutrient levels (or LACK of nutrients) of the soil. I supplemented. Researched. Measured. Calculated. I was determined to make this garden work from the blueprints on.

My First Garden

Once I had everything planned, I knew what my next step would be: put up a fence. Or, rather, hire someone else to put up a fence for me.

Luckily, my best friend in the whole wide world married a pretty handy guy who is easily persuaded with food. In exchange for some homemade beans, cornbread and a lunch out, he came over to my house and created this beautiful fence to keep the dogs and the Little Walking Child of Destruction away from my garden. I don't have pictures of just the fence right now, but I'm in the process of painting it mint! I'll post some pictures when it's finished.

My First Garden

I know I am no Di. I’m not going to delude myself into thinking I will have a huge, thriving garden replete with tomatoes the size of my face. I am just hoping these sweet plant babies survive. Keep your fingers crossed for them!

My First Garden

Sprouts from SEEDS!!!

And for those of you who wonder about these things, here is a list of what I planted:

Carrots (seed)
Cucumber
Zucchini
Raspberry
Chives
Tomato
Bell Pepper
Salsa Pepper
Strawberry
Cilantro
Basil
Thyme
Parsley
Artichoke
Spinach (seed – and it’s already sprouting!!!!)
Romaine
Watermelon
Cantaloupe

A HUGE crop, I know, and if they all survive, I will be do-a-backflip-in-public excited!

So now, any tips for newbie gardeners?


Danny

11 comments:

  1. Oh so exciting. - your first garden. You've done the best thing by putting in irrigation. It can be a real pain sometimes having to water when your busy or don't feel like it.
    My tip - keep picking, then things will keep cropping for you.

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  2. Wow cool - an irrigation system - I feel so back coutnry now, still pumping water up by hand in the garden.
    That's a mighty long list of different plants (how big is your garden?) The cucumbers will want a lot of water, maybe offer them something extra.
    Remember to collect "Strawberry Babies" (those new plants that appear magically on vines growing from the mother plant) in autumn and plant them in a new row - that way you keep your strawberries "fresh" just plant those Babies every year and rip out the strawberry parents after the third year - after taht they won't get any better.
    If your soil isn't offering a lot of nutrition you might want to look into onions (you don't want to give them too much nutrition or they start blooming which isn't really the goal).
    Beans are soemthing else - but use "bush beans" not climbers, the bush beans sort of shadow the soil below them so it drys out less - ok not everyone lieks beans.

    Good Luck with the adventure!

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  3. I have the finger of death in the gardening department, but will watch you with interest! xxx

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  4. Lucky you! I try herbs on my balcony every year with varying success. I seem to always fail at cilantro, which is too bad because it's my favorite. I don't have much of a green thumb, and I am usually moving around a lot in the summer, which means I have to transport them a lot, which I don't think they enjoy.

    Super jealous that you've already got seedlings coming up and growing! We're still not out of hard freezes at night yet. :( April is always hard for me since I've moved here (upstate NY) because I'm just so over winter by this point...and winter is just so not over. ;)

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    1. Also, I'll add that it's great you are trying so many new things. Some of them are bound to work out, even if they don't all work out. And then you'll know what to investigate further for next year. :)

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  5. Enjoy all your bounty! I doubt my windowledges will hold more than a few potted herbs ;o)

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  6. Mmm, all those sound wonderful! I hope they produce before you kill them. FYI - we got our place in San Diego today. Yay!

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  7. I have no tips I'm afraid. I only hope you do better than black thumbed I. Mind you having a garden in Perth is SO hard!! I just could not water them enough. Have given up and will try again once we move to New Zealand :)

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  8. Your garden will be great. If you run into any questions my AZ son grows a very productive garden and can give you some pointers. I think his theory is neglect and everything grows like crazy! Good luck with your green thumb.

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  9. Good luck! I have no advice, my husband is the keen gardener here. I think water will be your biggest issue, don't let the ground dry out too much, which I guess it does where you live.

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  10. As a kid I tried to grow peas in Arizona...two pods I got, TWO! I am sure your garden will fare better!

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