Our goal in purchasing our almost 5 acres was to start being a little more self-sustaining. The process took us a few months while getting settled into our home, but with the first spring arriving, we took advantage and started building the raised garden beds. I have never gardened before so this was definitely a first for me.
For the first season, I made two 4x6 square foot gardens that contain the following crops (ALL ORGANIC seeds):
- Roma Tomato
- Sweetie Tomato
- Lettuce
- Spinach
- Green Beans
- Swiss Chard
- Kale
- Eggplant
- Baby Watermelon
- Cantaloupe
- Cucumber
- Red Pepper
- Pepper Mix
- Thyme
- Beets
The soil used contains:
- ⅓ vermiculite
- ⅓ peat moss
- ⅓ compost
This is the recipe from
Mel's Mix, but instead of doing the math (it was giving us all major headaches), we purchased it pre made.
We are not using ANY pesticides, herbicides or chemicals. Yes, I've lost a few bits to the insects, but we share land =).
Here's the process of how I completed it (with the help of a wonderful neighbor/friend):
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| Nailed the wood together (this wood is NOT treated because I did not want the chemicals on or near my crops) |
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| Laid out the beds and stapled weed resistant tarp underneath to prevent weeds |
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| Started laying out soil |
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| Nailed twelve inches apart and wrapped in twine to show each square |
The reasoning behind the layout of the crops was intentional. Certain crops garner good shade from others and some do really well near specific crops. After a few tweaks, this was the final layout for the two boxes:
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| Crops in each square in garden bed #1 |
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| Crops in each square in garden bed #2 |
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| Planted and watered the seeds |
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| Slowly the crops started rising within a week (some faster than others) |
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| Week 2 |
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| Garden bed #1 |
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| Spinach - Week 3 |
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| Green beans and swiss chard - Week 3 |
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| Garden bed #2 |
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| Garden bed #1 |
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| Kale |
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| Week 5 |
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| We decided to fence it in, give the tomatoes their own trellis' and kill the grass and weeds with small river rocks |
The location of our garden has between 8-9 hours of sun with the shaded part starting on the garden bed #1 where the tomatoes are located. It's been a fun and exciting process to see my garden grow from seeds to actual crops. They're not ready yet for harvest, but I'll be excited to eat it and juice it when it is!
