Digging & Building a Raised Garden Bed

7 mo pregnant and happily
digging in the dirt

So... COVID-19 Stay At Home Order... It's been... Interesting. I am currently 35 wks pregnant and have been working from home since Mid-March. That has had the unforseen bonus of spending much more time in our yard with the kids and the gardening bug has struck hard. I had so many amazing gardening plans for our new property that we were house hunting for but seeing as we are placing that on hold for a moment, I figured I might as well grow a produce section in my yard... and so it began.



Here was the very begining of the garden space. I dug down about 6 inches and realized I actually have pretty good soil. NICE!









I added another 2 wheelbarrows of the sandy soil that had 15 years of black leaf compost in it from out by my shed - (black gold there folks), 2 wheelbarrows of top soil and an entire day's worth of wood ash from the fire pit and mixed that together really well while digging down a bit further... I mean... I was already there so what the heck. 

As a side note, I am pretty sure my neighbors were like "Woman! you are 7mo pregnant, but honestly it made me feel GREAT!" What's good for the goose is good for the gander?

I squee inside with pure joy when I look at these.

And then my husband and step-son were absolute angels and built me raised beds for my garden as a Mother's Day Gift!!! So much love there! These beds are 40"x10' and 8" tall. The post are 4x4 and 16" tall so I can add another 2x8 and raise them up to 16" when I am ready... (I figured I better pace myself with a toddler and a baby on the way - errr something like that)  So then I added 40lbs of manure/compost and 25lb of peat and some perilite and mixed it in really well. I knew it would be raining for the next couple of days and that would be great for the soil and help to marry all the ingredants together. There are already a bunch of earthworms in there so that is a great sign.


You know... There is something about freshly cut wood that immediately brings me back to my childhood and reminds me of my father working on the house I grew up in.  Nostagia there folk. Watching my husband get down with a circular saw was pretty hot too... yep. Hmmm Hmmmmm... sorry rabbit trail 



Now speaking of rabbits... or rather to keep them out... because we have LOTS of those pesky critters... I suddenly feel so much less sympathy for Peter Rabbit... Perspective there. 

T-Posts are my friends and it was COMPLETELY worth the purchase of a post driver. Serious satisfaction at watching those T-Posts go into the ground as I pounded them down. Progress is being made every day. 

I ended up moving some of the T-Posts when I put up the fencing. I used a whole 50' roll which covered 2 sides and used part of another roll to complete the third side which also had the gate.  The gate is kind of a makeshift gig, but it does the job and I rather like that it looks rustic.

 

There is enough space around the garden beds to place pots to grow flowers and herbs in and still push a stroller around the perimeter of the garden beds.

We were enjoying the coolness of the morning. The air smelled like lillies of the valley and lilacs. There was a tiny breeze and the birds were chirping happily in the morning sun. It was quiet peaceful... A perfect time to take a little morning snooze.

Progress continues. The bamboo trellises are in.

Fast forward to today... 6/14/2020

  

Planting for the Future

So I have been working on my garden plans for this year and there are endless options. So many possiblities. So many varieties. One of the tools I use to keep all of that straight is a garden journal. If you have never used a garden journal I highly encourage you to try it out. It doesn't have to be fancy - I imbelish mine as a creative outlet but you could use a spiral bound lined notebook. It helps you to know what you planted and when, if you had issues with germination, disease, pests and how you dealt with those things. Here are a few pictures from mine. I do use some templates that I just glue in with a gluestick from MyMoleskine. 

I use stickers, colored pencils, water colors... whatever. It really is just for me so. Check out my Gardening Journal Pinterest Page for ideas (its where I got most of my ideas)

I have multiple varieties of tomatoes so it is helpful to keep record of what ones were planted and I imbellished with colored pencils and water colors.

A journal entry from a walk about the property. I used color pencils and water colors.

I glued the information side of the seed packet in the book and placed the
picture side in a 2"x3" ziploc baggie with the seeds. I used color pencils to draw the veggie & herb.

' 

My square foot garden plans... subject to change - thus it is in pencil

I added some stickers that I found as wall clings at the dollar store just for an imbelishment

You get the idea.

There are also some great apps and websites out there that I use too. Mostly for growing information, pest management, and companion planting info. 

My personal 3 favorite mobile apps right now are (by preference): 

Gardenate, 

From Seed to Spoon 

Gardenoid. 

My personal favorite websites for garden site planning are: 

Kitchen Garden Planner from Gardener's Supply Co

Smart Garden Planner

One of the things every gardener has to decide is how they will start their plants. From Seeds? Seedlings from a nursery? Transplants from a friend or Farmer's Market?

Personally I prefer to plant from seeds. I find I have a better variety available. Seed catalogs are a great way to start planning in the off season. There are a few out there that you can get for free in the mail if you request them. I usually request a catalog in December from Burpee, Seed Savers Exchange and Johnny's Selected Seeds and start ordering seeds in January and February. By March many of the varieties will be sold out. 

This year I started my seedlings out on April 1st which some may consider to be a few weeks late but because I live in zone 5b (aka the North) - and planting doesn't happen until Mid-May it has worked beautifully. We recently had a hard freeze and snow... IN MAY. Some of my friends planted 1-2 wks ago and I saw so many pictures of dead tomato plants... so sad. 

Tray 1 (of 3) - Seedling on April 24

May 14 Seedlings.
The tall ones on the left are already being
brought outside daily to harden off.

If you don't use all your seeds, SAVE THEM. You can use them next year. I have a fairly decent seed library of my own now. Yes you will lose a bit of germination each year but if you keep them indoors, dry and cool they are good for AT LEAST 5 years if not longer.

Flower  & Herb Seed Tin

Vegetable Seed Tin

Also if you are on a budget, ask around to see if anyone has any left over seeds that they aren't going to use. You will be suprised to see how many people are willing to share. Especially if you are willing to share some of the bounty that comes in. Many of my family members and close friends get to enjoy the canning goodness that results from these seeds, particulary at Christmas time! Those homemade gifts are always a big hit and people start to look forward to them. 

May 24 -Those tomato seedlings you saw in those previous pictures are now in the garden. There are currently 10 tomato plants in the ground, but there will be more going in as I am not done yet.

Where ever you are in your gardening journey, I hope you are enjoying it.