Our organic square foot garden (pics) :)

[PurpleButterfly]

I have never gardened before, but have always wanted to grow my own organic produce. I read up on the Square Foot Garden website, then bought a frame kit at Lowes for $59 and built it by myself!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/Gentleoceanwind/2010%20Garden/6df11d8f.jpg

Next I lined the bottom with a recycled plastic bag mesh product to help keep weeds out:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/Gentleoceanwind/2010%20Garden/a38832fb.jpg

Filled with 1/3 each: Peat Moss, Vermiculite, and organic soil/compost blend. I also mixed in a big bag of nutrient-dense earthworm castings (aka poop!). Next I used bamboo sticks to visually define 12 seperate square foot planting areas. We started with a few plantlings but mostly organic seeds:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/Gentleoceanwind/2010%20Garden/403ca6fb.jpg

Three weeks later!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/Gentleoceanwind/2010%20Garden/f8f130f3.jpg

We are growing bibb lettuce, bush beans, zucchini, yellow summer squash, edamame, cukes, radishes, yellow bell peppers, cantelope, French lavendar, rosemary, cilantro, and marigolds for natural pest repellant. So far everything is growing very nicely!

I also have a pot of Roma tomatoes planted in organic soil/compost:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/Gentleoceanwind/2010%20Garden/2be2038c.jpg

And two strawberry pots which yield a few fresh berries for the kids to pick and enjoy every day:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/Gentleoceanwind/2010%20Garden/f75dc610.jpg

I never knew gardening would be so fun, and rewarding even this early in the game!

[Marrae]

I'm sure that there is work involved but that looks more like fun. :tu Great to have results so quick. :)

[MamaPepper]

That is AWESOME and totally inspiring!!! Oh, now *I* want to do one!!!!!

[Blue Savannah]

:hunh That is your THIS year's garden??


We planted some peas last weekend. They should come up pretty soon. :bag :haha


I'm AMAZED!! I keep bugging my dh to move to a warmer climate--these pictures are really going to get me nagging! ;)


Beautiful garden, mama!

[Blue-EyedLady]

Awesome! 3 weeks into the growing season, I had a couple of leaves - you've got fruit!

[erh384]

:rockon looks awesome. I'm a bit curious about lining the bottom of the raised bed... do the roots not go down lower than that? How high are the sides on the raised bed?

:hunh That is your THIS year's garden??
We planted some peas last weekend. They should come up pretty soon. :bag :haha


Our boat looks a lot like yours. (though I planted a lot of cool weather things early & we've had an exceptionally warm spring).

[Sihaya48]

That is gorgeous!

erh384- Our square foot beds have 6 inch sides and are on our deck. Instead of weed-blocking fabric, ours have plywood bottoms (with drainage holes). Nope, the roots don't go down lower. In fact, last year our carrots curved once they reached the bottom :D

[crunchymum]

:hunh That is your THIS year's garden??


We planted some peas last weekend. They should come up pretty soon. :bag :haha



:lol for real! People are talking about harvesting things, and I'm just all excited the cucumbers finally poked through the soil! They're an inch tall! :haha

beautiful garden. :heart that's tons of growth in only 3 weeks!

[PurpleButterfly]

Thanks ladies! :O It has been so exciting and I'm like a little kid running out to check for blossoms and growth every day. :D My edamame has half a dozen pods, the cantelope is flowering, squash is about to flower, radishes are showing red, and the bibb lettuce is thick enough to make a salad if I couldn't control myself. :lol

YIppee!!! :cool

[mollobe]

:jawdrop We did a square foot garden 2 summers ago and it NEVER looked that good! Once our seeds sprouted they never got real bushy and most of them scorched by the sun. :( And we spent like $200 for the whole set up. All we ever got from it was a little cilantro, a few green beans, some cherry tomatoes, and a freakishly small red bell pepper. I was very sad. :hissyfit Oh, and we planted zucchini next to the box which got HUGE with tons of blossoms, but never any fruit. :banghead

[PurpleButterfly]

:jawdrop We did a square foot garden 2 summers ago and it NEVER looked that good! Once our seeds sprouted they never got real bushy and most of them scorched by the sun. :( And we spent like $200 for the whole set up. All we ever got from it was a little cilantro, a few green beans, some cherry tomatoes, and a freakishly small red bell pepper. I was very sad. :hissyfit Oh, and we planted zucchini next to the box which got HUGE with tons of blossoms, but never any fruit. :banghead

:hugheart Aw, I'm so sorry mama. That would be incredibly discouraging. :bheart Do you still have the supplies? Maybe you could give it another try with some different variations? You may have done these things but I will mention them just in case...

I planted my garden on the side of our house that gets morning and lunchtime sun. By the hottest part of the day, the garden is out of direct sunlight. There is no shade ever over the garden but our house blocks direct afternoon sunlight.

I used the pricey Mel's Mix suggestion of 1/3 each peat moss, compost, and vermiculite. I bought the best of each one I could find, and went out of my way to find vermiculite vs pearlite which I read is not as good at moisture retention and keeping the soil light for growth success. The compost is supposed to be a blend of as many different types of composts as possible, so I used an organic soil w/compost blend and added another bag of organic compost blend (no soil) plus a big bag of earthworm poop/compost which I read was one of the best things you could give your garden.

I used only newly purchased organic seeds, and I followed the regional planting schedule suggestions (aka plant by color (http://www.mysquarefootgarden.net/color/)) for my state as well as pre-planned companion planting (http://www.mysquarefootgarden.net/companion-planting/) (plants that grow well next to each other) for every square.

I lined the garden with the weed-proofing material (haven't had a single weed btw) and planted marigolds and rosemary in the corners to help keep bugs away.

I only water with sun-warmed water. I fill a 5 gallon bucket and a large watering can every day and leave them next to the garden in the morning sun, then water in the afternoon/early evening when the water is nicely warmed so it doesn't shock the growing plants.

I am by all means no expert and like I said this is my first-ever garden, but I did do a lot of reading and research and those were the things that seemed to be most crucial to a successful sfg. HTH!

You're still in perfect timing for a nice summer garden, you should give it another try! :hug2:heart

[mollobe]

Thanks! I think the sun was the biggest culprit - the garden definitely got high noon sun (in TEXAS, too). :doh Can't do it this year - we're moving to MN next week, will be living with my parents until we find a house. Hopefully next year. :shrug3

[PurpleButterfly]

:hug2 Sounds like a much more exciting summer than watching a garden grow! :D And you can keep your gardening in mind as you house hunt! :D

[Blue-EyedLady]

People around here (Arizona) have problems with scorching, too. I'm finding that my "full-sun" plants are doing better with morning sun and afternoon shade than the other way around (I have pots that I can move around, so I've checked it both ways).

[StumblinMama]

Those Romas look beautiful! Our tomatoes are almost ready. We made 9 pints of pickles tonight from the first of our cucumbers :yum. I :heart raised beds!