My two little gardens have been planted, and I’m happy to report that things are growing.
After having moderate success with my first square foot gardening attempt, I decided to double my garden area. We added a second 4×4 tired garden plot and I got everything planted before Memorial Day.
I had every intention of starting plants from seeds, but the time got away from me. Or rather, I thought it would. Turns out we’ve had a pretty cool summer so far, and I probably had more time than I thought to plant seeds. I did plant carrots from seeds, and they’re just starting to poke their way up.
I bought my plants on a day one of my local greenhouses was offering everything for 20 percent off. Here’s what I’ve planted:
- Bush Beans
- Pole Beans
- Tomatoes
- Carrots
- Basil
- Green Peppers
- Broccoli
I have no experience growing beans of any kind whatsoever, so I decided to try both bush and pole beans to see what I liked more. My pole beans are just starting to climb my stakes. I love how their little tendrils wind around things. I’m hoping that where I put them isn’t too crowded. We shall see.
This is my first attempt with basil, too, so I can’t tell if it’s grown much, but it’s still alive, so I count that as a victory.
I had pretty good success with broccoli last year and so far, this year’s batch is healthy and looking good.
My green peppers are alive, but I’m not counting on any green peppers. Two things are affecting their growth – the cool weather and the fact that I forgot not to plant them toward the back of the garden. They’re getting overshadowed by my broccoli.
My tomatoes look pretty healthy and I already have a few flowers.
I think I planted my carrots a little too deep in the soil. It’s taken awhile for them to start popping up… and I keep looking at their spot and wondering “Carrot or weed?” I’m just going to have to be a little patient as I wait for them to grow.
I resisted the urge to plant zucchini this year since my neighbors (my parents) planted a bunch, and I’m still swimming in zucchini from last year. If my parents don’t share some of their bounty, I know that someone will be trying to unload some… or worst case scenario, I can buy it for pretty cheap later this summer.
My dear friend Ellie also brought me hostas from her house so that I could finally add something to front of my house. This is a major accomplishment since I’ve been promising to plant something there since we moved in 6 years ago. They survived their transplant, although something has been nibbling on them (probably our neighborhood bunny). I think in another summer or two, these hostas are going to fill in my front bed nicely.
The hostas have gotten me thinking more about flowers. My budget this year is pretty tight, so I stuck to the practical vegetable garden. But I do love having some color around. A lot of things are starting to go on sale, so I may have to plant a pot or two of flowers just to brighten things up.
This is another year that hasn’t been all that frugal for gardening, but most of what I’ve purchased has been an investment for future years.
- Garden bed: $95 (paid for with Swagbucks, so no actual money spent out of pocket)
- Garden dirt: $65
- Plants and seeds: $23.25
- Stakes and supports: $38
I’ve never had much of a green thumb, so watching my two little garden plots grow has been a lot of fun for me. I can’t wait until I can actually start harvesting!
How is your garden growing? What have you learned so far?
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
We planted pole beans last year…..by accident….and I think they were jack-in-the-beanstalk beans. By the time they were done, they needed a wooden support system eight feet high, and you couldn’t reach the center. Husband is not allowed to purchase seeds anymore.
Carrots take a long time to come up. They are the last to show.
Good luck….if we get some sunshine now, the gardens will be happy.
Looks good! My big garden of vining vegetables is doing well and new strawberry patch is looking good. Pots are looking good too. Kids raised bed by the house is thriving. My new raised beds with tomatoes & peppers are not fairing too well as they are trying to recover from being bunny snacks (before I caged it).
I am proud of us. We usually kill anything green and our tomato plants have tomatoes and we are waiting for them to ripen.
This all looks promising, congratulations! I think the term “green thumb” should be eliminated from the English vocabulary, IMO, there is no such thing, only experienced gardeners! I spent the winter reading gardening books (like The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible: Discover Ed’s High-Yield W-O-R-D System for All North American Gardening Regions) and it helped me make the right choices during spring time. A great tip for your peppers: create a mini greenhouse by cutting the bottom of an old jug to help your seedlings get toasty if it’s too cold out. Makes a huge difference!
Pinch off the top of your basil stems. It will branch out and be much fuller. It loves a good pinching off occasionally to keep it growing bigger and bigger. Also don’t water from the top. The leaves don’t like to be kept wet. My basil grows amazingly well with little care except the pinching off of the new leaves. And occasional organic additions to soil. (Top dress of compost or worm castings)
I think you peppers and tomatoes could use a little Epsom salts. I just put a spoon full at the base of each plant and water it in . You can also find directions on the web to mix in a spray bottle and spray the peppers to help them set blooms. Just seems to be something they need in MN.
@Jeanine – I’m a little worried I may not have given my pole beans enough room. I guess we shall see!
@MomofTwo – glad your plantings are going well!
@Jay – Excellent news! It feels so great to grow your own food!
@Estelle – Thanks for the tip about making a mini greenhouse for my peppers! I need to try that next year!
@Linda B – Thanks for the tip about the Basil – would never have thought to do that on my own!
@Cherie – I’ve never heard of using Epsom salts before…. how often do you do that? Just once?
I totally agree with you on this! I’ve never had much of a green thumb either but with the price of produce we decided to give it a try. We planted in late April and early May. We have 4 topsy turvy’s. We have cucumbers, strawberries, green red and orange bell peppers, jalapenos, sweet banana peppers and habaneros (those were my husbands idea lol). For the most part, so far so good. We’ve had several strawberries and they were by far the best strawberries I have ever tasted! It’s such an accomplishment. Yours looks great so far! Good Luck!
I put the Epsom Salts in the planting hole when I put the plant in and then around the plant after about a month and then maybe later if I remember. I spray the peppers when they get blooms.
There is lots of info on the web on the subject. I just do what my mother did.
What made me think that your plants needed some was the lighter green leaves at the top. I think the underside of the leaves may show purple veining if they need magnesium (Epsom Salts) also.
Thanks for explaining it a bit more, Cherie! I will try it!