My journey begins on an unseasonably cool and cloudy day. Looking back to when I first had the idea to have the garden, part of me didn't think I would actually go through with it. Nevertheless, here I am, materials and tools purchased, ready to prepare what will hopefully become a plentiful garden.
A quick bit of history...
We moved into our house in June of last year (2010), and one thing I said when we bought it was, "Hey, they have a raised flower bed, it would be cool to have a garden in there". Just as quickly as the thought popped in my head, it was gone. The remainder of the summer and fall passed, and the only work I accomplished in the garden was spraying Round-Up to kill weeds. There was a small tree stump in one corner of the bed, the dirt didn't look very appealing for growth, and there was a "stain" where the previous owners had dumped their charcoal from a BBQ grill.
In spite of all of that before me, I stand before the bed - cultivator in hand, garden soil ready to be spread - with hopes of creating a garden that will yield plentiful results.
I will documenting this journey with pictures and video as well, so watch below for a quick introduction.
I finally got started. I pulled the stump out with unbelievable ease after digging out around it. Turns out the stump was quite rotten and just fell apart. Next, I had my son help me get all of the rocks out of the bed. That only lasted a short time before he was cold and wanted to go back inside; no worries, I pressed on. After remove all of the big rocks I could see, I moved some of the dirt around with a rake looking for anything else buried in the dirt. I managed to find a hockey puck and a latch for a fence gate.
Then it was time for the fun part, the cultivating. Just a week prior, I purchased a Craftsman Convertible series trimmer along with an edger, blower, and cultivator. The motor on this puppy is a 29cc 4-stroke, and after my first attempt and using the trimmer, I need to control it a bit better (there are only a few bare spots). Anyway, I fired up the engine, got into position, and engaged the throttle. As the 4 blades began to spin, I set them down in the dirt. I was immediately 2 inches down and turning what I thought was compacted dirt into a soft mound of soil. It was a thing of beauty. A mere 15 minutes later, I had a nice soft bed of soil ready for planting. I should mention that I cultivated in a few cubic feet of Miracle Grow garden soil to provide some added nutrients.
Now it was time to plant the seeds. After dividing the bed into 4 sections, I dug my trenches for the seeds, put the seeds down, and then covered them up. In the bed, I planted okra, cucumber, zucchini, and squash. Between those vegetables I planted basil, dill, oregano, and parsley. Just like that, I had turned an ugly bit of dirt into a hopeful garden of herbs and vegetables.
Next, I filled two large pots with potting mix and planted the pre-grown banana and jalapeño peppers. I put one of each in 2 corners of the bed as a test for sun/water conditions.
Finally, I walked down the hill, dumped several bags of top soil on the ground behind the fence, and cultivated that with the existing soil. I dug my trenches, planted sweet corn, watermelon, and pumpkin, and covered it all up. My hopes are not as high for these, as I'm not confident there will be enough sunlight. This is the only place I'm willing to grow such vegetables, so it's all or nothing.
The only piece of the puzzle I am waiting on is the Topsy Turvy tomato and strawberry planters I ordered from Woot.com. They should arrive sometime in the next week. I will hang them from the deck above the garden.
So there you have it, my gardening adventure has officially begun.
I don't claim to be an expert, and I've already been told it's too early for some things, but I'm OK with that. In fact, I encourage comments and suggestions. I'd much rather learn from others mistakes than my own.
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