Our garden is coming along. We’ve had a few stops and starts, but things are growing in spite of us. We’ve harvested a few onions and one radish. The radish really wasn’t big enough. I’ll leave the other ones alone a while longer.
I had some trouble with seed starting, but learned some things the first time around and had a more successful run the second time. I went ahead and bought some tomato and pepper transplants as a back-up, and not surprisingly, the transplants are coming along well. We recently added some strawberry plants in a galvanized tub container. Here’s a view from the other end of the garden area.
We added a raspberry bush that a neighbor gave us and a knock-out rose to the outside of the garden fence. You can see the raspberry bush to the right of the composters and wooden barrel in the photo below.
Fortunately, I have my garden helpers. The girls are really enjoying planting seeds and watching things grow. So far, the project has been meeting its intended purpose: to make us more aware of how things grow and where our food comes from. Getting to eat really good-tasting produce will be a welcome bonus.
How are your garden projects coming along? I’d love to hear about them in the comments.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Looks great! Must be nice to have those helpers!
Our garden is in transition at the moment. We have germination issues with the green beans, zucchini and yellow squash. Tomato plants are booming, eggplant are doing nothing except getting eaten by bugs. We have enough lettuce to feed the neighborhood!
It was like this last year, so we aren’t worried. Nature has a way of working things out.
Great job with your garden — can’t wait to read more about it!
@ MWG Thanks! It’s encouraging to read that nature has a way of working things out.
To the rest of the readers, please check out http://www.Meadowwood Garden.com when you have a chance. There’s lots of good stuff over there.
Hi Beth, I think it’s great that you’re growing your own food and it looks like you have a great system in place! I can’t wait to try growing some of my own food in a year or two when we move.
@Vin — Thanks. It’s really been fun and we haven’t even harvested much of anything yet. I’m excited about being able to eat organic produce (especially bell peppers, which cost a fortune in my area) essentially for free.
Although our yard is an acre and a half, much of it is too shady for a garden. What’s great about this set up is our whole garden takes up an area that is only 12 ft x 22 ft.
Beth,
Your garden looks amazing! I’m so impressed with your raised beds.
I’m growing peppers as well, but they’re coming up really slow. This is my first year growing them, and they’re by far my smallest plant right now. Not sure what I’m doing wrong…but my tomatoes, at least, are growing really tall already!
@Heather — Peppers are tricky to grow because they are MUCH less tolerant to cold than tomatoes are. Ours always start slow too, so you probably are doing just fine with them — once they get comfortable they should start a growth spurt.
In the future you can try putting the peppers out a week or two later than the rest of your plants and see if that makes any difference at all. Sometimes the soil is a bit cool for them at the beginning and we think the cool soil coupled with some cool nights might be the culprit.
Good luck with your garden!
Meadowwood Garden,
Thanks so much for the advice! I’m growing my peppers in a container, and we’ve definitely had some cool nights here in Michigan.
It’s good to know that I haven’t ruined them. I really appreciate the information!
Thanks, Heather! Our peppers are a little wimpy as well. The tomatoes and bush beans are doing the best, by far.
Have fun with your garden! I’d love to hear updates as the season progresses.
Excellent work on this garden article. It makes for an interesting and easy read.
Gardener´s last blog ..Seed shortage ?