So, in March of this year I started my first ever vegetable garden. I've been thinking about doing this for several years but just never new how to start so this year I decided to jump right in. I did alot of research on gardening and in the end I decided to use Mel Bartholomew Square Foot Gardening method. I've never been very good at keeping things growing so we shall see how it turns out. I suppose one of two things will happen; either I will find out I love gardening and continue to do it or I'll find out I hate it and it's way too much work and this will be my last one.
The reason I want to grow a vegetable garden is because I really really don't like the quality of food from the grocery stores. Everything is bland and 'fake' by the time we buy it and I'm sure the nutritional value is at least half of what it's supposed to be. On the other hand it is also very convenient and since we live in a very busy world it's hard not to just go to the store and buy those apples or carrots. Probably cheaper too.
So, here is how my garden has progressed:
I bought these 4x4 square foot raised garden frames from Home Depot.
You'll notice on the left I bought poles (from walmart) for the green beans and on the right, a tomato cage (also from walmart).
The reason I want to grow a vegetable garden is because I really really don't like the quality of food from the grocery stores. Everything is bland and 'fake' by the time we buy it and I'm sure the nutritional value is at least half of what it's supposed to be. On the other hand it is also very convenient and since we live in a very busy world it's hard not to just go to the store and buy those apples or carrots. Probably cheaper too.
So, here is how my garden has progressed:
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| March 15, 2015 |
They slid together nicely so anyone can do it.
Supposedly a 4x4 raised garden can feed an individual for a year so technically I should have 4 beds, one for each person. However, since I've never done this before and don't know how it will turn out or if I will like it I decided to start smaller.
Then I put down a weed barrier which I also bought from Home Depot.
Then I filled each box with Mel's Special Gardening Soil.
It took 6 bags for each box. This was probably the hardest and most expensive part of getting started because no one sells this soil. You can order it online from Home Depot but their delivery charge was ridiculous. The bags cost about $7.00 each ($85.00 total) but the delivery charge was $95.00 which was more than the product itself and that was after I talked them down! So it ended up costing about $178.00...BUT! the thing about this type of gardening is you don't have to keep adding soil. Once it's in you just add a scoop or two of compost (I started a compost pile) into just that square whenever you pull up the old and plant something new. No need to start all over ...supposedly. We'll see.
The next step is to section the garden off in 1x1 square foot portions. Mel is insistent this should be done with wooden slats but I had a hard time finding the slats I needed. Twice I bought what I thought would work and twice they ended up falling just a bit short of the length I needed and on the second time I got frustrated and gave up and used string instead. Lots of people do this, he just likes it because it makes it look more like an official square foot garden but either way works.
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| March 15, 2015 |
Then I watered it down. This I had to do in layers according to Mel. Add 1/3 soil then water three times. Next I began putting the seed in. These I bought at Walmart, whatever was cheapest. I planted a bunch of stuff like radishes, lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, marigold, onions, peppers, green beans, etc. I tried to only plant stuff we actually eat. Those little posts sticking up are labels I made from the left over wood I bought to section the beds off that didn't work.
I did run into some trouble though, my cat decided this was a great litter box. After yelling at hime and running him off a couple of times he got the message and I haven't seen him in it again. (He's such a good cat). I hope he didn't ruin anything permanently. And my new puppy thought this looked like a great play/dig area. Same thing with her and so far she's doing good and staying out of it. Wish me luck with that!
So here is my garden after one month:
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| April 13, 2015 |
As a side note; I really don't like Walmart since the original owner died and his family took it over. (See the documentary The High Cost of Low Prices) They just aren't very ethical but, times are tough, I'm a single mom and I've gotta do what I've gotta do. Plus, since Walmart has pretty much closed everyone else down, our options are more and more limited.
