Our New Vegetable Garden Part 1

I have always worked in greenhouses and garden centers. It was my job to help take care of the lovely flowers, fresh vegetable plants and gorgeous trees. But when it comes to my yard that is a different story. I would guess my neighbors think I lie about my profession. Last year my husband got a new job and we decided to give me the summer off. I work at the garden center one day a week because i still love what i do. but this summer is for the family.

So the first thing i wanted to do is plant a vegetable garden. Since our yard is full of acid from the evergreens and roots from the maple trees digging in our soil would be allot of work. And with raised beds being all the craze i jumped on board.

Looks shady now, but it is very early in the morning. It will have full south and west sun exposure after 10:00 am.

Cam helping grandpa.

 Grandpa working, Cam being a ham.

Back to work.

 My dad helped me get the lumber and put it together. Now to drag it around and see where the best place is. I used untreated 2" x 10" x 12' long. I decided against the treated lumber since there is no clear answer if its toxic or not. Really depends on where it comes from. Since our garden is to eat healthy and get away from all the chemicals it just made sense. I know the wood will eventually rot but that could take 10 years, and I hope to be out in the country by then.

I built the garden before I know what to put in it. I knew I had a limited space and if I built it on what I wanted to plant then the kids would have no yard left. So with the help of my daughter Jorja (7) and my son Cam (3) we picked out our seed. In the small bed it will be sweet corn, squash and radishes. The squash will take over the space when the radishes are picked, and it can vine around the sweet corn. The large bed will only have 2 tomato plants (since they are at every booth at the farmers market), couple peppers, lots of different lettuce, kale, and cabbage (we eat alot of salad), 3 kinds of carrots for Jorja, onions, garlic and shallots.

I used a 50/50 top soil and compost. I wanted to add some chicken doo doo from my moms farm but I knew if I did my dog would be in it every minute. So I'm going to rely on the compost for this summer.

Now to wait for the warm weather so we can plant!