Planting the Garden

Yesterday we planted the garden. Depending on who you talk to we should be past the frost date for our zone. If we do get some chilly nights the raised beds make it pretty easy to cover with tarps and dowels.

We added compost from our compost system to the soil. Our kitchen scrap compost system consists of 3 rubber garbage cans with holes drilled in the bottom for drainage. We have one that we add to, one that is breaking down that we stir and add pond water to periodically, (the pond water has beneficial bacteria) and one with finished, sifted compost. I sift it through chicken wire to get any large chunks out. We also have a larger compost system by the barn for animal bedding, larger yard waste, and grass clippings. We made the containers out of wire fencing bent into cubes.

This year I am excited to try two new additions. We are growing soy beans, as Zach and I LOVE steamed edamame. We eat it when we go for sushi, and it's high in protein and fiber. We steam it in the microwave for 3 minutes and sprinkle with sea salt. Delicious!

The Garden consists of four raised beds like the one shown here. (We would like to triple that someday, sigh!) This year we are also growing a bed of flowers to dry. Hopefully this fall I can make some dried flower arrangements or wreaths. Last year I grew lavender and was able to dry enough to make this wreath.

Along with these, we planted the usual, zucchini, cucumber, tomato, (Romano, Grape, and an Heirloom mix), jalapeno, and red pepper. We also purchased a pumpkin plant. For 15 year I have tried to grow a pumpkin, and have never been successful. I don't think our yard gets enough sun to support a pumpkin plant. We always get these beautiful winding vines, and the beginning of a pumpkin, but it never gets any larger than a softball, and then rots off the vine. If anyone knows what's going on let me know. We're going to try it in a different area of the yard and see if that helps.