The raised bed boxes are officially underway, with 12 lettuce seeds planted. Here is the layout to my garden (you can click on the image and it will come up much larger).
Katie came up with a great idea for dividing the beds into 16 blocks - I nailed 3 small nails on each side, and ran nylon strings across the bed. If the strings get destroyed after a year - big deal, tie a new one on.
Some sadder news - the bell peppers have not sprouted, and it has been 15 days. The typical germination time is 10-14 days, though. I think that it is just a bit too cold, so I moved the seed pots to the top of the fridge. Previously I didn't think this would work, because I measured the top of the fridge, and it was just as cold as the room temp. Today I found out, though, that the back of the fridge is a tad warmer.
(There sure is a lot to update...)
We're still not out of the winter yet, by any means, but at least it's above freezing for a few days. I need to get the new Red Oak trees moved to the back yard (temporarily of course) and there's likely more to do in the garden.
If you have any recommendations for the garden layout, let me know. Since this is my first year growing anything, I'm not sure how big things are going to get, and I'm not sure how much shade is going to be created by nearby plants.
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ReplyDeleteMelons need a lot of room and if you bought heirloom seeds you may have to plant more than one plant of certain things (such as with melons and some tomatoes) in order to produce fruit.
ReplyDeleteThumbs up on the potatoes! They are so easy to harvest in raised beds, just take care as to not let the "tubers" be exposed to sunlight other wise they will "green".
The first year learning experience will be just as enjoyable and valuable as the produce you grow. Enjoy it and good luck!
Thanks! I was told that about the melons, from someone else, as well. I'm not sure what to do there...I think since I have the melons on the outer edge of the trellis, I will add on something for the melons to "sprawl out on." Hopefully that will work, lol.
ReplyDeleteKeep the faith with your peppers - I found last year (and this year so far too) that it took much longer than 14 days for them to sprout. They need very warm soil to germinate, but they will eventually, so keep them in the warmest spot you can find, keep them moist, and wait. You can also try covering them with some plastic wrap or similar to produce a mini greenhouse - just be sure to take it off when they sprout.
ReplyDeleteYour beds look great! The only things I'd suggest are - move the onions to the other bed (swap them with something else) because they are an antagonist plant to beans and peas. Also, I tried growing cowpeas last summer and I can tell you that they come on very late, and you only get a tiny handful of peas per pod, so you'll need to get A LOT of pods to equate to an amount worth eating (we should have planted more, and fed them more). I'm the laziest plant feeder ever - don't be like me. :) You'll get a lot more yield if you feed regularly!
Just looked at your plan again - I'd swap the onions and cowpeas so that the two onion blocks are together, and all the cowpeas and beans are together in the first bed. That would solve the problem.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tara - when you say "feed" the plants, do you mean compost and/or fertilizer?
ReplyDeleteYes, either or both - they'll use up the available nutrients in the soil as the growing season goes on (especially true in raised beds), so you'll need to resupply those somehow. You can use compost, fish/seaweed emulsion, organic fertilizers if you feel comfortable with them, etc. The buried fish head idea would serve the same purpose. Your potatoes shouldn't need much extra feeding, but everything else most likely will.
ReplyDeleteI have LOTS of "free" seaweed and fish :)
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