Saturday, May 01, 2010

Glorious Backyard Garden

We planted some of the garden today. Evan built me two new beds this year. We put up fence to keep the kids out. They're worse than bunnies! Crossing my fingers the frost is gone for good.

Yet to come: basil, parsley, cilantro, thyme, lemongrass, mint, bell peppers, romaine, kale. This is what we planted today:

Mesclun lettuce mix, swiss chard, pole beans, carrots, spinach, beets, carrots. *Not pictured - brussel sprouts, roma tomato, cherry tomato

View from the side door.

Top bed is carrots and beets, middle bed is greens, closest bed is tomatoes and will include most of the herbs.

Pole beans along the fence, brussel sprouts in the bed (I slightly crowded them...), peppers will be in the bed, lemongrass in the big green pot.

15 comments:

Neisha said...

wow, quite a variety. can you put plants closer together in raised beds?

Andrea said...

Nice. How do you get into the garden? If you're looking for an alternative to mulch around the beds, Elfin Creeping Thyme, is a great groundcover plant... you can step on it, don't have to mow it, and it's dense enough to keeps weeds down.

Shannon said...

great idea, andrea. we had some of that a few years back...and then ripped it out and planted sod. we're very indecisive! i'm hoping the beds work and are here to stay. well, i planted before evan put the fence up. and he made it so that i can pull the end off easily...and then stand in it. not the most convenient...but it'll work.

neisha - not sure!

Gwen said...

wooohooo way to go Evan...
how far did the good farm dirt go???:(

Shannon said...

we had to get one little dump from the nursery to fill the beds up.

Cheri said...

weee!! Hoping to get a bunch more stuff in my garden this week..and a few containers planted!

Anonymous said...

Love this garden look, Shannon. I had questions but I read the comments and see that most have been answered! I'm thinking I'm going to have to replant my garden... too dry early on and a couple of late frosts. :(

Mindy said...

how exciting. we have a lot of the same things. i started some things from seed in the house & i'm not sure how big they need to be before transplanting, so that's where i'm stuck. i have tons of sage, oregano & chives i could have given you. i would have brought them today if i knew....

Anita said...

Yay! Was talking to Mom tonight and they got a bunch of stuff in, too. A little more to do yet. I love gardens! Yours look good! And can totally understand the kids' fascination with it... nice solution!

Andrea said...

http://www.squarefootgardening.com/

I got this guy's book from the library and eventually bought my own copy. He's kind of a nutcase (if that's not obvious), but the squares really do help visualize what to plant where and how far apart. He also has a few suggestions for ways to get 2 crops out of the same space in a year.

Shaama said...

WOW! That's an awesome garden! I'm jealous!! We need some land :) You will have so much fun this summer!!!

Jenny said...

My goodness! I have an entire garden and two (soon to be three) raised beds and I still can't seem to find enough room to plant everything I'd like to. I can't wait to see your gardens grow! Let us know how it goes.
P.S. Can I plant that elfin creeping thyme in a regular garden? Will it choke out any plants?

Andrea said...

Jenny... creeping thyme is pretty slow growing, so it won't choke anything out. I have it under my perennials, around paving stones, along raised beds, etc. I like it because it's so compact and tidy. You have to buy lots of little plants to get a good carpet because it is so slow growing though. I think I found a flat of it at Menards last year. It wintered over really well also. The only thing I'm unsure about yet is how many bees it will attract when it flowers. Hopefully not too many.

Ethel said...

mmmm! that is going to be some good eating! we just planted our gardens tonight..perfect night for it , too. not as much variety as you but i'm/we're excited! love how you're utilizing your space!!

Mindy said...

i'm addicted to steig larsson's books now. i'm number 109 for "the girl who kicked the hornet's nest". i don't think i can wait that long!!