How does your garden grow?

Many mentions have been made of life being busy. Well here is a bit to show for it.

Produce from our own back yard!!

 Yes, we can grow Broccoli. I know I had no clue of that till this year. This was our first attempt and it was all made possible by this great new plan for our garden...Beware, long rambling garden post is about to commence in 5..4...3...
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I have been head over heels in love with our garden this year. I mean, I have wanted to be out there. I look forward to the hour a day or more spent just puttering around. I will work out there when the sun is beating down full force without complaint.How could I not when the before looks like this.

All organized and clean.

And the current looks like this!!

Yikes I love it! I feel like I have a bit of a garden forest started out there.

So let me introduce you to each section of my garden. (I am so proud of how it grows).

Before...oh yeah before I go to far along I just want to share how this plan has made the Broccoli attempt possible. I am convinced that I have anywhere from two to three times more planting space then in the past. I could have most likely planted my garden this densely before but with a few set backs.

1: our dirt packs so hard that weeding and hoeing is a real B... (I know I should not even imply a swear but that is how much I hated hoeing.) Now I can reach over these lovely squares and just gently tug out the offending little plant and send it flying into the path.  (the reason nothing gets too packed is because I am never walking on the dirt next to my plants and the dirt mixed in the boxes is mostly compost and peat moss, super fluffy growing stuffs)

2: Planting this tightly without the grid and the raised bed would have made it more difficult to keep track of where everything was when first planted.


3: and this is one of my favorites, Suzie can spend any amount of time in the garden and know that she is not getting into the Plants and hurting them. She is very concerned that it all grows well and she can keep track just as well as I can of how it is doing.


Currently. I have got four squares of lettuce, four of spinach though one did not grow for some reason. 16 pepper plants. 7 tomatoes plants, One was taken by a cut worm. 4 cucs and two squares full of edible pod peas. This is plot number one.






Oh yeah, and three zinnias. These I planted early and then moved so one did not make it in the beginning of the season.

Plot number 2, Before (they are numbered by the distance from the house.)



Currently, Here you will find. 4 more squares of lettuce planted a few weeks later than the first plot. 4 more squares of spinach the same. 4 squares of Fennel (no I have not grown this before, I do not know what to expect). Six Broccoli plants on the left and six cauliflower on the right. 12 squares with carrots and 12 with beans in the back.



Did you know that when you cut of the first fully formed bunch of broccoli more little guys start up, You are supposed to be able to get a few harvests out of one plant. Again something I didn't know.




Fennel up close. We'll see.

From the back of plot number two looking out to where Jade spends most of her time while I work in the garden



Anywhere but in. She is not as big on the leaving the plants alone so they can grow aspect of the garden.

Plot Number 3 - before



Currently, Here I have one more cuc off to the right. 12 squares with onions, two pansies for some color, 8 squares with beets, two more zinnias, four muskmelon or cantaloupe, and four butter nut squash. Also a whole bunch of empty squares cause I was not used to this much space. Will probably plant more lettuce in a few weeks.


From the back side of Plot number 3.


Cantaloupe flowers. Come On Little Buddy, You can do it.


Ah yes, the mud days. She came in after this little session of play and was very upset that her boots were dirty. I am still working so very hard on getting her to understand that if you play in dirt, most likely you will get dirty. We're getting there.

Last but not least is Suzies plot. Hers has no number cause it is her very own. She directed the where the plants should be and she planted all the carrots herself. So in the back you will have carrots on the left and a pansies with two pepper plants on the right. In the front row you will have the exact reverse.

And that is how our garden grows.

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Here are two strips of dirt that "grow" some of the best things of all. Childhood memories.

I was not sure how I would feel about having my grass pounded out by swinging feet. I have discovered these two patches of dirt are the best thing that have happened to my lawn.


One more cuc cause I had him and he needed a place to go.


The girls decided to offer to mow the lawn, I was grateful for the offer but alas it was a bit late. I had just finished and also run out of gas.

Jade points out the on/off switch, Suzie keeps a close watch to be sure she is getting it right.

P.S. If you actually read all that stuff about the garden and want to know where the idea came from I will set you up with a few links. She introduced us to the book that is all about square foot gardening.