Preparing & Planting My First Bed (Pictorial)

Today was an exciting day and back-breaking day!

We planted:

* Radishes (Valentines Day Mix & Cherry Belle)
* Beets (Chiogga Guardsmark Striped Beets)
* Carrots (Purple Dragon Carrots & Golden Nantes)
* Swiss Chard (Fordhook Giant & Bright Lights)

Before:


Adding Organic Matter:


Incorporating Organic Matter:


My Friend Jon Watering The Finished Product:


Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard:


We also prepared, cultivated and enriched our first row with over 400 lbs of organic compost and humus. We found reeds and natural straw and used those to mulch the unused portion of our bed.

Instead of opting for a tiller, we decided to prepare the beds the ancient way: Using a hoe, spading fork and rake!

It worked out quite well I believe.

Hope you enjoy the flicks!,

- Josh

WOW - 400 pounds! That is amazing. And all the old-fashioned way.

I hope you had fun...and bet you sleep very well tonight.

It was fun!

But here's the scary part:

One down, four to go...

Yikes!

My general strategy is to put the smallest stuff at the south end of each row and the plant the tall stuff at the north end. I was thinking of intermixing peas, cukes and tomatoes at the end of every row on a trellis or fence of some kind. Does this sound like a good plan?

Also, my next chance to go out to the garden is on Wed., should I plant peas / beans when I'm out there?

Anything else you'd start from seed?

Thanks!,
Josh

We just planted cucumbers, beans, peas, lettuces, and radishes from seed, and transplanted some peppers and herbs. I'd recommend putting the peas out soon since most varieties do best in cooler weather.

Great. What about zucchini / squash?

I've never planted zucchini or squash, sorry. We'll be adding some tomatoes later this month and hopefully some fall/winter vegetables later in the season.

We did some planting this weekend and are trying out a couple of new things this year. We planted a couple of tomato plants, carrots, and peas as well as herbs. But this year we are trying out cauliflower, leeks and potatoes!

Watching the potato episode of Jamie at Home inspired me to try out the potatoes. I kept a couple of fingerling potatoes in the back of my pantry and just let them sprout. Then I planted 3 of them this past weekend. We'll see what happens!

viaChgo wrote:We did some planting this weekend and are trying out a couple of new things this year. We planted a couple of tomato plants, carrots, and peas as well as herbs. But this year we are trying out cauliflower, leeks and potatoes!

Watching the potato episode of Jamie at Home inspired me to try out the potatoes. I kept a couple of fingerling potatoes in the back of my pantry and just let them sprout. Then I planted 3 of them this past weekend. We'll see what happens!

I'm curious about the leeks. Did you start them from seed or transplant them?

I just bought a starter leek plant at Meinke garden center. It looked like it had about 12 tiny leek stalks come up. I figured that I had to break these apart a little bit, to give them more space in the garden. But the roots were thoroughly intertwined, so they all went in together. I'm curious how you are supposed to transplant these, or if I should thin them out as they develop.

Darren72 wrote:
I'm curious about the leeks. Did you start them from seed or transplant them?

I just bought a starter leek plant at Meinke garden center. It looked like it had about 12 tiny leek stalks come up. I figured that I had to break these apart a little bit, to give them more space in the garden. But the roots were thoroughly intertwined, so they all went in together. I'm curious how you are supposed to transplant these, or if I should thin them out as they develop.

I bought a starter plant as well. There were about 10-12 tiny individual leeks in my starter pot. The roots were not intertwined like yours. So I planted each of then a few inches apart. I'll keep an eye on them to see if they need to be thinned.

I got my plants at Gethsemane in Andersonville.

Lofty, check out the thread where I listed the time tables for planting. That will tell you exactly when to plant anything you have in mind.

Beans will not do well in cold weather - it had been nice, but it easily could get cold! It's even potentially early for peppers as they do not grow well in cold, either. Sometimes if you plant this early, you're fine. Other times? You regret it unless you have a way of covering the crop for frost or freeze warnings.

Squash isn't hard at all to grow, so I'd go for it, but I'd consult the chart first. If I remember correctly, things like like warm weather - beans, squash, tomatoes, etc. - should be planted about ten to fifteen days AFTER the frost free date.

Check out this post or this post for links that provide more info.

Yup, it's WAY too early to think about putting tomatoes or peppers out, or direct sowing beans or squash. Don't be fooled by this warm spell! Rushing these things is potentially ruinous, as the growth of peppers and tomatoes can be severely and irreparably retarded - and the bean/squash seed could just rot in the cold, soggy ground. Lord knows I've had that happen with melon seeds. ARRRGH.

Wait until the end of the month. It's best, believe me.

sundevilpeg wrote:Yup, it's WAY too early to think about putting tomatoes or peppers out, or direct sowing beans or squash. Don't be fooled by this warm spell! Rushing these things is potentially ruinous, as the growth of peppers and tomatoes can be severely and irreparably retarded - and the bean/squash seed could just rot in the cold, soggy ground. Lord knows I've had that happen with melon seeds. ARRRGH.

Wait until the end of the month. It's best, believe me.

You're probably right about the beans...but I planted them anyway a few weeks ago. I had a bunch of seeds from last year, so I figured I might as well put them in, and I may lose a bunch, but I'll just put in some more seeds after 5/15.