Adventures in Gardening Part 8 ~ Let’s Plant!

Well, with the box all finished and now a trellis built all that is left to do is… PLANT!!!

But first a bit of planning was required and l should not be overly eager lest in my haste, I may find myself disappointed at the results.  So I spent a good hour or more sitting on the bench next to my garden drawing plans, reading seed packets, and contemplating the arrangement and combination of all the things I will be planting…

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It was beautiful sunny day and while I sat there soaking up the vitamin D, the lovely fragrance of my mom’s lilacs kept me company.  I L♥VE lilacs so much!

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After I came up with a general idea of where I wanted to place each plant that I would be growing, I decided the first thing I wanted to do with the actual bed was to break it down into sections to help me visualize things better.  I laid down some of that leftover lath to make a sort of grid. Each of the sections are roughly 2 x 2.  I don’t know if this is a normal thing to do or not, but I guess it’s how my brain operates best.  😉

Once I finish the majority of the planting I’ll pull these up…

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I always consider May 10th or so our last average frost date so I knew that according to the calender it would be time/safe to plant broccoli, spinach and peas this week.  So now it was finally time to plant something!  YAY!

You might not be able to tell by this photo, but look at how small these broccoli seeds are…

I’ve never really had much luck growing broccoli in the past, but I love eating it so much and wanted to give it another try.

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Next it was onto planting some spinach.  Yeah, Popsicle stick type stakes with the plant name written in black marker ~ not real fancy, but I’ll just be pulling these up once the plants start growing and toss them anyway, so I thought it best not to go to any great expense.  Believe me there are some pretty snazzy looking plant markers out there ~ aesthetically pleasing, yes, but in my budget this year, no…

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Gave my new little plantings a good mist of water, now the rest is up to them…

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I’ve been reading a lot about companion planting.  It’s all about growing certain things together that benefit each of them.  Spinach likes to grow near the cabbage family so I made the broccoli and spinach neighbors.  🙂

There are also certain “allies” plants have too, so I will be trying to leave open areas throughout the bed for planting some herbs and annuals that promote the health of the main vegetables that I’m growing.

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I am growing my peas in a separate pot outside of my main garden box.  I never remember reading before that peas need to be soaked for 12-24 hours prior to planting, but that is what the packet said, so I couldn’t plant my peas today.  😦  I did however get the pot ready and plan to pop them bad boys in tomorrow…

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Adventures in Gardening Part 7 ~ Trellis Time

Me and my sis built a little A-frame trellis today to put inside my garden box for my cucumbers to climb on.  I had seen a design for a similar type one in the Gardener’s Supply Co. catalog and liked the idea, so using some leftover lath we had from building the box, we came up with our own version.  It’s nothing fancy and it may fall apart after a few years of use, but it was so simple to make.  And because I was with my sis ~ it was fun too.  🙂

We needed to cut 2 of the pieces of lath to the length that I wanted them, but the only saw we had was a hacksaw that I found in my mom’s basement.  So even though I know it’s not the right tool, it still did the trick.

Turns out I’m pretty good at sawing in a straight line.  😉

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I picked up some 2 x 3 garden fencing at Fleet Farm and then had fun using my staple gun again…

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The only staples we had on hand were 1/4″, so they weren’t quite deep enough to clear the wire and embed far enough into the lath.  So I needed to hammer some of them in.

But I was kinda in the mood to pound things so it was fine by me…

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Here it is all finished and sitting inside the box…

Because my garden box is only 4 x 8 and I need to conserve as much space as possible, I only made the trellis 2 feet wide.  I placed it at the northeastern end so that as the vines grow and fill out, they won’t shade the other plants growing.  I may plant a few lettuces underneath it though because they don’t like as much heat and sun.  I just really love the idea of this design that will allow the cucumbers to hang down through the middle ~ makes for easier harvesting.  🙂

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When we finished, my sis decided to load me down with a bunch of tools (including a pair of dorky safety glasses) and take a picture of me with them all.

Pick a tool, any tool…

Ah geez what a goof!

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But then I needed her to be in a photo with me too!  Along with her circular saw ~ that she wielded so well!

My partner in crime (and gardening adventures)…

… and bestest friend in the whole wide world.  ♥

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