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Garden Time!

For as long as I can remember I have wanted to have a vegetable garden. Everywhere I have lived in my adult life has been less than ideal for a garden. Until now. I have a perfect space in my backyard that was used successfully before me.

Since I moved in in February, I have been trying to plan this whole thing out. I decided that my first step would be building a compost bin. I put one together with four extra pallets from some friends in February. Since then I have been adding a lot of kitchen scraps (coffee grounds, scrap fruit and vegetables, and egg shells mostly), fallen leaves, and miscellaneous yard waste. Whenever it rains, I can be found outside gathering worms from my driveway and the street to add. Finally, I added a little organic bloodmeal for a nitrogen boost. The composting has been a success thus far. Once I get some plants in the ground I will add some of the compost to the garden for a nutrient rich soil mix.

The space was originally set up around 16′ x 12′. I cut that down to about 12′ x 12′ this morning but may expand it next year. I don’t want to start with something that is too big for my first growing season. The other four feet are pretty shaded, and I don’t feel like cutting back the branches from my neighbor’s tree quite yet. I should probably say ‘hi’ first anyway.

In my original sketches I had 12 different varieties of plants. I have since decided that it will be a lot smarter to start with about half that number. I am now planning on planting tomatoes, peppers (hot, sweet, and bell), cucumbers, and zucchini. I haven’t decided if I will plant green beans or eggplant yet, but I would say the beans have a better shot.

I welcome any tips anyone could share. As I mentioned, this will be my first attempt at growing any vegetables myself. I eat a lot of produce during the summer and fall, so I am really looking forward enjoying something I will labor over all season.

Tags: compost, composting, cucumbers, Garden, green beans, organic, peppers, tomatoes, vegetables, zucchini