The spot: We decided on the back left corner next to the fence so we could keep the grass in on large area. And it would connect with the cement pad in the back right corner.
Step 1: Dig up the plot
Ste 2: Realize that old tree has HUGE roots
Step 3: Press on
March 17th: After 2 weeks of breaking the ground we were finally mixing in the Potting Mix
Step 4: Realize our soild STINKS! Not literally but it had alot of surprises. Shards of metal, glass, bottles caps, pennies, conrete slabs and other surprises.
Left: Just a small portion of what came out. Some roots were about double the diameter of my arm and the concrete was the size of a large serving dish weighing about 15 lbs. Right: You can ses the hard dry clay from our yard compared to the fresh loose rich potting soil.
Step 6: Add 8 bags of soil & grid it off
Step 7: Plant those seeds!
March 21st: Started seedlings
March 27th: Sprouts after 1 week ; Compost: We used 8 bags and got them for $2.50/bag on clearance!
April 10th: We had also planted some peas but they just didn't make it past small sprouts. They were getting eaten all the time by the birds since we didn't have any netting up yet. So by May we ripped them out to make way for all our other plants and seedlings that needed to go in before the months end. (note: see the overall rough texture and rocky state of the ground?)
May 5th: Putting up our grid marks
May 16th: Small sprouts coming up in the far left squares
May 20th: Lettuce and radishes starting to sprout on far left along with marigolds on front border of garaden to keep out any little bugs etc.
June 17th: Everything growing well. By this time we harvested the lettuce daily and some radishes
July 8th -12th: Here are some of the fruits of our labor. We had an ample supply of yellow squash and some cucumbers on occasion. Our zucchini cross pollinated withe the yellows and prevented them from producing.
Overall this garden was a lot of physical labor given the condition of our soil. But we pushed on and with good results. I wouldn't say it was a failure by any means but there is room for a lot of improvement. But our winter crop will be better, I hope, now that we've learned a few things. And next spring, well we'll be prepared to rock it!! I can only imagine how much better gardening would be with a less dense soil. And considering I could barely keep a house plant alive for a few weeks I think this is all pretty remarkable to begin with. As soon as I charge my camera I'll take another photo of the garden as is today. Since this last photo we pulled out our squash plants to make way for the growth of our peppers and tomatoes. More on that latter.
Gardening is a lot of work and wow your soil is rough! I got a late start on ours, but so far we've gotten a few tomatoes and some little eggplant. Our basil is awesome and I have orange and red peppers I'm waiting to turn color. Our lettuce has started to sprout along with our kale. Good job you guys - and good work with posting. I need to get on that :)
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