Ever since I can remember, my family has grown things – house plants, flowers, and even vegetable & herb gardens. For the last few years, I’ve wanted to start my own garden, but I was living the apartment life, sans space. I tried container herbs, but the lack of sunlight on my porch made that project a fail. Fast forward to now and hubby and I own a house (finally!) and I have all the space I need for a vegetable & herb garden.
On Earth Day 2010 (click for photos), hubby and I set up and planted our first garden following the Square Foot Gardening Approach and tips learned (click) from a presentation by Don of Instant Organic Garden.
I’m planning to maintain an organic garden, so I’m planning to use tips like using herbs and marigolds as natural pest deterrents.
Follow along as I maintain my garden journal online. You can also check out my garden-related posts by browsing my Garden category (click). Oh, and if you have any good gardening or garden journal tips for me, please send them my way via the Contact page (click).
Garden #1
I wanted to start 3 square foot gardens, but hubby suggested starting out small, so we started out with just one, which I think is a great idea. We can always add more! 🙂
Set-up Date: 4/22/10
Garden Layout:
Garden #1 Updates
box 2:
- planted marigolds 4/22/10
- planted 3 beet seeds 5/1/10
box 3:
- planted sweet green pepper seedling 4/22/10
box 4:
- planted cherry 100 tomato seedling 4/22/10
- added marigold as pest deterrent 5/1/10
- saw a green, baby tomato forming 5/6/10
- planted parsley as natural pest deterrent + to attract lady bugs 5/6/10
- moved marigold to box #12 5/6/10
box 5:
- not yet planted
box 6:
- not yet planted
box 7:
- planted sweet green pepper seedling 4/22/10
box 8:
- planted cherry 100 tomato seedling 4/22/10
- saw a green, baby tomato forming 5/6/10
- planted parsley as natural pest deterrent + to attract lady bugs 5/6/10
box 9:
- planted neon chard and a single marigold for natural pest deterrent 5/1/10
box 10:
- planted 9 tri-color bush bean seeds 5/1/10
- planted 4 beet seeds 5/1/10
- saw 4 bean seeds sprouting from the ground 5/6/10
- saw 3 beet seeds sprouting from the ground 5/6/10
box 11:
- planted sweet green pepper seedling 4/22/10
box 12:
- planted Mr. Stripey heirloom tomato seedling 4/22/10
- moved marigold to box #12 5/6/10
box 13:
- planted 3 marigolds as natural pest deterrent 4/22/10
- planted cilantro as herb and natural pest deterrent
- planted a couple beet seeds 5/1/10
box 14:
- planted red bell pepper seedling 5/1/10
box 15:
- planted cherry 100 tomato seedling 4/22/10
box 16:
- planted Mr. Stripey heirloom tomato seedling 4/22/10
- noticed a couple flower buds forming 5/6/10
Check back for more updates!!
Other Tomatoes
I ran out of space in the square foot garden for the tomatoes (since the seedlings came in 3 packs), so I planted 2 others in another area of my hard using the red clay soil that was there. I’m very curious to see how these turn out. *fingers crossed*
Mr. Stripey:
- planted seedling 4/22/10
- planted marigold next to plant for pest deterrent 5/1/10
Green Zebra:
- planted seedling with marigold next to seedling 5/1/10
I’m really hoping these guys survive the poor soil, rabbits, birds, and other pests!
Herb Garden
I have an area next to the house where the previous homeowner kept some herbs. The area doesn’t get much sun, but it’s location is perfect – very close to the house! Yay for easy access! I plan to add more and maintain the ones that were already existing. I also have some herbs in containers.
oregano:
- planted by previous homeowner
rosemary:
- planted by previous homeowner
purple basil (container):
- planted seedling in Mel’s Mix in a container 5/1/10
I’ve had lots of problems with pests (mostly bugs) in the past, so I’m really hoping these guys survive this time!
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Do you have a garden? Tell me about yours! Happy gardening!