Monday, May 2, 2011

My first garden

My friend Ryan decided to start a garden. He has a nice-sized backyard and built four four-by-four feet boxes to contain the beds. He asked myself and another friend to share this communal garden. None of us have gardening experience, but were guided by a gardening book and an experienced gardener and friend.

Both mornings last weekend were spent shopping for vegetables and herbs at the farmers market. Romaine lettuce, mixed greens, kale, swiss chard, cabbage, cucumbers, pole beans, cherry tomatoes, squash, cantaloupe, peppers, and several varieties of flowers and herbs were purchased.
We planned out which plants would go into each of the four-by-four boxes, according to how much space each plant needed and what made sense together (greens and lettuces were planted together). We decided to designate a box to herbs and to sprinkle some flowers throughout each box. We intend on building stakes soon, so the tomatoes and pole beans can grow vertically.


It was amazing to spend most of the weekend outside with my hands in the soil instead of inside on the computer. I'm looking forward to that more often as the garden will definitely require work. Hopefully this is successful and I'll eat most of my vegetables and herbs this summer from the garden! I think I'm most excited about the cucumbers and Sungold tomatoes.

Now I guess we just water and pray these plants grow. Do any of you have a garden? Any tips and tricks for first-timers? Hope your weekend was great!

8 comments:

Unknown said...

yay! how exciting! wish i had space for a garden :( stupid new york apartments

Ashley Stuart said...

Looks great! I will probably be asking for advice soon!

Unknown said...

Nicole, maybe a vertical or rooftop garden?!

Ask away, Ashley! Definitely learning as we go :)

jen said...

i love having a garden! never really have any problems until the bugs discover everything - but this isn't usually a problem until the second year into a location. at least, that's what my experience has always been.

oh, a good resource is www.yougrowgirl.com - especially if you need inspiration for small spaces!

Unknown said...

Thanks for the tip, Jen!

Norma said...

Best thing we've ever grown is lemon cucumber. Perfect serving size for one. Rub them clean and you can eat the skin.

Good luck with your garden. Growing is the best thing ever. : )

ClipSnap said...

Ah, Gardening is a slippery slope! Welcome! You'll probably want to mulch your garden to conserve water and keep the plants well-hydrated.

Once you've eaten fresh produce from your own garden, you won't want any other kind. There are so many plants that grow well in containers, too.

A good book for ideas is "Square Foot Gardening". Even if you don't follow his plan, it helps with knowing how to space your plants and stagger your crop. Best Wishes!

Mike said...

I think gardening is a nice break from blogging. I think too much time inside on a computer isn't healthy. Getting your hands dirty once in a while can be.