For years I’ve been wanting to plant a summer veggie garden but have not made it happen. Thanks to Greg’s hard work on Mother’s Day weekend and some tips from my MIL, #martingardens is in business for summer 2015! There’s nothing too exciting to look at this point, but I do like to walk outside and admire what we have going so far.
Last summer we tried to put down sod in our (tiny) backyard and it didn’t take very well. Most likely due to our lack of watering it, but that’s neither here nor there. Paige isn’t really ready to play outside yet and we live across the street from a giant park anyway, so having grass isn’t a priority for us right now. Rather than re-sod this year, we took what little space we haveand turned it into a veggie garden. Or at least the beginnings of one.
Greg built six containers, three that are 1×4 feet and three that are 2×5 feet, giving me a total of 42 square feet to work with. He actually built the three smaller containers last year, but then I was in school and working and first trimester-ing and they sat idle collecting yard waste.
To narrow down what to grow, I spent a few days tracking how much sun each bed gets during the day. I also used the Maritime Northwest Garden Guide to determine what I could sow in May in Seattle. Then I picked our favorite veggies from the list that would grow in the amount of sun and partial sun that we have.
Greg finished the beds and the rocks on Sunday and turned the garden over to me. My mother-in-law came over Monday morning to help me with Paige while I got to planting. She also offered suggestions to change up a few of my original plans based on her actual gardening knowledge. I have no clue what I’m doing and open to any and all advice.
We’ve had light rain and cool but not cold temperatures the last few days. I’m hoping this is a good combination to get germination started. I had wanted to make a big thing out of calculating how much I spent and trying to assign a monetary value to the veggies that end up growing, but I’ve decided for once to just have fun with a project for the sake of doing the project. If we eat a homegrown veggie or two over the summer and if I learn something new for next year’s garden, then this year will have been a success. I can’t wait until next summer when I can start to teach Paige where food really comes from. But first things first…
Here’s the final list of what I planted: spaghetti squash, broccoli, butternut squash, pickling cucumbers, cucumbers, brussels sprouts, beets (2), cabbage, cilantro, kale (2), lettuce (3), and spinach.
West Coast Martins 