Last year, I remember thinking “What have I done?!” as I watched my husband till the ground for this corner garden.
Pretty big, right? Approximately 21’x23′ as of yesterday. This garden (which is finishing up its fall and winter crops) and the “shed bed” kept us in fresh vegetables for much of the summer.
This spring, I have even more ambitious goals. I want to produce most of our vegetables this year in our backyard. With that in mind, I planned this garden expansion. I hope to can homemade spaghetti sauce and salsa, and to freeze some of those fresh green beans for later.
So, we rented a tiller again.
I wanted it to be an even 50 feet long so…
Yikes! Look at all that! That garden MORE THAN DOUBLED today!!
I had the same thought today as I did last year, “What have I done?!”
My dog, Leif, is probably wondering about my sanity.
Don’t worry- I have a plan. I have seedlings of tomatoes(8 varieties), eggplants, and marigolds. I have plenty of seeds for green beans (I’m going to be planting at least 5 varieties), pickling cucumbers, cantaloupe, ‘Sugar Baby’ watermelon, and squash(zucchini, acorn,white pattypan, and yellow squash). I will have plenty of ‘California Wonder’ bell peppers too, if all goes well.
I want to try a new fruit too, the ground cherry. It supposedly grows like a tomato, grows its fruit in a husk like a tomatillo, and tastes like a pineapple. Sounds interesting!
So what do you think? Am I missing anything? My marbles, perhaps?
Coffee to Compost 
This is great!!!
My soil is very poor. I did buy some soil for my garden last year. I did not have much success due to veggies that didn’;t mature and aphids who were on the rampage. SO I want to try again this year. I have started my tomatoes insides along with some pole beans. But what do I do to get the soil in shape for a good garden this year. I have seasoned poultry manure from a friend and I am working on my own compost but I know that won’t be of any use til next year. ALso my flower beds have some bushes etc. and I would love to feed them without the chemicals. Help please…..thank you..
Hi Donna! Glad you decided to try again this year. Last year I did not have much of my own compost either, so I just amended the holes for the tomatoes with Black Kow from Lowe’s. If the manure is fully decomposed (doesn’t smell bad) you can use that instead. I did not amend the soil for my bush beans, which I planted directly in the soil in late March. I used Miracle Gro on my flowers last year but you could substitute an organic fertilizer. Mulching is also very important for the garden and I will be posting about that soon.
I love how Leif is looking at the yard as if to say, “I didn’t do it! Don’t blame me!”
You are crazy! I mean that in a good way. 😉 Can’t wait to see how it all turns out for you!
Thanks! I’m excited for fresh green beans!
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Best wishes for your ultra cool giant garden!!!!! I did okra and tomatoes, purple hull peas (sort of black eyed, but purple), green beans, kale, collards and eggplants in years past, but I’ve moved to more flowers now in my tire garden! i miss my vegies and have given some thought to okra again! those aphids make me crazy though!!!!! 😉
I tried purple-hulled peas too! They were yummy! Okra does have pretty flowers, maybe you will give it another try? Thanks for visiting!