My First Year of Gardening

I still remember my first garden. I was a little dude and my father and I planted some seeds in the ground and watched them grow. The “Easter Bunny” brought me some gardening tools and seed that year. Fast forward to last year and I revisited the desire to start my own garden. In my spare time I learn as much information I can about gardening. At the end of this post I will list some resources that have helped me along the way. Enjoy the progression of our garden through these photos!

This is what it looked like before we put the garden in. The soil here was dark and rich so we had a prime area for growing some food.

Beginning construction of the raised bed. I used cinder blocks for my border. It may not look the best but they are functional. Those empty squares in the block are an ideal place to grow something. Companion planting is a great way to help naturally protect your garden. Certain plants cannot share the same soil, which is what makes the cinder blocks useful. For example, mint is an evasive plant if left unchecked. The cinder block acts as a barrier to prevent it from spreading and taking over the raised bed.

All the block is placed and almost finished and ready to plant!

Fresh mulch is down and the first of the plants are in the soil.

Another progress photo. The row of bush beans have started to sprout.

An artistic shot of the garden

Here she is in all her glory! I decided on a method of gardening called, “square foot gardening.” You maximize the space in your garden by planting a certain amount of seed in one square foot. There are ratios for each plant to one square foot. A quick google search will provide you with those. This minimizes weeds since there is a little room for them to grow and maximizes food production.

The main resource I use for learning is The Survival Podcast. There is tons of information on his site but I mainly listen to his podcast. Make sure to have a notepad handy as you will want to take notes. The “Easter Bunny” just brought me this book, The Backyard Homestead. I sense a theme with the “Easter Bunny” within my life.

What are you waiting for? Get out there and garden! It is fun and the whole family can get involved!