Let the gardening begin!

Over the winter, the philosopher and I built a 4' x 4' raised bed, with a trellis net on the north side and dividers marking each foot square section.  Indeed, it looks a lot like THIS, only there's nothing growing yet, and we used conduit instead of wood for the trellis.  (I know, I know - I'm a slacker using someone else's photo.  If the sun ever comes out again I'll take a picture of ours!)  We filled it with our very own compost, peat, vermiculite, and a little bit of bagged poo from the Big Box Garden Center.  The theory of a Square Foot Garden is to have very loose, friable soil with lots of organic matter.  You can plant things closer together, and don't have miles to hoe before you sleep.  It seems like a valid theory, so I'll let you know how it goes!  My only worry is that you have to water very regularly, but when you're only talking about 16 square feet, that seems awfully manageable.

This weekend, despite the rain and cold temps, I planted my early spring veggies: ruby Swiss chard, teton hybrid spinach, romaine lettuce, bibb lettuce, yellow onions, and sugar snap peas.  In two weeks I'll plant a second crop.  I mean really - who can eat 8 heads of lettuce all at once?  So I'm spacing out the planting which means there will be a few bits ready every week, and we can enjoy a continuous bounty.  If, that is, the rabbits don't figure out where the garden is.  It's pretty close to the house, so I'm hoping the cat staring out the window will be a good defense (in place of the fence).  ::snicker::  If not, then I'll have to escalate the battle.  I have a plan, but I don't want to comment about it on the off chance the opposition reads my blog.  Rabbits are devilishly tricky little blighters, after all.  (Much like Cornish pixies!)

Anyway, towards the end of the month I'll add carrots to the garden, and plant our new herbs in the herb bed - chives, oregano, cilantro, and TONS of sweet basil to go along with the rosemary, sage, thyme, chamomile, and various mints we already have.  Come early May, the peas, lettuce and spinach will be done, and I'll plant peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant in their places.  I don't plan to start those from seed, so we'll pay a visit to the most bountiful Master Gardener Plant Sale at the end of April.  When the last of the chard comes out, in will go the bush beans.  And if it looks like we'll still be where we are in the fall then I will plant some winter squash and do another round of late-season chard and lettuce!  And if I can talk the philosopher into it, I may even try to do a winter planting of kale.

So bring on the spring, and let the gardening BEGIN!!