Here are some shots of the garden. You can click the picture to get a better view.
This is the "big picture" view of the garden in early May. The garden is separated into four 9'x9' quadrants, with a 2' path between each.
The Top Left Quadrant is growing spinach, peas, pole beans and corn. The Marigolds are there for my Grandpa who loved Marigolds and also claimed they help keep critters out of the garden. The squirrels are having a field day in there despite the Marigolds, so I think Poppy might have been wrong about that :) All the plants are doing well except the spinach, which seems to hate the warm weather. I think I will plant it earlier next year. I'm going to try the spinach again when it gets closer to Fall.
The Top Right Quadrant is growing lettuce, tomatoes and basil. There are 14 tomato plants! I read that basil helps deter bugs like aphids, so I interplanted the basil with the tomatoes in an attempt to protect them from infestations. This is the spot that used to be the "burn pit," so it is supercharged with nitrogen. The lettuce LOVES the nitrogen. All the plants are doing great in this area.
The Bottom Left Quadrant is growing carrots, onions, broccoli, peppers, edamame, cilantro and sage. The broccoli, peppers and cilantro still have their paper cup caps on to protect against cut worms. This patch of soil gave us the most trouble since the grass did not want to die. We tilled it, hoed it, raked it, sprayed it, covered it and repeated, and yet the grass continued to grow back. It's pretty weed-free now, but I do see some little buggers starting to poke up through! These plants have only been in the ground for 2 weeks, but I think they're doing OK. The carrots and onions were just planted a week ago, and they haven't sprouted up yet. Yes, they're late getting planted, but the first batch was no good and I had to resow!
The Bottom Right Quadrant is growing squash, cucumbers, melons and potatoes. The potatoes are growing like C-R-A-Z-Y! The squash are also doing very well. The cucumbers and melons haven't been planted long, so it's hard to say how they're doing. I think they're doing good though.
Here is a closer look at the corn. I need to thin it out, but it hurts my feelings to pull up the plants! I will do it though ... otherwise all the corn will die from overcrowding, and we can't have that!
Here is a view of the peas (L) and beans (R). The peas are a lot bigger, because they were sown before the last frost, but the beans cannot take frost, so they were sown just a couple weeks ago. We made this trellis from bamboo stakes and chicken wire. The stakes were just $4 for 12 at K-Mart. No, I don't usually shop at K-Mart, but it is the closest store to us, and when you're in a hurry, even K-Mart will do.
A closer look at the tomatoes and lettuce. This picture was taken just last week, but the plants have all grown since then! They are doing very well in this nitrogen-rich area. I hope the tomatoes bear healthy fruit. Nitrogen is used to produce great greenery, and phosphorous promotes good fruit development. I have fertilized with 10-10-10, so hopefully they're getting enough phosphorous too! The tomatoes are staked with the same bamboo stakes that were used to build the trellis. These bamboo stakes are very nice in the garden! That lettuce will be ready to eat next week.
Labels: asheville, construction, gardening
