summer garden

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, as spring has sprung and balancing work and life has been a bit of a challenge. All of that aside, I am bursting with excitement to finally practice what I preach! I am an official square foot gardener! Based on the theory by Mel Bartholomew, I was able to take advantage of the only full-sun area of my property, one of my two driveways. I got a great deal on an amazing tiered raised bed and with many trips to get multiple bags of compost and vermiculite (got lucky and found an entire bale of peat moss in the crawl space...Thanks Lois!), I was finally able to fill it up and plant. Because I got a bit of a late start for here in the South, I am limiting my planting to sweet banana peppers, jalapeno peppers, cucumbers, and zucchini. I will decide tomorrow if I want to dabble into carrots as I keep finding contradictory info on their success in the summer. I have also planted a lemon tomato, catnip, basil, and oregano in a pot using the same planting mix recipe. In addition to tripling the yield potential, square foot gardening cuts down on weeds, watering, and improves overall plant health. I'll try to post more frequently as my experiment matures. Next project in the works, chickens!