Back of the Yard

I have always wanted to have a vegetable garden even though I don't have too much of a green thumb. I think it's the pride of growing your own food that appeals to me. Plus, I really like most vegetables!! So this year with the help of Mel Bartholomew's 'Square Foot Gardening' book, we planted our very own vegetable garden.



It's a really simple way of growing only what you need in a small space. So far it seems to be fairly low maintenence although I can see I am going to be obsessed with weeding the little squares. I had to let some of the little weeds grow because at first I couldn't tell what was a weed and what was a seed. But now things are coming along nicely so I am all over those weeds at the first sign of one popping up!!! Here are a few pictures of our layout....


This is the whole thing with the compost bin at the right. We just put all of our egg shells, coffee grounds, yard clippings and fruit/veggies rinds in it!!


The right section of the garden. The back squares have tomato plants in them which will grow up the wires strung on the fence. That will save lots of space and make for easier harvesting. Then there are two squares of yellow wax beans and two squares of green peppers. The peppers we grew from seed in the house. These are the only two plants that survived the transplant and they look like crap. But we'll see if they produce anything!!! Then in the next row we have four squares of green bush beans. And then a corner square of nasturtiums and marigolds which look cute and deter pests. Next to them there are two squares of lettuce for salads!


In the left section there are three squares of cucumbers which will also grow up the wires. I love cucumbers and may even try making homemade pickles if I get the notion! In front of that there is a red pepper plant (which I bought at the Walmart), and two squares of spinach for spinach salads. Then there is another square of green peppers and next to that two squares of carrots! In the front row we planted more lettuce (we like salad!) and a corner section of chives.

I also planted some herb seeds in some window boxes that hang directly under the kitchen window. I love fresh herbs for cooking!!


I planted mint (for mojitos YO!), basil, oregano, garlic chives, dill, lemon balm chamomile and cilantro.

So hopefully we'll be harvesting a lot of good stuff this year!!! It's been fun for the kids to help with the planting and watering. They get so excited when something sprouts. Maybe growing our own veggies will make them more excited to eat them? Not sure about that! My brother was here last week and helped me get the tomatoes and peppers in. He worked at a greenhouse in high school, so he knows a lot about all this gardening stuff!! I hope to add more to the garden next season, but wanted to start out simple at first so I wouldn't get overwhelmed and give up. I would love to maybe do some summer squashes and melons. And maybe some asparagras and rhubarb!!!

Just for kicks, here is a picture of some of my flowers that are blooming nicely along the back of the house. I painted the back door cobalt blue to match my bird bath and patio umbrella, but for some reason the paint didn't stick in some parts so now I have to figure out what to do! The brightness scared me (and the neighbors) at first, but I think it looks so nice now with the bright colors of the flowers. Hopefully I can fix it!!!


My original inspiration was from the 'Doors of Dublin.'

In Dublin (and much of Europe for that matter), they have mostly tan or grey stone houses and buildings so it's quite common to see a brightly painted entry door with white trim and archways. I thought I'd bring a little Dublin and a little color to my backyard and blah white door by painting it bright blue. Nevermind that it backfired and now I have to fix it. I still think the idea was good!!!

So that's what's going on in the back of the yard here!! I hope to post more pictures of the plants as they start producing yummy veggies AND some good recipes to go along with them. Until then, I'll be out back weeding!!! ;)