Okay…so it took me until the middle of June to get it done, but at long last I’ve planted my garden!
As I noted earlier, my biggest impediment to getting going was not knowing what the heck I was supposed to do. I was getting confused when it came to what to plant and what soil to use, etc. When I visited one of the big name retailers with a garden centre, it only left me more confused as the person trying to help me wasn’t doing such a great job of it.
However with the pressure mounting to get something planted and the calendar not slowing down for me either, I took another stab at getting some help. This time I visited my local nursery called Vandermeer’s and sought out some help. I think no matter where you go there are people who are going to look at you a bit funny when you ask even the most basic of questions, however the folks at Vandermeer’s were at least kind enough to walk me through as many of the questions as I had.
This past Saturday morning, my eldest son and I decided to head out and get this taken care of. We first had to till the now dry and hardening earth that I uncovered a couple weeks earlier. After that it was time to spread out 10 bags of triple mix. My son and I had fun ripping the bags apart and spreading the mix all over the garden (and ourselves!) When the mix was spread out and till again with the earth we set out to plant the goods.
This year I chose items with short growing time frames (given that we were already in mid-June) so I went with tomatoes, red peppers, yellow peppers, cucumbers, oregano, basil and garlic. Added to that were the bean plants grown from a seed by my twin sons in their Grade One class.
While at the garden centre I was told about an organic fertilizer which comes in little spears that you only stick in the ground at the beginning. I liked this since I knew I’d forget if I had to keep doing it.
So now it’s done! Only time will tell if I get it right but I have to say I feel great about finally accepting the challenge that I laid out to others. My son and I enjoyed ourselves and over the next couple of months we’ll actually see if we got it right, and if so we’ll enjoy the fruits of our labour!
That’s a good starter plot to learn the do’s and don’ts. Then next year you’ll add a few more feet and soon you’ll be preserving your own for over the winter.
Sounds like a plan, Rick! However for now I’ll take it one plot and one harvest at a time…
Thanks for your comments!