Victory Garden 2007

Well here is what you've been waiting for. A step by step guide of this year's Victory Garden. It has been a few months in the making but now the hard work is done.

1. First you'll notice the raised beds I made. I made three but could really have made 2 more. I like the idea of having mulched walkways in between the beds. I filled the beds with compost from the local county composting site. They gather up all of the fall and spring yard waste for composting each year. Then they sell it cheap for only $30 a cubic yard ($20 if you shovel it yourself). Very fertile stuff!
2. Next I tried to plan what I would plant and where better than last year. I did a little research on companion planting and also wanted similar plants grouped together. In the first bed I have lettuce, cabbage, beets, cilantro and ground cherries. In the middle bed I have zucchini, yellow squash, cukes & bush beans. The cukes will hopefully grow up a trellis. Lastly the third bed has tomatoes, peppers and basil. Also, along a fence off to the side I planted a bit of a winter/early spring garden - some peas and pea pods along with onions and garlic.
3. Watering has been simplified by the addition of soaker hoses snaked through each bed. Soon I will add some wheat straw mulch to reduce water evaporation and slow weeds

I think everything is how I want it for now. Here in the south it's warm enough for a fall planting. Cabbage, leaks and spinach are possibilities for planting this September. By then much of the garden will have blossomed and harvested. I would love to hear what you're planting this year. I shall keep posting updates as the summer rolls along.