Gardening

Take two on gardening in Southern Louisiana!  Last year, I started my garden too late, so everything just shriveled in the heat.  The only thing that grew last year was my herbs.

So this year, Jack and I started early!  Bryan built this beautiful raised garden for us!  In the front, we have a row of spinach, a row of lettuce, a row of broccoli, a strawberry plant, oregano, and thyme.  In the back section, we have two types of tomatoes, carrots, shallots, onions, garlic, and potatoes.  The onions, shallots, and potatoes came from my pantry so we will see how they grow!

I also planted some natural bug repellent: marigold seeds.

Inside, I am starting some plants that will get transplanted outside once they have some leaves.  I am starting basil, hot peppers, and sweet bell peppers, and cucumbers.  Obviously this will not all fit in this compact spot of dirt.  I have another garden on the other side of the yard.  I have a feeling I will be putting the basil and hot peppers over there.

If you would like to make a raised bed, it is really quite easy, especially if you have a talented hubby.  The sides are made with plain 'ol 1x8 boards.  Each corner is screwed to a steak, made from 1x2 boards.  I like to fill the beds with 3 parts gardening soil (for flowers and vegetables) and 1 part hummus.  It is hard to see in the photos, but each row of vegetables, is slightly raised so I can hopefully keep track of where my plants are.  I use popsicle (sp) sticks to label my rows.

The trellis was for my cucumber plants last year.  They didn't grow very well though, and I had a hard time training them to grow up it.  We will see what I use it for this year.  I think I will put my cucumbers in the back corner this year.  After my gardening success in Maryland, I thought I had this great green thumb.  Louisiana has really been a challenge!