raised bed

First Sprouts of Spring

by

Every year I try to grow at least a little bit of my food. Sometimes it’s just one or two things in pots and sometimes it’s a full blown garden. Last year I built a raised bed garden and went a little wild growing winter squash. This year, I’ve steered clear of squash and am focusing on some early cool weather vegetables like snap peas, radishes and brocolli.

The other day I saw the first sprouts of the year popping up through the soil. I’m sure a couple of months from now I’ll be grumbling about having to water and weed every day. But until then, I’ll be enjoying seeing the new life coming up and anticipating it growing into something I can use. Oh, and I’ll also be futilely trying to keep my dog from walking through the bed.

Squash

by

A few months ago I wrote about building a raised bed garden in my side yard. I planted zucchini, yellow squash, pumpkins, watermelon, beans, and winter squash. Unfortunately, some of the plants didn’t make it very far. The beans died early on. The watermelon plants never got higher than a few inches.

For a while, the zucchini wasn’t doing very well either. I don’t think I was consistent enough with my watering schedule. Then about a week ago I had to go out of town. So I extended my drip system over to the raised bed and put emitters next to each plant.

I didn’t know what to expect when I came home from my trip. I was shocked to come around the corner and see the zucchini plants pouring over the sides of the bed. I was even more shocked to see the giant zucchini fruits.

I guess 100-degree weather and a regular watering schedule really does wonders for these guys. It just goes to show that automating and ignoring can be a very good strategy for growth. Micromanaging (or in this case micro gardening) is unnecessary.