My Victory Garden

Last year I finally got my husband to make me a small raised bed for vegetable gardening. We already have a bed for the strawberry plants and we usually do a tomato plant or two, along with some perennial herbs. Last year we had a pretty good crop of tomatoes, cucumbers and yellow squash. The peppers did not do so well, but that was okay since my kids won't eat them. We had more than enough of the other items, I had to give them away! But this year I wanted to expand.

This spring we were given 4 different tomato plants from relatives and several squash plants from a neighbor. The rain kept delaying my planting, but I finally got my tomatoes in the ground, along with a pepper plant and a zucchini plant (and a cucumber that has since died, so a squash is in it's place), all in my raised bed. I also had some old seeds that I never planted (actually, some are from 2007) and so I planted carrots from seed. Surprisingly, they came up!



Since my "viney" plants took up so much room and we have a large backyard, I got my husband to till a piece of the yard so that I could plant more. Rain delayed my planting several more times, but I finally got the remainder of my squash plants in the ground, along with a couple other varieties of store bought squash, peppers and a cherry tomato plant. I also found a 75% off sale on spring bulbs, so I picked up some yellow onions and garlic bulbs and planted a row of each. I figure if they don't come up I am only out 49 cents! I also used some of my old seeds and planted a row of broccoli, too late in the season but again, I am not out much if they fail.

Looks like the plants that are doing the best are the ones in the raised bed, the ones in the ground have had too much rain, I think. And the dog has walked through there a few times, before I got my "fence" up. I recycled some black metal poles that had been part of a portable clothes "wardrobe" that broke, with twine. It won't keep out the critters but hopefully it will keep out the dog.




The zucchini is doing great, I have a few flowers on my squash, and there are small tomatoes and flowers on my tomato plants in the raised bed. I hope for a bumper crop!