Our Raised Bed Gardens are growing!

I keep meaning to post updates on how well our raised bed gardens are doing, but by the time I get around to it, they’ve grown again! It’s been almost a month since we filled them with manure, and about three weeks since we started planting the seeds and plants. With the hot humid temperatures and rainy weather we’ve been having , most of our plants have gotten off to a good start.

All of the green onions are getting large, I think as I use them up I’ll be able to keep planting more bulbs to keep us in supply all summer. Green onions are good in just about everything so I scattered them throughout all three beds wherever a space needed filled in.

The Melting Sugar snow peas and Alaska pod peas I planted are just about ready to start grabbing onto the netting, I cannot wait to eat some fresh peas, they’re one of my favorite veggies to grow. I was late on getting the lettuce and carrots planted because of the rain but you can just see them starting to pop up in a few of the squares. I have a feeling some of my seeds were washed away from the front three squares so they may have to be replanted.

All of the herbs I planted are growing beautifully, you can never have too many herbs! I’ve planted from the right corner; rosemary, sage, oregano, parsley. then going up the left side I have cilantro, peppers (oops!) dill, more rosemary {my favorite}, curry, and thyme. It’s heavenly to step out the back door and smell all the herbs on a hot day, the heat just makes their fragrance drift through the windows. I love it! Also in this bed we have Kentucky Blue Pole beans, and I think I threw a couple of Blue Lake Bush beans in there too. I’m thinking that the bamboo stakes will have to be changed out for some wire trellis, but for now it’s pretty :).

This is not the raised but but something I’d like to warn you about. Mint! I adore mint, it tastes delicious and smells so good, like a peppermint patty. Mint, however can be the most hateful, despicable, downright dreadful thing you’ve ever planted if you don’t do it right. I say this from experience. Silly me planted mint in my very first garden 15 years ago. It was chocolate mint and it was awesome.

Until it started to spread. And spread… and spread… In fact, it’s still spreading.

We even built an addition over top the original flower bed and it still spread. That was at our old house.

I was insane and brought a piece of that #@!%$#@!* mint with me. I planted it by the garage because I knew exactly what hell it would put me through. I congratulated myself on how smart I was. Then for some reason I accepted a piece {ONE piece} of a peppermint plant from my sister in law. I must have had a brain fart moment because I planted THAT mint in my newly created flower garden. That was almost 4 years ago and I am still kicking myself. This is what happens when you don’t keep your mint in check (above picture, don’t mind superman in my neglected birdbath). It will over take everything and everyone in it’s path. Stepping stones, bird baths, trellises, small children. The rain has kept me out of this bed but I will tell you that this week I am going to go out there and be ruthless. I’ll show you an after picture just so you can see what’s under there!

Back to the raised bed! Hey look, basil. Don’t ask why it isn’t planted by the rest of the herbs, no idea! The French Breakfast, and Sparkler radishes we planted are popping up nicely. Can’t wait for some of their crunchy spice in my salad! Pie asked for celery plants, so we’re trying them this year. The one and only time I tried them before I failed miserably so we’ll see how they do. Pie has high hopes.

One of our tomatoes {the mystery one, it was tag less} has two plump green fruits on it already! The tomato I am really looking forward to sinking my teeth into this summer though is a Stripey Heirloom variety. No blooms on it yet but I’m sure they’ll be coming around soon.

Over by the chicken coop is the “whatever-doesn’t-fit-somewhere-else – stick-it-in-here” raised bed. The chickens tried to claim it as their own but a bit of fence solved that problem. They still like to gather around it and stare at the cool dirt that they so fondly remember taking their dust baths in. Sorry chickies! I had Super G. attach a piece of leftover vinyl lattice  to the coop so the cucumbers have a place to climb. I have three different varieties but for life of me the only one I remember is the Lemon ones we planted. If I remember right, they’re round and taste quite juicy. Mmm. The four strawberry plants, a few squash plants and seeds, and leftover tomato plants all made their way into this patch. As well as more green onions. Of course.

In the right corner of my leftovers patch is a Tomatillo plant. I found this at the greenhouse, thought what the heck, and brought it home with me. I’ve always wanted to try growing one and I loved how shiny the big the leaves were. The plant just started blooming a few days ago and the dainty yellow and black blossoms are so pretty! What’s growing in your garden?