Garden Idea File #2: Vegetable Garden Plans

I had all sorts of posts planned to write over the weekend but my time vanished into thin air. Between snow days and…more snow days I am playing the role of the pied piper, entertaining the children all day long. Needless to say, during my down time I find myself dreaming of spring and have started to sketch out my garden plans on paper. In April Uncle Will is going to come visit and help me get started. We both inherited the gardening gene from our parents and love nothing more than to get our hands in the dirt to cultivate flowers and food.

This year I plan to start with one large raised garden bed. I’ve noticed a lot of rabbit tracks and even a few deer prints in our backyard so I’m going to have a lot of adversaries. The food I grow is intended for us, not them. I plan to install a fence around it but we’ll have to wait and see how effective it is. (In a year or two our backyard will completely fenced in which will be such a relief!) I also will need to experiment with different plants and watering techniques. I’ve had a lot of success with my container gardens in the past, but I’ll have to see what thrives in an actual plot.

We’ve been keeping notes of what we want to grow on our blackboard wall and here is what we’ve come up with so far: Rhubarb, Carrots, Cucumbers, Pumpkins, Arugula, Strawberries, Eggplant, Peas, Squash, Tomato, Eggplant, Zucchini, Green Beans, Peppers, thyme, chives, rosemary, basil. I’ll keep the following herbs in containers: Lemon verbena, mint, oregano, tarragon, sage. I plan to set up a bench for my potted plants so I can move them around the yard as needed for sun and/or shade. We are zone 6 and a lot of my friends have grown similar assortments of food so I think (hope!) everything will thrive.

I plan to continue reading up on garden ideas over at my friend Aimee’s blog. Someday I aspire to her two garden beds. At this point one is plenty since I don’t have my second freezer yet. Someday I hope to grow enough food that I can freeze a lot for winter which will ultimately be healthier and more economical.

If the snow ever thaws I plan to start staking out the ground plot and ordering supplies so I can build in April and get things planted. Do you have a raised garden bed? What do you plant?