Square Foot Gardening

Working on our backyard has been a great learning experience; painful, but great. 3 years in the making and we are getting close to having most of it done - thank goodness! We are crossing our fingers and putting so much time and effort into finishing it before summer comes and before baby comes, because once he is here, our time will be directed towards something much cuter! 

I'll dedicate another post to the backyard in general, but one section of the backyard I want to focus on in this post is our 1st terrace which has our garden. Growing up, my parents had a square foot garden so once Zack and I got our own home, I wanted to try it myself! 

I have an amazing friend who is knowledgeable in all things gardening! She taught me how to companion plant (it allows the most success in each planter). To be honest, I had never even heard of companion planting, which is telling how little I know about gardening.

a rough sketch of designing my square foot garden 

She also saw recommended that I buy starters for my tomato plants and pepper plants because for whatever reason, here in Eagle Mountain, they don't do well when starting from seeds. The good news is after a few weeks of growth, I'm seeing great results and my pepper plants are even budding with little peppers! They are so cute!!

Zack worked so hard (bless him) to level the terrace and create a space where I can plant. He also built 3 raised planter boxes! 

built

stained

added waterproof siding and mesh bottom to prevent weeds.

I helped sand and stain them, but let's be real, Zack did all the heavy lifting and labor in this! I love that I can come to him with a half baked idea and he can then turn around and create a beautiful masterpiece. He has the vision and the execution! 

The soil is a mixture of 1/3 part peat moss, 1/3 part vermiculite, 1/3 part compost 

We were a little ambitious and decided to plant as many different vegetables as possible, but it's exciting to think that in a few more weeks we might be able to enjoy our very own homegrown food! We have...

- Corn
- Watermellon
- Pumpkins
- Beets
- Tomatoes
- Green Beans
- Snap Peas
- Peppers
- Zucchini (hasn't come up yet sooo may need to replant??)
- Squash
- Potatoes
- Onions
- Lettuce
- Spinach
- Chives
- Carrots
- Green Onions

So far most of my plants are growing. The only trouble I'm having now is keeping pests and critters away from the garden...my lettuce and pumpkins are being eaten down to the stem day by day! I'm trying more natural ways to keep pests away - cayenne pepper sprinkled around the planter box edges and peppermint oil. I also heard/read that incorporating shinny things and objects that move in the wind help deter squirrels, rabbits, and deer. If these things work, my garden may very quickly turn into a fairy garden...and I think I'm ok with that!  

My tomatoes and peppers are surviving the heat!