2011 Garden

In 2011, we got to start nice and early, and we had the garden just the way we wanted it by April 22nd, as you can see from the picture below:

We decided to make the bed by the kitchen door the permanent herb garden moving forward, allowing us to reserve the limited garden space for vegetables only. 

This year we started most everything from seed.  Most of the seeds were purchased from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, and some were purchased from Ace Hardware.  

Speaking of Ace, we also got some asparagus crowns and decided to make  the strip along the shed the permanent asparagus garden.   It obviously does not get FULL sun, but full sun is hard to come by in our back yard.  Later in the summer, we went to visit Bobe and Zade's house in Canton, OH and I brought back some asparagus from their garden that Bobe said has been going strong for over 30 years.  I dug up two big bucket sized sections, and just extended the asparagus row all the way to the end of the shed.   

Amazingly, this next picture is only about 5 weeks later:

Planted from seed:
Green and red lettuce mix
Asian greens stir fry mix
Kale
Swiss Chard
Brussels Sprouts
Leeks
Onions
Cucumbers

Transplants from Home Depot:
Jalapeno
Tomatoes  

This year, I planted the tomatoes in containers, built a cage around the tomatoes, and used chicken wire to keep the squirrels out.

Unfortunately, I bought the wrong sized chicken wire, and the squirrels were able to slip right
through.  I didn't realize this until I actually caught a squirrel red handed