We created a 14 x 7 foot raised bed garden in a mostly sunny spot at the back of our yard. We created the raised bed out of cinder blocks that we bought at Home Depot. I price shopped and, with lots of encouragement from Monica, even tried to go the free Craig's List route but ultimately spending around $36 at the Home Depot ended up being the easiest and most econmical route. We decided to use cinder blocks instead of wood because we wanted the flexibility to be able to change the shape and, frankly, it was considerably cheaper.
I turned the soil with a big ole pick axe and then filled the bed with three GIANT bags of organic compost from Anawalt ($9.99 per bag). I dig mix the compost into the top soil and now I can see that I need to dump maybe another two bags over the top.
We were going to get some of the free compost from Griffith Park but we did a little digging and discovered that it's not organic. We really want to have an organic garden and so we decided to forgo the free stuff. If you're in Los Angeles and not as particular about this as we are then you should get your compost from Griffith Park! Be sure to bring a container and your own shovel.
We mapped out our garden using just our instincts. Then we consulted this handing organic growing guide and discovered that we actually matched plants well. Little did we know that certain plants don't work well together. We chose our veggies based on our likes and curiosity.
I bought some string bean and sugar snap peas from the Farmer's Market and Monica went nuts at the Fullerton Arboretum Monster Tomato & Pepper Sale and bought pepper plants, squash, eggplant, and some tomato plants. (NOTE: she is still trying to track down the Hungarian Hearts we fell in love with last summer...can anyone help?)
For the heck of it, we planted some red leaf romaine, which seems to be surviving and actually growing! Heck, we may even get a salad out it.
Still to do: gotta get that herb garden going; more strawberries; some carrot seedlings; and cucumbers!
I turned the soil with a big ole pick axe and then filled the bed with three GIANT bags of organic compost from Anawalt ($9.99 per bag). I dig mix the compost into the top soil and now I can see that I need to dump maybe another two bags over the top.
We were going to get some of the free compost from Griffith Park but we did a little digging and discovered that it's not organic. We really want to have an organic garden and so we decided to forgo the free stuff. If you're in Los Angeles and not as particular about this as we are then you should get your compost from Griffith Park! Be sure to bring a container and your own shovel.
We mapped out our garden using just our instincts. Then we consulted this handing organic growing guide and discovered that we actually matched plants well. Little did we know that certain plants don't work well together. We chose our veggies based on our likes and curiosity.
I bought some string bean and sugar snap peas from the Farmer's Market and Monica went nuts at the Fullerton Arboretum Monster Tomato & Pepper Sale and bought pepper plants, squash, eggplant, and some tomato plants. (NOTE: she is still trying to track down the Hungarian Hearts we fell in love with last summer...can anyone help?)
For the heck of it, we planted some red leaf romaine, which seems to be surviving and actually growing! Heck, we may even get a salad out it.
Still to do: gotta get that herb garden going; more strawberries; some carrot seedlings; and cucumbers!
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