Hey y’all!
I couldn’t wait to share our Garden adventure with y’all. We’ve had a raised bed garden off and on from living in Ohio, to a rental house, now our farm for about 6 years. I always learn something different and new and I had envisioned a pretty garden, with a fence, wildflowers, and trellis. I always start out by sketching my vision out and making a Pinterest board.
Aaron built the garden of my dreams with a fence around it to protect from animals. We started with four beds, with an option to add two more next season if we want. Aaron used a process called Hugoculture. It’s where you take a mix of stumps, leaves, and sticks that will naturally decompose and breakdown inside of your raised bed and initiates growth of crops.
This year, I started with seeds indoors, which was a first for me, and all and all they turned out ok. The seeds FLOURISHED inside with the perfect temperature and lighting. However, once we transferred them the first week of May in middle Tennessee, some of the seedlings flopped! I immediately reached out to my aunt and she said that it’s better to let the plants you start from seeds be outdoors for a week prior to transplanting! Good to know. I waited another couple of weeks, then went back and added a couple more seeds directly beside the plants that looked rough. Two weeks later, lots of new growth happened! The lesson learned here for me was to start seeds directly in the ground next year. We really didn’t know what to expect or that they would take off and boy, did they!
We started yellow squash, zucchini, broccoli, okra, green beans, kale, cabbage, and cucumbers.
We purchased several varieties of tomato plants (Heritage, Better Boy, Roma) and pepper plants from a local coop store.
Our herbs included citronella, oregano, parsley, basil, lemongrass, mint, and cilantro. We planted these in between vegetables as a deterrent for insects.
Zinnia flower variations in between and on the fence row.
We have enjoyed the garden so much and I HIGHLY recommend starting one. No matter if it’s small, in containers, or huge – you will enjoy it and have your own bounty!
