Garden Construction – Georgia Gal Gardens

Organic Veggies* Feb-May

Most seeds this year were started in the mini greenhouse on Feb 22. I had lettuces and radishes growing since January in the greenhouse.

Below is the link to my chart of the seeds I planted this year, and how many of each, and the date planted.

Seed Planting Master Chart 2018

All the seeds I planted this year came from my favorite seed company that has the best organic, non-gmo seeds- Lake Valley Seed Company.

Some of the seeds also came from Burpee.

Garden Beans

Cherokee Wax 2. Italian Flat 3. Kentucky Wonder

Tomatoes-Yellow Pear, Okra, Baby Sugar Pie Pumpkins,

Peppers- better pictures of later harvests to follow in my next post which will cover the progress from June-Aug.

1. Jalapeno 2.Habanero 3. Sweet Italian 4.Tabasco

1st Jalapeno! Slug damage on leaves. Too much rain early in the season.

Herbs-

Basil- 3 varieties 1.Thai 2. Cinnamon 3. Genovese

Borage, Dill, Fennel, Caraway, Cucumbers. Details to follow in next post.

I moved the Rosemary, Lemon Balm, Peppermint, Oregano from Raised Bed #1 to in ground locations very early in the spring, because I wanted to make room for more veggies in the bed, and those herbs are perennials which survive the winter here.

February

Pretty rosemary bloom I wanted to capture in case I killed the Rosemary by moving it.

Loving the new location just after planting.

Lemon Balm removed from raised bed & ready to be planted in ground

The Rosemary, Lemon Balm, Peppermint, Oregano in ground

The first raised bed is repaired after the removal of the Rosemary, Oregano, & Lemon Balm.

The garden area in early August! So much growth this year.

March

New Greenhouse from Cofer’s with overwinter lettuces and seeds started in late February.

Baby lettuces. You will not believe how much lettuce I harvested. Pic gallery to follow below!

Peas Planted & Lettuces in Raised Bed #2.

April-May

I really needed a new third bed, given how many seeds I started this year. I finally got it built in mid April-, but then didn’t get it filled and planted, until first week of May.

mix 1/3 musroom compost, 1/3 pine bark conditioner & 1/3 native soil

Snow Pea Plants everywhere. I planted two rows pretty close together. I don’t have much space, but it works. See pea harvest pics below.

Dill plants ready to transplant into raised bed.

I’ve been needing a large Strawberry Pot, and I finally found the perfect one at

Cofer’s – my absolute favorite garden center of all time!

First Strawberries in Porch pot. Sequoyah

Raised Bed 1 was full of strawberry plants that grew from 1 mother plant the previous year. I got this amazing, huge berry pot at Cofer’s.

The perfect amount of holes and room for all my berry plants!

Filling up with mix of Mushroom Compost, Soil Conditioner, & Native Soil

I’ve wanted this berry pot for years. Yay!

Not pretty, but delicious. Had to get them before the slugs did.

Below is a link to my transcription of my handwritten, in a hurry seed starting notes. Not very interesting, but I’m trying to record my data to improve my yields and timing for the future.

Seed starting notes 2018

I will post the details of the garden progress from the months of June, July & August very soon. I have already harvested many beans, herbs and peppers! The garden work finally slowed down enough, and the weather is too hot to be outside working much anyway, so I am finally catching up posting.

5 Steps to a Raised, Organic Garden Bed

Step #1-Find a spot with good sun. 5-8 hours per day. Mostly level with slight drainage slope. Southwest or South facing is usually good.

I built my first raised garden bed back in 2013. I needed a second bed this year because I started so many seeds, and I was ready to expand my garden. I completed the construction of the second bed in June finally-thanks to a lot of help from my wonderful husband. He did a lot of the hard work this time because I was recovering from surgery.

Step #2- Get materials, Construct, & Fill the Bed –

Materials needed– untreated wood, corner stakes, screws and drill, hammer

I refilled last year’s bed back in late April because it had settled and lost volume. I used some of my own compost from the Earth Machine, and I supplemented with organic mushroom compost and organic pine bark soil conditioner.

The Rosemary, Lavender, Peppermint, and Oregano survived the winter!

Lots of shovel turning later and …

Step #3- Decide & Plan what you will plant & where in the bed you will put the plants
Step #4- Plant herb and vegetable seeds and/or plants

The picture above is from mid May at planting time. Everything looked a little yellow here, but below is a photo from just recently. Everything took off and I have had the best garden year yet!

Step #5-Tend the beds by watering, removing pests, and harvesting throughout the season.

Enjoy the Harvest!

I am including a link to my Growing an Essay piece here. I find the connections and similarities between gardening and writing interesting.

Seed Starting 2016!!!

Start with mini greenhouse, peat pellets, and water … wetpodsblog

Wait a day or two before planting for the pods to lose a little moisture (leave the top off for evaporation). Agitate the soil, and bust open the tops of the pods. This gives the seeds more room, and looser growing medium.

Plant veggie and herb seeds! Or flowers, if you like. I started this batch of seeds in mid-to-late February. Most of them were leftover from last year. Some I harvested from last year’s plants-like the green beans. I also bought more seeds (& a couple tomato plants I couldn’t resist) from Cofer’s Home and Garden Showplace- my favorite garden center ever. More about that later.

I also started a second round of seeds a few weeks later. Some are the same as the first batch-like greens beans and tomatoes. I am experimenting with staggered planting times, so I can harvest throughout the long growing season here in Georgia.

Below are pics of the second round of seeds I planted.

They are just getting started in these pics from mid March. Many of the plants are now in the raised garden bed. *Fingers crossed for no late frost.* My next post will be about the repair, filling, and planting of my raised herb & veggie garden bed. The project was completed a few weeks ago with help from my sweet husband, and my friend Peggy, who was in town for a visit to Gibbs Gardens! I will also post some great pics of the Daffodil Festival at Gibbs in the next week or so.