Last summer, was our second attempt at urban gardening (our first attempt). We adhered to David’s mom’s advice for starting seeds in dry soil this time around. We sowed pole beans (again), carrots, radish, dill, and (re-tried) spinach in the front.
The result was a very good yield from the beans, carrots, and dill. There were lots of radish greens, but no radish. And we didn’t see a hint of spinach.
In the back, we planted two Grape tomato plants (with cages) and their yield was unbelievable!
I never got around to planting basil next to the tomato plants, as I had planned to do after hearing last year it was good for both plants. My grandfather also informed me that a fail safe way to increase tomato yield is to seed the soil with epsom salts. Those two items will be a test for the 2012 season.
We sowed green onions and spinach in the fence box. There was the one onion, again, which was disappointing. However, we had two successful spinach plants!
Due to rain, I waited quite a while before buying basil and pepper plants. Nevertheless, both did quite well.
I also picked up some mixed greens and planted them in the front. I think they would have done quite well, except the slugs had a feast. The plants never recovered. David’s mom suggests ground egg shells scattered around the base of the plants to protect against slugs. I think I will save some egg shells leading up to planting in 2012.
A friend moved away in August and I inherited his chives, lemon balm, and pumpkin. The chives were great, but I never figured out what to do with the lemon balm. It made our garden area smell good though! The pumpkin plant blossomed multiple times, but I never got an actual pumpkin. I think the slugs were at fault there, too.
I wanted to try some fruit, so I bought two rhubarb plants. With rhubarb you are not supposed to pick any the first year you plant it, so I am looking forward to using it this coming year (I will be sure to do a post on delicious rhubarb recipes later in 2012!). I wanted to get a raspberry bush planted with the hope of getting berries this year, but I was too late. I am determined to get that bush planted this year!
Here are some more pictures of the produce:
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