The Garden - Summer 2011 Success

We have constructed 5 raised beds made of cedar. I documented the construction at Instructables.com where there are step by step instructions. I used the cedar because of its' durability and have been satisfied. The beds have different fills in each of them, with anything from a soil/compost mixture from a local greenhouse to a mixture of our own dirt and commercial garden soil. We are now supplementing all of the beds from our own compost bin and feeding it with compost tea, from my vermicomposting experiment that I will talk about in another post, that we are mixing up.

From this small patch we have harvested peas, yellow squash, zucchini squash, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, collards, kale, eggplant, onions, 3 types of tomatoes, 2 types of jalapeno peppers, banana peppers, green peppers, green beans, lima beans, basil and parsley. Besides a few squash, to supplement what we lost due to squash vine borers, we have not purchased any of the other items all summer long.
With the recent cantaloupe incident, it reminds me of the assurance and security of eating food that you know is good, clean and free of pesticides and other contaminants. It is a joy and brings the whole family much happiness!