Summer Project

I’ve finally taken the plunge and started on one of my goals in life – to have a garden. I actually intended on starting a garden last year, but managed to procrastinate well into October. Last year, the main problem I had was trying to decide what type/size of garden to have – one big square? A couple of rows separated by grass? Raised beds? It was all too much. This year, I decided to check out the offerings from online gardening stores and found this . Now, granted, it’s probably more expensive than I could have made myself, but I’m not much of a craftsman (no patience) so this is perfect for me. Plus, it’s always back-ordered so it can’t be half bad. So garden style problem – solved. I even found a free shipping deal to sweeten the pot.

Next step – what to grow? I took a look at my book shelf for gardening books (I mentioned this was a goal in life, which means I have collected a few books over the years) and found The 20-minute Gardener. This book, it turns out, was written just for me – it explains how to have a garden that requires a minimal amount of work – a lazy man's garden if you will. And I, being a lazy man, am all onboard.

I also read parts of Gardening in Illinois, which will give me specifics on when to plant, harvest, etc. based on the seasons in Illinois specifically. Nice. The book also covers growing trees, grass, flowers, bushes, etc.

So with this arsenal I sat down to determine what to grow in my new garden. After consulting the list of easy to grow veggies in the 20-minute Gardener, and avoiding the hard to grows, and the things I don’t like, I ended up with the following list:
Lettuce
Arugula
Spinach
Tomatoes
Radishes
Cherry Tomatoes
Asparagus

Sounded good, so I head off to several seed sites to see what was available. I ended up getting the following seeds from Heirloom Seeds due to their Tomato selection, and decent prices:

BRANDYWINE TOMATO, RED, Price: 1.50
GIANT BEEFSTEAK TOMATO - CERTIFIED ORGANIC, Price: 2.50
GOURMET BLEND RADISH, Price: 1.15
BLENDS- MESCLUN MIX BLEND - CERTIFIED ORGANIC, Price: 1.85
BLENDS - PREMIUM LETTUCE BLEND, Price: 1.85

As you can see, I opted for Lettuce and Mesclun blends rather than the above, since I figured that would be more interesting. I also went with two tomatoes, because I love me some tomatoes.

I reviewed the list with my wife, who pointed out the absence of:
BLUE LAKE BUSH BEAN - CERTIFIED ORGANIC, Price: 2.50

And Cucumbers.

For the Cucumber, I wanted a Bush variety, rather than a Vine, but couldn’t find any a heirloomseeds, so I picked up a pack locally.

Now I just have to wait for the seeds, and figure out what I have room for in the garden. I figure a small amount of each, give or take.

As for the Asparagus, I’m going to order that just before planting time (mid-May I believe), and plant it outside of the garden – probably against the back fence, but I’m not sure yet. Asparagus apparently grows for 20 years, so that will be interesting. Plus garden fresh asparagus is super delicious.

So that’s the plan. I wanted to build the garden itself last weekend, but the weather didn’t cooperate. I also have to figure out some sort of fence to protect the garden from rabbits. The book has some suggestions, although I’m not clear on how to fence in a raised bed…