housepet and I put in a raised bed (5'x3') for vegetables in the front yard. It's 8" deep, plus the soil beneath it, and it's filled with a mix of composted manure, a peaty/woody "compost" that I got free from a local stable, potting soil, the local soil, and my own compost. I fertilized it with a mixture of blood meal, bone meal, and commercial fertilizer. housepet nailed copper tape around the rim to keep out snails.

Today I planted turnips, spinach, lettuce, beets, and carrots. I'm using square-foot gardening to make the most of the space, so I planted one square of each, except for the beets (they got two squares). In 2-3 weeks I'll plant another square each of all but beets. In 4 weeks I'll plant two more squares of beets.

We'll see how the new bed works out. :)

Tags: garden