We finally got grass for our yard and around the same time we built these raised beds. I'm trying a similar type of gardening to square foot gardening. I've been reading a bunch of gardening books and am taking ideas from each one and making it our own. We are using the potato technique from square foot gardening, where you plant the potatoes in only a couple of inches of soil and keep adding soil as the potatoes sprout to create a deep root that produces more potatoes in a smaller space. My potatoes are at the front of the middle box. I'm using natural wood trellises and have secured them with string to prevent them from blowing over. Many gardens have been devastated this spring due to the rabbits but although I've found some signs of rabbits near the garden, I've not had anything eaten yet. Maybe they are too lazy to jump a foot to get over these raised beds.
I started many of our plants indoors. The kids helped me plant them. We have a peanut plant and some artichoke plants to plant still. They grow too big for our gardens so we'll need to add them to the side garden when we finally get to it. We have carrots, sunflowers, beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, salad greens, broccoli, and much more. All of it fit into our three raised beds. It may be a flop or not, but it'll be interesting to see how things go, since this is my first year trying to garden this way. Experiments are always fun and educational!
