Wow! I finally got the garden in for the 2021 season. I don’t think I’ve worked this hard on the garden since the year I installed it. This is mainly due to not using pressure treated lumber (except the posts) and a number of the 2x8 members needing replacement. On top of that, a request was made to widen the aisles for Gma as her mobility has declined over the years.
As a result of this request, I removed the six large beds which were 4’x6’ and 4’x5’ respectively and replaced them with a single, continuous bed that is only 18” wide around the perimeter. I also lengthened the bed in the middle by two feet. In so doing, I had to move a lot of dirt and rock. Overall, I’d say I physically moved at least 1 ton of dirt and rock (each) over the course of the last several weeks. Knowing that this was the task ahead of me, I started working far earlier than the typical long Memorial Day weekend.
Here are some images of the before, during , and after.
BEFORE
DURING
AFTER
As for what was planted, I still managed to get everything into the garden that I typically plant. It is always more than enough for the family. I did add some things that I haven’t tried before namely the various “salad bar” crops (spinach, romaine, chard, and kale) but I’m lacking the garlic crop this year as the cloves didn’t survive winter and/or were stolen by ambitious squirrels or chipmunks.
2021 Planting:
Tomato
1 Cherry
2 Roma
3 Beefsteak
1 Marina
3 Glacier
1 Black Russian
Salad Bar Crops
2 Spinach
2 Red Romaine
2 Swiss Chard
2 Curly Kale
3 Butternut Squash
2 Yellow Squash
2 Zucchini
3 Cantaloupe
Cucumbers
2 Pickling
2 Heirloom Straight Long
2 Eggplant
4 Green Pepper
2 Basil
Existing Perennials:
1 Chive
1 Rosemary
1 Oregano
1 Sage