The Experimental Garden

This is just a small unused portion of lawn between our house and garage that I wanted to take advantage of. I didn’t want to plant these vegetables on a large scale until I can really get them down. I’m saving the larger gardens for vegetables and herbs that I’m used to growing. I can’t dig and plant anything over here because it is close to our septic tank. So I figured, why not make some cheap planter boxes from scrap wood and try to grow things I’ve never grown before? I’m still working on it and have a few things to add but why not go ahead and share some of the progress that I’ve made?

As you can see, it is still a work in progress and I have quite a bit more to do!

My first 3 boxes are sweet onions that have been planted at different intervals. This is the first one and seems to be doing pretty good. I think I may have planted them a little too close together and maybe a little early but only time will tell. For now, they’re growing good and worst case scenario, all I get is a great substitute for scallions which is ok by me! Next to the onions I have garlic planted. I just planted those so there’s not much to show there other than a cheap homemade planter and some straw. I’m really hoping those take off soon.

The main box and 2 smaller boxes contain corn. The main box sprouted a lot better than I anticipated so I decided to add 2 more to see what happens. The box to the left contains a few miniature okra seeds. I just planted those as well and hope to see some growth in the next week. I have no idea what to expect from the corn, seeing as how I’ve never even thought about growing it. If you have any tips, please share!

Here, I am growing a variety of small or fingerling potatoes. Again, never grown these before but they seem to be doing pretty good. I recently spread more straw on top so they look a little smaller than what they are. I’ve read about and watched people be successful growing potatoes under nothing but straw. I’m going to find out what happens when you use dirt and straw and I’ll let you know how it goes!

These are the little fellas, or ladies, we don’t discriminate here, that I’m most excited about! I’m not talking about the weeds in background either. I’ll take care of those later. I have always wanted to grow asparagus. This small planter has 2 to 3 Mary Washington crowns planted in it. Considering I left the crowns in a box for over a month before planting, I’m surprised and elated that they are doing so well. I actually have a large spot in one of the other gardens where I will be planting more Mary Washington’s and what I believe are called Jersey Giants. I can’t remember the name and being the person I am, I can’t find them at the moment. My wife must have hid them because I never misplace anything……..

These will not be ready to harvest for another year or two but I am a patient man that loves some asparagus! If you are wanting to plant asparagus, do your research. There are some sites that offer 2-3 year old crowns that you can harvest sooner. I plan to be on this little homestead for years to come so I am ok with waiting.

Anyways, as always, please follow along and check out any progress or failures that I make. If you have tips, suggestions, or questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments!