Rosemary and bush beans

Last year I planted 6 squares of bush beans (9 plants per square). The plants were very pretty, but every time there were blossoms, the next day I would go out and they would be gone I decided something had to be eating them, but never saw what. This year I planted the last of my seeds, between a late freeze and the dog digging, I only ended up with 6 plants, which I transplanted so they would all be in the same square.  I read that rosemary is a good companion plant  for your beans.  I had a small rosemary in another part of the garden, and it was not growing well, so I moved it into the plot of beans.  The result is good, both types of plants are now thriving.

Rosemary shown here, has a huge range of culinary, medicinal, and beauty uses. One thing I want to try this year is making  skewers from the stalks. 

My bush bean plants are no where near as bushy and green as last year, and with so few plants I do not expect a large crop but I am excited to see a few baby beans growing as you can see in the picture above.

The set up....

We began our project in late May 2012Finished 4'x4' raised bed with square feet marked off with twine ready for planting. We started with three of these.

Getting the beds ready was a family project. It took 4 large bags of garden soil per bed.

The girls were eager to help plant. We used seeds and starter plants.

Introduction

Hi,

Last year with rising food costs, and my two daughters growing into vegetable lovers, I decided it was finally time to stop talking and actually create the long desired raised bed garden. I did a little Internet research and looked at both homemade and store bought versions. I decided it would be cheap and easy to make my own by having Home depot cut boards for me and getting my husband to help me nail them together into squares. The dirt actually cost more than all the other supplies put together. I have since heard that there is a local place you can buy soil by the truck load for a much cheaper price, but I don't have a truck, so for now I have to get it in the plastic bags.  I started with three four by four beds, and researched square foot gardening and companion planting which are the two methods I am most interested in. Last year we had a very small crop due to our late start, but we did get some tomato, jalapeño, a very delicious cantaloupe, and a lot of herbs. The garden is off to a great start this year, and my following posts will be about creating the beds last year, and then skip into this years garden experience. I will also be adding tips and recipes as I go. 

Enjoy!

Bugs in the lettuce...good or bad?

I went to the garden to harvest some lettuce leaves for our hamburgers the other day and one of the plants was crawling with a large number of small bugs.

These tiny little bugs look like spiders and  so they creep me out. I don't want to rid the garden of beneficial insects, so I went Internet searching, i can't find the exact bug, but I think they are aphids or spider mites.  They definitely do not look like any of the listed "good bugs" even though I have seen no plant damage to the lettuce. I do have damage to nearby plants so I am going to try and get rid of these creepy crawlers using biodegradable soap and water first. I found this link on-line that has a bunch of bug remedies for natural growing practice.

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/homemade-organic-gardening-sprays.htm

Nasturtium growing in the garden

Nasturtium leafs and flowers are both edible, and the plant is reported to have a peppery flavor (I have not tried it yet). The leaves are full of vitamins, and eating them helps improve digestion and kidney issues.

Nasturtium does not like to be overwatered, ir fertilized, so next year I may try these in pots set around the garden perimeter, for better results. The blossoms are very pretty, I have only had a few blooms so far. The pungent odor of the plant is said to repel many insects that would like to eat my produce, especially aphids, so I planted seed in random spots throughout the garden. I have one in the lettuce, yet my lettuce has become a home to some sort of insect.