Our vegetable garden is planted and it’s thriving on all the rain we’re getting here in the Midwest. Usually the seeds and starter plants go in the ground on Mother’s Day, but this year we were able to plant a few days earlier, on the 8th of May.  My boyfriend and I love to recycle.  Last year we recycled two pallets for the leafy vegetables and they worked so well that we’re using them again this year.  The dog kennel we are using is still standing strong.  Read more here about how we came across that treasure and put it to good use.

For a more detailed “how to” tutorial using the pallets read back on last year’s post here.  They held up well over the Winter months.  They weren’t covered or moved during the off season.

This year we decided to go back to using the black fabric landscaping and garden pins for weed prevention. Using the newspaper and straw worked well, but it made for a lot of clean up at the end of the season.  If you prefer the straw method here’s how we applied it last year.

So, what did we plant?  Collard greens, mesclun (greens mixture), baby spinach, kale, green onions, green peppers, banana peppers, jalapeno peppers, grape tomatoes, mountain fresh tomatoes, and watermelon.

Now, let’s get started.  Enjoy the post and I hope it inspires you to plant one of your own.

Along with the seeds and starter plants we always mix some miracle grow in when they first go in the ground (and pallets).  Just to give the dirt a little boost.

Five days after planting the vegetable seeds, they popped right up!  Notice the pallet with the kale and green onions.  Place your taller vegetables in the smaller slot and save the leafy vegetables for the larger section.

The cages were placed around the plants right away.  Once your vegetables start to grow they may need a little additional support.  Read here for additional tips in that area.

Red bricks were lined along the side of the garden that faces the yard.  They work nicely as a stepping stone when entering the garden and they prevent the dogs from reaching in and grabbing any of the fabric material.  Bonus, they look nice.

As you can see from the image above everything is doing well.  This photo was taken on the 27th of May.  A little over two weeks from when we first planted it.

More garden updates are coming along with some additional tips.

The dogs did quite well during this whole process.  Usually they try to get inside the garden and grab a plant or two and run with it.  A fresh bone will distract them for hours.

So, what’s in your garden?