seed addiction and one super awesome raised bed idea

last weekend we heading over to gateway greening's bell demonstration garden, and even though i have more seeds than i can possibly plant this season, at such low prices, i just had to get more. for community gardeners, or gateway greening members, the veggie seed packets were 25 cents and the flower packets were free!!! so i signed up for a membership and got a sweet deal on flower seeds, as well as, some seed potatoes and onion starts, (which i'll talk about in upcoming garden posts). also a few days before that, i picked up some seeds for yet another winter squash and lemon cucumbers. what all this really means is, if i don't seriously get some homemade garden markers going, it's gonna get really confusing out there.

i'm really hoping the marigolds help control the bunnies and squirrels.

also while we were at the bell garden, we watched a potato planting demo and checked out some raised beds in various states of production. set on 22 vacant city lots, it's pretty cool to go and walk around and see all the great veggie gardening that folks are doing. i can't wait to see it once the growing season is in full swing.

one particular bed caught my eye by totally maximizing the space with the addition of some vertical containers made out of house gutters. i figure that's a great place to grow different kinds of lettuce, herbs, and small leafy greens, therefore, leaving the rest of the bed for growing your tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and such.  plus, what a great way to keep the tender lettuce out of reach from the ever present multitude of bunnies that romp around the city. i don't think they had much in the cold frame, but it does look like they have a few onion starts growing in the middle of the bed.

soon soon soon, it will be time to set the tomatoes out in the garden, and hopefully with a new home and fresh compost, they will really start to grow for me. till then, i guess it is warm enough during the day to start the hardening off process. fingers crossed that a little fresh air will do wonders for my tomato babies. in the meantime, i'm gonna weed the small garden plot, till in some compost, and spread out coffee grinds and crushed egg shells. and with all the garden centers opening up for the growing season, it's time to hunt down some sea kelp and worm poop. next time i'll show you my potato plan and onion starts.

p.s. garden note to self.... time to ready more starts. make more newspaper pots for some squash and cucumbers. squash will need 4 weeks before setting out, and cucumber will only need about two weeks. get working chick!!!!