My Garden Update: The Potatoes Are Exploding Out Of The Soil!

In my previous post about my garden, I promised to update regularly about it and show you how it is growing. Before I do, though, I wanted to show the garden setup that I created last year. Because I am disabled, and can’t bend over, dig, or lift anything over about eight pounds, I needed to create a garden that was raised up off the ground. My neighbor came over and helped me by stacking up some concrete cinder blocks. Then we put wide boards on the blocks to create a sort of shelf. This worked great for me. It is near my front porch, so I can water it with the hose while I am standing on the porch. There is no need for weeding since I used bagged potting soil and composted cow manure. Rabbits can’t get into it, either. So, it is a perfect little gardening solution for me.

On March 3, Fabgrandpa and I planted some English peas, Swiss chard, and some red potatoes. The potatoes were some that I had bought at the grocery store that had sprouted. I cut them in half, making sure there was a sprout on each piece, and put them in a laundry basket lined with a trash bag, and about three inches of dirt.  The idea is that as they grow, you add more dirt to the container until the container is full of dirt. This is what they looked like a week after I planted them:

This is how the potatoes look today, about five weeks after planting them. The basket is almost full of soil. These are really beautiful plants!

The English peas are doing quite well too. It seems like they know where the trellis is, and attached to it right away as soon as they put out the little clingy vines. It won’t be long until we are munching them for dinner. Shelled or unshelled, they are delicious. 

I can’t wait until they bloom. The pea family has some pretty flowers before the peas come on the vine. Here is how they look today:

The last of the vegetables planted outside already is the Swiss chard. It started out as teenie tiny seeds planted on March 3. On March 14, I noticed the tiny sprouts, barely visible in the pot. 

By today, the chard is almost big enough to pick and steam for dinner:

Now, for the seedlings. I planted them on March 3, and kept them watered. On March 14, you could find them in the pots if you looked really hard for them. 

At least today you can see them. They seem to be coming along ok, but since I have never started any seeds like this before, I have no idea. I think as long as they are still growing, I will be able to get them in the ground and see them thrive. 

This last picture is of some other plants I bought for the garden. There is an heirloom tomato plant, a sweet basil plant, dill, rosemary, sage, and some thyme. These will be planted outside sometime this week. 

So, that is how my garden is doing so far. What do you think? Have you planted anything yet? What are you planning to plant? Do you plant directly in the ground, or do you have a raised bed? Containers? I would love to hear all about it.