Bring on the Veggies

We're trying our hands at Veggie garden this year but I didn't just want a standard flat garden. Eric built me a cedar raised bed - SO EASY!!!

This was our inspiration and we improvised the plans.
Basically you just build a box and then stick it in the ground. Its best to used cedar or the new recycled wood products (think Trex). You NEVER want to use treated wood because the chemicals from the treatment and seep into your soil then your veggies and then you eat them. GROSS. Cedar is great because it repels bugs, won't rot quickly and ages to a beautiful whitewashed gray.

Our raised bed is 4' x 8' which reduced the amount of cuts because the boards come in 8' sections. Plus 4' x 8' is plenty of room for a family of 2 and perfect as a starter garden. We built our box out of 2x6 boards, 2x2 stakes along the corners (cut at an angle for easy staking) and then a few pieces of 1x2's as trim.
Next, we added about 32 cubic feet of dirt - a mix of Manure, garden soil, and peat moss.

Then it was time for the plants!!! This is my favorite part. I picked out 3 tomatoes (big slicing ones, romas for salads and such and cherry for eating straight out of the garden :)), bell peppers, eggplant, 2 types of lettuce, squash and cucumbers and LOTS of herbs.

Here are my babies just waiting to be put in their new home.
And here they are living happily ever after.
The lettuce is loving the spring weather.
I couldn't find dill plants so I planted some seeds as well as some shallots that are already coming up.
I am drooling already thinking about the salads and fresh grilled veggies we are going to enjoy this summer.

Did you plant a garden this year? Have any tips to share?
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