Seed starting and Garden Building

As you know we are building a new house. We should be in by the end of May. This time frame make it hard to get a garden in this year since we currently live an hour from where we are building.

One way or another I am going to make it work! I went all out when purchasing our seeds from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. I may have went overboard but we will see. He is what I bought.

1 x Rose Gold, 1 lb SEED POTATO (39401)
1 x Kentucky Wonder (Old Homestead) BEAN, SNAP (POLE) 28 g (13503)
1 x Early Flat Dutch Cabbage 2g (22101)
1 x Danvers 126 Carrots 3g (35103)
1 x Silver Queen - hybrid Sweet Corn 28g (41901)
1 x Dynamite CORN, POPCORN 28 g (41610)
1 x Straight Eights CUCUMBER 2 g (51107)
1 x Georgia Green COLLARDS 2 g (24101)
1 x Bloomsdale SPINACH 5 g (67105)
1 x Forellenschluss LETTUCE, ROMAINE 0.5 g (62705)
1 x Crimson Sweet, Virginia Select WATERMELON 3 g (55118)
1 x Jalapeño PEPPER, HOT 0.5 g (46508)
1 x Connecticut Field PUMPKIN 5 g (53113)
1 x Early Prolific Straightneck SQUASH, SUMMER  4 g (53101)
1 x Zucchini, Dark Green SQUASH, SUMMER  4 g (53106)
1 x Roma VF, Virginia Select TOMATO 0.16 g (49235)
1 x Homestead 24 TOMATO 0.16 g (49121)
1 x Cilantro (Coriander) - Herb 1g (71216)
1 x Rosemary - Herb 0.1g (71239)
1 x Autumn Beauty SUNFLOWER, ORNAMENTAL 4 g (05301)
2 x Yellow Sweet Spanish ONION, DRY BULB 3 g (66103)
1 x Country Gentleman (Shoepeg) Sweet Corn 28g (41104)
1 x Beauregard - 6 Slips (74102a)

Yeah I know, It's a lot! I don't care. I enjoy it and I hope that I have more than I can handle and we will have a pantry full of canned veggies with plenty left over to share with family and neighbors.

My plan at this point is to have 2 gardens. One will be a 20x40 Raised bed garden consisting of 8 4'x10' beds and 1 4'x7' bed.

Raised Bed Garden

(Herbs, Carrots, Lettuce, Collards, Onions and Spinach)

Food Plot Garden

(Corn, Sunflowers, Pumpkins, Tomatoes, Peppers, Squash, Zuchini and Watermelons)

This one is named the Food Plot Garden because in the fall and winter it will be planted for the deer.

I have spent the last few weeks trying to get these two areas ready to be gardens. Living so far away has not allowed alot of time but I am happy with the progress I have made.

First off was to start some seeds inside. I started Onions, Lettuce, Tomatoes and Cabbage.

Once they grew their first true leaves I moved them from starter  trays to plastic cups with soil in them.

I have now started to put them outside for a couple hours a day to harden them off before I move them to the garden in the next few weeks. 

While the plants continue to grow I have started to till up some ground. I started with the raised bed garden. This is next to the house and its good dirt but lots of roots because just a few months ago this was woods. The plan he is as I posted above to be a raised bed garden with a 3 board fence around it to keep out the Deer and other critters. So far we have the fence post all set and have started putting the cross boards up.

I've only got 1 bed built at this point so I still have a lot to do here. I don't want to plant anything in here yet until I get the boards up so that he deer dont get in there and ruin my plants.

Next it to get the Food Plot Garden ready, as if the first one wasn't enough work! This one is 60'x60'. This ground has been worked over pretty goods the last few years so the roots aren't too bad.

I have ran the tiller over it once so far and it wasn't bad at all.

I will run over the whole thing again before I plant. Also I have ordered deer netting to go around this garden since it is pretty much in the middle of the woods.

So that is were we stand on the garden situation. We still have a lot to do but are making good progress and I expect to have everything planted on time.