Pics of Planting the Iowa Boxes

Here are the four boxes laid out in the garden. We used a combination of horse manure compost and garden soil. In the fall my plan is to remove some of the existing mixture and add some peat moss to the mixture of each box.

I used nails that were short but with a large head (roofing nails) to anchor the twine to make the grids. After planting the grids you can remove the twine but I've just left ours in. One did break, but that was due to The Kid stepping on it as he used the box as a balance beam (which he will NEVER do again).

And here The Kid is planting some marigolds and pansies around the boxes. This was a moment of 'let him do it his way' instead of 'do it my way'. Took a few deep breaths. They seem to be doing fine where they are and they add a nice touch of color as the boxes begin fill in.

It's cloudy and kind of cool today. Thankfully the veggie garden is under control. :)

Happy gardening!

The Boxes are Planted and Thriving

I love it! Our boxes are looking great in our garden and the Kansas boxes have also been planted and we'll see how they're doing this coming weekend.

I think I'm going to be able to meet my goal of halving the garden area this year. We've been moving the daylillies that have been in 'holding' and will finish the moves this week if all goes as planned. I still have some mini Iris to find a home for but those are easy to plop into the ground somewhere.

The carrots The Husband and The Kid planted where I didn't want them are doing well. I thinned them out a bit. The radishes and peas they planted were duds. I've moved some sunflowers to one section of the garden so they'll shade the sandbox and I've also transplanted beans that are coming up in the wrong spot.

Here in Iowa we have four boxes that are planted. The front two are 4'x4' and the back is 3'x3' or there abouts, it's made of scraps. The back one was planted with two pepper plants and strawberries and then the one next to it is all strawberries. Even though they have not started to produce runners I can see how much I'm going to enjoy having them in a box instead of on the ground.

The front two boxes have a variety of veggies and flowers. We've planted some spinach, lettuce, two types of onions (Walla Walla and a plain white onion), broccoli, cabbage and bush peas. Within them we have some snapdragons, a nasturtium, and allium (not sure what it's going to do as it's a transplant and I'm not sure I've ever seen it bloom). Around all of the boxes The Kid planted a mixture of pansies and marigolds.

Our next container will be about 2'x6' and contain herbs. It will be located on the western edge of the garden .

I'm utilizing the bean/pea tee-pee to trellis muskmelon and cucumbers. Under the tee-pee are two watermelons we will keep under control with selective pruning. We've also planted two tomatoes and could have room for one more.

Like many around us the lawns are growing very rapidly. Our small pasture area and the ditches were really long so we had to pick up the grass clippings. I've used those on top of the landscape fabric and I think it looks so much better than the black stuff out there. Since I did not purchase a heavy fabric weeds were still sprouting underneath our foot paths. This new mulch should take care of that and since it's not going to be tilled into the soil I shouldn't have to worry about grass seeding itself.

Speaking of weeding it is sooooooo easy to weed these boxes! In less than 10 minutes they can be weed free. I suspect the longer they are in the garden the less weeds there will be to pull. Now, there are plenty coming up around the potatoes, the bean/pea tee-pee and the tomatoes. I left our extra fabric in Kansas and will lay it when I get back from my next trip down. Before I lay it I may Preen the soil. Still debating.

I'm going to post some pictures tomorrow. Right now I'm uploading some pics and my computer does not multi-task as well as I do.

Happy gardening!

I knew it had been awhile....

but over a month?!?! Time certainly does fly when you're out in the garden! The weather has been fairly cooperative and the boxes are planted along with most of the other veggies. There's still lots to do around the property but it's also coming along. I promise to get back into the posting groove to share what's successful and what's failing.

Happy gardening!

Never leave The Husband alone....

with seeds on the counter 'cuz he'll plant them where you don't want them. Yes, The Husband got antsy and planted some of my garden without consulting me. What was he thinking?!?! He claims he didn't know I had a plan to use boxes and what not in the garden this year but I distinctly remember standing IN THE GARDEN looking at the corkscrew willow and telling him why it had to be moved.

He meant well and it's not the end of the world. The saving grace of this is that he and The Kid planted beans on the bean trellis (which I wanted to move but that's not a big deal for this year either) and the radishes and lettuce are off to the side and out of my way.

But lesson learned - never leave seed out in plain sight of The Husband and then leave for the weekend. :)

Happy gardening!

~ Bobbie

The Kansas Square

I was in Kansas for about 48 hours and enjoyed some really great weather on Monday. While I didn't have a lot of time to work in the garden, I was able to begin the plotting and planning.

This spot has some of the poorest soil on the property. I have no idea why my parents chose it for a garden. Consequently production has been weak, weeds have been frustrating, and the clay composition dries out rapidly. It used to be bigger, but the tilled area now measures 23' (east/west) x 20' (north/south), with a 10' x 10' asparagus patch (lower right corner). On the left side of the tilled area is a row of purple iris. They need to be worked on but for now they'll have to continue on as is.

My uncle had been up to roto-till the plot for my mom earlier in the month. I raked the area a bit on Sunday but it was still too wet to really do anything. Monday's warmth and constant winds dried the area up enough for me to rake it with a leaf rake to level it some and to pick up the weed debris that was left after the till job. The spot needs another pass with the tiller, I don't think my uncle had his tiller set deep enough and I think he missed a few spots. The Husband will be able to take our big tiller down in April and give it another pass before I set the boxes and begin the planting.

Last fall we had spread about a 1" thick layer of horse manure onto the existing area. The soil seems to have been improved somewhat by the addition of this compost (and we've added some in past years). Since the square foot garden method involves raised beds with the addition of new soil and compost I don't think we'll do anything else to the soil.

In a previous post I mentioned my desire to be as chemical free in the garden as possible. This area was let go in the fall (okay, early summer) and I know there are thousands, if not millions, of weed seeds just waiting to sprout and taunt me. So I broke out the Preen and gave the area a good dose just in time for a soaking rain to fall overnight.

I also laid two lengths of landscape fabric. The first is a 20' x 3' strip on the far east side of the garden (upper part of the photo) and was laid north/south. For some reason my uncle did not till that area but it's where the iris end so I chose to make the garden go that far. Our ranch is covered with limestone rocks so later we'll go on a rock hunt and it will be lined with limestone and made into an perennial bed with native prairie plants.

The second strip goes east/west along the southern edge of the garden. This strip will be one of the working path.

I'm also not a big fan of landscape fabric but I believe this garden warrants its use. My mom has a type of Parkinson's that affects her walking and balance, and she tires easily. The landscape fabric will be an extra barrier to weed prevention in the walking areas. I chose to use the two-pronged landscape fabric staples to hold the material in place. We'll see how it holds up over the next two weeks to the Kansas winds. I probably used too many of the staples (I'm going to need at least another box, if not two, of them) but since this garden is in the wide open prairie extras are warranted.

It was good to be on the home place. Being in zone 4 the daffodils, hyacinth and tulips are all up and waving happily at all who pass by. The grass is greening hourly, the tree buds are bursting at the seams and cool weather annuals are begging to be planted. In fact, I put in pansies and snapdragons in some of the porch pots.

I'm just itching to put some more plants in the ground but in reality I'll have to wait another two weeks. Until then I'm going to research some more tomato, cucumber, sweet potato and squash varieties that are bushier and require less maintenance.

Someday...Chairs

I already have a small collection of garage sale finds (The Husband just shakes his head and rolls his eyes) for these projects. One is already painted a bright green and another is in pink. We have a collection of leftover paints in the basement to use on these someday. Again, these projects are courtesy of the Polk County Master Gardeners and their fantabulous display garden at the Iowa State Fair.


I really like the colors on this chair. The deep purple with the pink and orange really make a splash in the garden.


This is a chair that used to have a cane bottom that a large airplane (or spider) plant has been placed into. I'd like to try this with our huge airplane plant this summer. I think I have a good corner for it to hang out in this summer.


We're getting flurries today so no digging but I think The Husband and I may try to get one or two 3' x 3' boxes ready to go to Kansas tomorrow. Happy garden dreaming!

Someday...Pots

If you're like me you have a "Someday..." list. Those things you'd like to try in the garden, crafts to make, projects around the house and what-not. Thanks to the Polk County Master Gardeners my "Someday..." list gets longer every year. These gardeners do a fantabulous demonstration garden just outside of the Horticulture Building on the grounds of the Iowa State Fair. Here are some of my favorite "Someday..." ideas for pots from their display.