Update

So I've been avoiding you. And I'm sorry. Oh well though "you" is a general term for the people that don't even read my blog in the first place so really its no big deal.
So I picked green beans today and there were enough for the father and I to have some, along with peas from the garden and the CSA, and a single carrot. The outside was very purple, the inside not so much. Basically just the peel was orange and the inside was yellow. But I'm not too worried about it. I think next year I'll grow orange though as they're supposed to taste better. And I think I'll plant more because they're doing really well and don't have problems with pests really. I'll also plant more beans. I estimate that I've only gotten about 3/4 of a pound so far, but they're still producing so I'm not considered about that number. And I didn't even plant that many. The ones in the earthbox definitely grew faster though, but they sort of are covering up the carrots. I think if i plant beans again in the box ill just do 2 rows because 8 carrots is pretty measly and the beans are sort of smothering them anyway.

The potatoes are basically failing and I don't know why. I've used organic bug spray and serenade on them and they stopped their spiral downward but still look pretty much like shit. The tomatoes are doing well but I planted them too close together. And Isis Candy grew like a maniac but has one baby cherry as far as I can see. And its flopping all over the place. One of them has a very manageable habit but I don't know which yet because the 'maters are still green. Cream sausage has done very well, and I think I'll plant more determinate types next year because it has loads of them and its not to big. Some dumb animal ate like 3 of the green ones though. Asshole. The cucumbers are doing well too but the stupid deer keep eating they're leaves off. They've grown up to the top already and the deer can't reach that far so its okay now. The lettuce is all flowery and happy, but so far only the yugoslavian red has any opened ones. I plan to pollinate and save some before the Forellenschuss opens up. Hopefully that one will just self pollinate.

The peas did well except they had a bunch of caterpillars so I'll have to keep an eye on that for next year. And Japanese beetles are freaking all over the place I'm going to look for some organic killer but if I can't find any I'll probably get some anyway. I'm sick of them.

Catching Up

Since I decided to do this after we had already built the garden and gotten stuff ready I'm just going to write a summary of what's been done in our first year of a garden.

We (meaning mostly I, and some input from the family) decided to plant 5 types of tomatoes, 4 types of peppers, two types of basil, chives, peas, green beans, potatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and strawberries. Me and my dad built the raised bed frame, which is about 30' x 3.5'. My friend and I used her truck to take a trip down to the solid waste agency and have it filled with (free!) compost three times. It took all day and was hard work, but it was a blast. We then went to Earl May and got straw for mulch, marigolds to do their magic thing that tomatoes apparently like, and strawberry plants. Unfortunately we only get six strawberry plants and our planter takes nine, so our six are just waiting to be planted. We then made some rows in the mulch to plant lettuce, for which I am VERY excited because I've never had anything but supermarket iceberg, with the occasional romaine thrown in. I chose Yugoslavian Red Butterhead and Forellenschuss as our lettuces because they both had some nice seed catalog prose. Also, a few weekends before my friend and I planted the basil, dill, moss rose flowers, and some tomatoes in a seed starting setup.

Most of the lettuce seeds have now sprouted and I'm am impatiently waiting for them to grow some leaves so I can thin them out while sampling my choices. I also planted the potatoes, but having so many different types of plants in a relatively small garden means that I only have a total of about 7 feet of potatoes, plus our two Potato Grow Bags from Gardener's Supply Co. That probably won't end up being very much potatoes but we also have our CSA, for which I am also VERY excited because we will have so many fresh local vegetables and I will be able to feel all good and happy about inside while I stuff my face.

As I write this I should really probably be working on my research paper that I haven't really started yet, or doing my calculus, but oh well.

Just in case any of you wanted to know what types of each plant I'm growing, I'll give you a list of all the fancy-sounding heirlooms because the other plants just have lame generic names anyway. If I end up having fantastic harvests of peas or something, you can just ask me where I got them later on down the road.
Tomatoes: Yellow Sausage, Isis Candy (sounds sooo good), Cherokee Purple, Brandywine, Gold Medal
Peppers: Fish, Tolli's Sweet Italian, Buran, and something else (we ordered plants from Seed Saver's so long ago)
Basil: Thai and Purple

Alright that paper is really calling... peace.