It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted anything about my raised bed vegetable garden so let me fill you in on what’s growing and what I’ve learned so far.

What’s Growing

• Tomatoes
  • Grape
  • Sweet 100 Cherry
  • Brandywine Heirloom
  • Big Boy
  • Lemon Boy
• Peppers
  • Jalapeño
  • Poblano
  • Costa Rican Hybrid
  • Thai Dragon
  • Habanero
• Roots & Bulbs
  • Red Onions
  • Shallots
  • Garlic
  • Detroit Red Beets
• Lettuces
  • Spring Mix
  • Romaine
  • Butter head Bibb
• Herbs & Other Various Plants
  • Clemson Spineless Okra
  • Basil
  • Cilantro
  • Parsley

What I’ve learned

• Start seeds indoors early

  • I started my seeds inside on March 16th. WAY too late. Next year I will plant the first week of February which will give them plenty of time to grow to 4″ transplants by mid-April.

• Harden off your seedlings

  • I was a little excited about the lovely weather in early April and moved my tomato and pepper seedlings outside too early. I should have brought them out for a few hours, then back inside, then out again a little longer. It’s important to get the plants acclimated to the outside environment. I lost a lot of seedlings by not doing this correctly.

• Wait till the threat of frost has past to plant seedlings

  • According to the Old Farmers Almanac there was 50% probability of frost free weather after March 29th. We had a VERY mild April in Atlanta with temperatures dipping into the 30’s. I planted several seedlings and seeds the last week of March and they didn’t do well. Next year I will wait until mid-April to plant seeds and seedlings in the ground.

• Automated Drip Irrigation is AWESOME

  • The automated drip irrigation I installed for $100 is working very well. It’s going to come in very handy when we go out of town on vacation this summer.