The Growing Challenge

I signed up for the Growing Challenge at One Green Generation's blog. The main rules for the challenge are (copied from the website):

#1: Grow one additional type of fruit or vegetable than you did last year, and grow it from seed.

#2: If rule #1 is not enough of a challenge for you, you may make your own rules.

#3: Post about gardening once each week. This could be a post about researching different plants, ordering seeds, buying pots, digging beds, planting the seeds, pruning, adding compost, all the way to preparing

a meal that includes the food you grew.

#4: Check In. Every week [she] will write a check-in post at 1 Green Generation. Please come comment and let everyone know what you’re up to – this is a really great way to learn from one another!!

#5: When signing up, make sure to include your zone and where you’re located. (Find your zone: U.S., Australia, Canada, Europe, South America, China.)

#6: Let [her] know in the comments [below the original post] if you’re joining in the fun!

Last weekend we started this year's garden. We've tried container gardening before and had very minimal and disappointing crops, but everything I had read lately seemed to indicate that starting from seed (rather than with pre-sprouted plants) might be more successful.

We built our 4'x4' raised bed for our garden and then mixed in soil and compost (the girls had a lot of fun with that part). Then we sectioned off square foot sections of the bed and planted seeds in each section according to information we had found on square foot gardening.

I'll be thrilled if even 50% of this grows... that'll be more than we've ever gotten from a garden! I'm still surprised at how many plants we might have in such a small space. In all, we planted 8 tri-color beans, 18 Easter Egg radishes, 12 butter lettuces, 36 beet medleys (red, gold, and Candy Stripe), 20 rainbow chards, and 16 red onions. The only vegetables out of the bunch that we've grown before are lettuce, and never that variety.

Crossing our fingers!