This is my third summer at 4027 and, likewise, my third try at gardening. Hopefully the third time really will be the charm! This year, L and I went all out and have “his” & “hers” gardens. L’s garden is in the backyard and gets partial sun, mine is in a garden box L built for the south side of the house and gets major sun, all day long. Whose do you think will flourish? I’ve placed my bets. 
Here's L planting his garden -- green beans, banana peppers, cucumbers, and a strawberry plant!
Earlier this spring, L and my mom planted several potato plants — they took a couple of weeks to make themselves known, but they’re growing like weeds right now! L calls it his “hash-brown” garden. We’ll probably have potatoes to share with the masses come August.
For my garden, L built a garden box out of some old reclaimed wood that the previous owners left in the garage. He’s so handy! This would probably be a great place to give a tutorial on how to build the perfect garden box… honestly, we got lucky and the boards were almost the perfect size to form a perfect square box. A couple of trim cuts and some screws, and we were in business.
Designing the perfect garden box
After putting the garden box in place on the side of the house, it was time to fill it with the type of rich, black soil we’re known for here in Minnesota. Luckily, our neighbors were digging up sod and dirt to put in a patio, so we took a couple of wheelbarrows full of dirt, and then headed to our neighborhood Home Depot for some top soil and some of the best fertilizer around:
Moo-Nure!
All Natural, Baby!
Next up: Mixing in some pine needles from the dang tree in the front yard highly sought after organic mulch, and planting my garden! I chose four different tomato plants (“early girl”, Roma, cherry and hybrid “best boy”), red onions and a few different bell peppers. L added cucumbers and zucchini to the box, confessing for the first time his love of zucchini bread.
Tomatoes, Peppers, Cukes & Zukes
Rounding out the edible garden are some herbs in some nearby pots: rosemary, basil, dill, oregano, cilantro and mint. I foresee salsa, marinara sauce, pickles and mojitos in my future! Not necessarily in that order… I’ve already sampled some of the mint for homemade Limoncello mojitos (stay tuned for more on that process to come…)
Planted Garden Box
How does your garden grow? What types of veggies or fruits are you growing this year? And, who has the magic solution to prevent the bunnies from eating everything?!?
That guy in the pictures looks like a cool dude
I love your garden box. We are in the process of trying to figure out some kind of raised garden container or box for our herb garden too. And the limoncello mojitos sound amazing. Can’t wait to see how you make them.
Love you gardens!! And after our additions yesterday, I think your harvest will indeed be abundant!! Looking forward to sharing the bounty when I visit (and help!). M