9.19.2010

Going Green At Home - Part 4

If you haven't read previous posts on this topic, you might want to jump back and start with Part 1 to follow the progress of my amazingly easy green-my-home raised bed garden project.

I don't have a lot of time to monkey around, so I needed this garden project to be easy, fast and successful. As you can see from previous photos, the box, soil and grid went in quickly. We did this over the course of a few weekends, but total time spent on this was probably three or four hours total.Though we did want to start most of our plants from seed, I wanted some instant hits of color for the porch and some basil (since my bird friends have decimated my back porch potted basil plants). I love making my own organic pizza from a rustic crust, simple tomato sauce, organic mozzarella and yes, basil galore. So, basil will be a starter plant.


I chose marigolds for their color and natural pest deterrent properties and salvia for a bit of height and gorgeous purple flowers. The basil also went in along with starter greek oregano and cilantro.

Next up, we planted seeds for several varieties of greens including black seed simpson lettuce and rocket (aka arugula). Broccoli went in - just a couple of seeds in the middle of one square and four days later, I had a green sprout.

Last night I sparingly harvested a few leaves of basil for a pasta dish because, well, I needed that splash of green, that deliciously licorice-y basil flavor to give the dish depth. Perfect, my first harvest.

Stay tuned for what we planted next.

Until next time, go out there and green your home. Take "eat at home" literally!

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