Like many people during the COVID-19 quarantine, as we “Shelter at Home” we find ourselves trying to be as productive as possible by tackling some home improvement projects. Planting a vegetable and herb garden is something we’ve always been interested in, and now that we’re trying to limit our visits to the market to once a week, the news is reporting possible food scarcities, and our calendar is pretty wide open, we thought “what better time?” (We also recently lost our beloved golden retriever, so working in the yard has been especially therapeutic for my husband, Frank.)
Fortunately, a good friend connected us with Aaron Yocum, who was super nice and very affordable. We started off by FaceTiming with Aaron to show him our existing garden over the phone, and then we followed up with some e-mails.
Next, Aaron purchased the seeds, starter plants and soil, and he built and installed the garden boxes, including a drip-line tapped into our sprinkler system. Frank also stained the boxes with a wood accelerator. It took them about two days to finish everything.
And then came the planting. Since we are beginners, we went with some of our favorites:
dwarf fruit trees (Eureka lemon and pink grapefruit)
strawberries
garlic
celery
potatoes (yellow and purple)
tomatoes (San Marzano and paste)
zucchini
carrots
radishes
cucumbers (Persian)
pnions (bulbing and green onions)
peppers (sweet orange, red bunching, chocolate and jalapeño)
green beans
snap peas
lettuces (Romaine and Red Sails)
kale
arugula
spinach
marigolds (edible flowers)
…and lots of herbs: parsley, basil, cilantro, thyme, oregano, dill, chives, and coriander
We are eager to start harvesting vegetables and herbs to prepare with our meals in the weeks to come . I’ve been a vegetarian since high school, so this is especially exciting for me — and I hope it means my husband will start eating more vegetables.
I’m also very pleased with how everything looks, especially showcasing our baby crepe myrtle tree, which I picked up (along with a rain barrel) at a Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council Sustainability event a couple of years ago.
If you are interested in growing your own food and planting a garden, this is a great time. I’ll be sure to follow up with some “after” photos once the garden has matured!
