2013 Organic Garden in the Ground!

This weekend, I put my second ever organic garden into the ground!

After a lot of prep work and seed starting, we dove in and made it happen. Not only had I used vermicompost to help put the garden to sleep last fall, but I also made another application earlier in the year and started the seedlings in a half dirt/half vermicompost mix. Hooray, worm power!

I'll admit, some of my starter plants looked less than stellar after a week of neglect (sorry, vacations come first!)- but most were sturdy and ready to hit the dirt!

Here's the layout of what I'll refer to as OG2013:

The strawberries are already growing strong, especially after I installed the easy-to-build berry fence. It really is a snap to take off and put back on again...or as I call it, teasing the local rabbits:

The last installation was a red raspberry bush, which has a lot to contend with given the blackberry bush is practically taking over the neighborhood:

The blackberry bush already had to be clipped and is quickly encroaching into the new sweet pepper territory, so I'm sure there will be another trim shortly.

I'm really excited about the red raspberry bush, and I hope it flourishes as well as the blackberry. Some interesting facts about red raspberries:

-They are high in antioxidants, like blueberries.

-Eating whole berries has been shown to have more health benefits than taking a supplement containing the nutrients derived from them.

-They have been shown to have anti-inflammatory qualities.

-One cup of fresh raspberries only has 64 calories!

You can read even more here or here.  I even ran across something called The Berry Bible for once these plants kick into high gear- delish!

OG2013 check ins will be coming throughout the summer- especially for vermicompost applications & growing milestones. Stick with me like a thorn on a berry bush.