It lives!

It has been a while since I have updated the current progress of my garden, so here is another photo tour of what is growing in my backyard. The conventional wisdom around here is that it is a waste of time to try to grow things in the existing dirt, and that you should instead grow everything in soil you purchase and install into raised beds. Buying all new soil was way out of my budget, so what you see here is grown in Round Rock Dirt...amended generously with the cheapest compost available at Lowes.

I am using the cheap composted cow manure from Lowes because (1) it is really cheap, and (2) it seems better than a lot of the more expensive stuff. When I was deciding what to buy, the fancy Black Kow manure seemed to be mostly wood, and is about $5.50 for a 50 lb sack. The cheap stuff is $1.35 for a 40 lb sack, and is a whole bag full of fine and dark compost...with no wood chips in sight. Through my various plantings this year I have bought 40 bags of the stuff.

Now on to the pictures!

Blackberries on my new (tiny) bushes. It looks like we will get a couple cups this hear, with hopefully many more next year.

A look at my beans. You can also see a little bit of garlic an an artichoke on the bottom. I suspect the artichoke is just going to end up on the compost pile soon.

A look at the first Juliet tomatoes to appear. Several of my other varieties are starting to fruit too, so we are already doing better than last year!

An overall view of my backyard garden.