Square Foot Garden Test

When my father in law passed away we decided to try

a square foot garden experiment up at his place and

compare it to our normal gardening method.

My brother in law and his wife are watching the house

and adding their own special touches.  This cauldron

and pump never looked better than when they paired them

together and added some trailing plants.

The boxes were put together, cardboard spread around them

and mulch raked on top.

My husband planned out one of his boxes and planted 

several varieties of peppers.

They are growing like crazy with peppers all over.

Mine are growing but nothing near this.

His do get better watering in addition to extra fertilizer.

 My sister in law has a few boxes planted with 

herbs and various vegetables.

It helps having the tractor to move dirt around

and transport mulch down the road from our place.

He would back into the walkway area and dump the mulch.

Then whoever is spreading jumps in to action.

In the last two weeks we have seen major growth in both gardens

but the difference may be in pest control.  They are battling

bunnies which our cats keep under control.  I spend most of my

garden time with duct tape in hand, patting down the backs of

leaves to remove squash bug adults and their eggs that are now emerging.

In addition, the striped potato beetles believe our tomatillo plants 

are their personal honeymoon suite. If I miss an egg, they turn into

 a maggot like larvae that leave a black inky goo when squished. 

 If everything survives, we'll be rolling in tomatillos, squash and tomatoes.