Update (5/13/2018) : It has been one week after the veggie beds and perennial garden were planted. Here is an update of all the veggies as well as the fruit trees we planted early April. This weekend, we added a few more heirloom tomatoes and seeded gourd and morning glories along the back fence. The garden is looking better every day!

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Weekend had come and gone faaaast. We worked both days long and hard in the garden and I could not believe how much we’ve accomplished. We are both sore from hair to toe, so I will keep my words brief today and let the picture do the talking.

We decided on a small garden this year to get our hands warm with the dry and short growing season and heavy clay soil. To maximize the chance of success, I ordered two Garden-in-a-Box kits from Resource Central, a non-profit for water conservation in Boulder.

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We got their salad garden kit and a honeybee friendly perennial kit. Both include a few dozens of plants and come with a plant map for companionship.

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We also picked up some herbs from a local nursery with some fresh compost.

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We chose the southern side of our yard for the veggie garden. I mapped out a few 4’x16′ beds and put down old carpet weeks prior to suppress grass growth.

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The perennial garden were planted near the shed to cover an unsightly tree stump.

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We started digging early Saturday morning. Slav tackled the veggie beds as I worked on the perennial bed. Removing established turf was not easy, and we had to dig another 10″ down for better root growth.

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By late afternoon, after 8 hours of digging, we had this:

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Slav dug up two 4’x16′ beds and two narrow trenches for planting potatoes.

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Roxie loves fresh soil. She felt asleep on the cool soil and looked super cute.

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Look at her. Isn’t she the cutest?

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As of me, I dug out this 6′ x 14′ oval shape garden. We have heavy clay so I amended it by mixing in equal part of peat moss and another equal part of manure.

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Sunday morning, we started bright and early with the perennial garden.

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The plants perked up after a good drink and a couple hours of sun.

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Next, we put all 20 seeding potatoes in the trenches and covered them with loose black tea compost.

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We amended the veggie beds by further breaking the clumps and removing grass roots, followed by adding equal amount of the black tea compost.

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We were pretty beat after all the soil work. But we pushed through and planted all the veggies and herbs.

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This year We have more herbs then ever and rare varieties. I am pretty stoked.

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Also planted were five tomatoes and two peppers.

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And a bunch of lettuce, cabbage, chard, and kale.

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Soaking hoses were placed along the potato patches and in the veggie beds. Aside from growing our own food, saving water is big reason for replacing the turf.

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We are happy with all the progress. It is also exciting to watch our fruit trees grew.

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The two cherry trees put out lots of leaves and the nectarine tree really branched out:

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The peach tree did not grow many leaves, but it is about to flower:

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We planted the honey crisp apple weeks later, so it had a slow start. But it is catching up nicely.

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People says perennials “first year sleep, second year creep, and the third year leap”. We are anxious but hopeful. Trees and flowers, grow!