Our First Backyard Garden

Tour our first backyard urban vegetable garden, as we add two cedar raised beds to our tiny city lot, full of tomatoes, zucchini, peas, lettuce and herbs!

Our first backyard urban vegetable garden, two raised beds in front of a cedar fence with blooming lilacs behind it.

Our First Backyard Garden

Our first little backyard urban vegetable garden is finally planted and starting to grow! This year we've stuck mostly to tomatoes (a few different varieties) and squash (zucchini and patty pan squash) because I know they are easy ones to grow and good ones to eat.

My husband built 2 beautiful cedar raised beds, about 3ft by 9ft. We filled them with about an equal mixture of compost, vermiculite and peat moss, tossed together on a large tarp.

Lots of small tomato plants on a sunny porch.

We have about 7 tomato plants in one, along with one lonely bell pepper plant that I didn't want to take up too much space since I have never had luck with them. The other is a variety of squash and 3 experimental corn stalks. Knee high by the 4th of July? They may make it, they are about 6 inches tall now (end of May).

Packs of tomato, squash, lettuce and herbs.

All of them I started from seed about a month ago in some little starter cups left in the sun on our porch. They soak up water from the bottom from a pan they sit in. This works out pretty nicely, you don't have to worry about watering them regularly. Just make sure the pan underneath is never totally dry.

Extra Growing Room

On the side of our house we've also squeezed in a few more things. Some peas that I planted directly outside, which I rigged up a little trellis from some scrap wood and string. They are looking really good!

Peas on a trellis and strawberry plants in our city lot urban vegetable garden..

Next to that are a few strawberry plants that a friend of mine gave me from her garden. The plants look like they are doing fine, but I'm not sure if they will give me any berries this year. Homemade Strawberry Shortcake in the future I hope!

Lettuce garden bed on raised cinder blocks.

We have a small raised bed of mixed lettuce that we built last summer. It's up on cinder blocks to keep the rabbits out, but I think a squirrel was digging in the corner of it.

The lettuce is starting to come up and is looking good. It is a "cut and come back" type but I might add some more seeds for later harvesting if I need to.

Raised Bed Garden with tiny tomato plants.

Finally we have a couple pots of herbs, basil and rosemary. I think a squirrel (probably the same one!) got into the rosemary before it even got started so I may throw a few extra seeds in. The chives I planted a few years ago are coming in stronger than ever.

Cedar raised bed garden with tiny squash plants.

Now we need some sunny days, some rainy days, some weeding and some patience...

**Update from 2020** Looking back on our first garden in our old house, it's amazing how much has changed from that tiny little yard in the city! Check out our current garden here, I knew back then that I wanted to be a gardener for life!