Years ago, we grew a field of watermelons n our family farm. It was quite the experience so this year I
decided to plant a packet of sugar baby seeds.
This was towards the end of spring, so I wasn’t sure if the seeds were viable. To my surprise all 16 germinated and what a beautiful view to watch them grow beyond my expectations.
Growing your own food is a fantastic experience and what you learn with each season is an added bonus. This year I took a smaller approach by planting these seeds in one raised bed. The was less overwhelming than say field planting and it was easy to maintain.
Using one of our 3 x 5 frames was a great choice as it allowed the
vines to cover the dirt working as a protector to keep the soil
moist. This was in addition to the pine
needles I added back in June.
As the vines continued to sprawl, I let them travel towards the ground so I could get the same effect as field planting.
A very energizing experience and this last weekend we enjoyed the first sugar
baby watermelon of the season.
If you are in planting zones 2-11 remember thinking about adding watermelons for next year. Sugar babies will be
back on my planting list as I have already harvested seeds.
A little tip for me I will be planting in a different bed because rotational planting is a must.
When you reach a goal with a positive outcome it just makes you want to do more worthwhile. I like having good experiences in the garden, they help to keep me focused.
Before I close, let me share a little update on my gardening book. This project has been long, but I am happy to say it is in the final weeks before to editing begins.
I think the hardest part was sorting through all those projects because not everything I shared o my retired blog was popular. So, it dawned on me to just add the most popular and I included a few new ones, things that I am doing here in my swamp garden.
Remember to keep growing in everything you do and your takeaway here is simple, raised bed gardening is a great way to leverage your time and energy. Cheers!
Be the good,
Carole