Three Week Update

Raised bed: In the foreground, you can see the squash and beans taking well. The transplanted corn still looks yellow after three weeks in the ground. It appears all the stalks are experiencing some serious root shock from the move.

Raised bed: I planted basil, cilantro, fennel and a new okra plant just beyond the edge of the raised bed. On the right the transplanted okra seems to be getting on just fine. Contrast that with the corn directly behind it.

The blackberry bush needed some serious grooming. Quite a few of the leaves on it's lower branches dried out and died. The tips of the branches put out new growth since the planting (June 7th), so I think the bush is starting to hit it's stride.

After some renovations to the gutter system, the rain barrel is now functional. The rain yesterday (June 23rd) was enough to take the water level from just above the spigot to where you see it now, just under the 50 gallon line!

Sometimes you have to do some digging to make a raised bed...

Put in the first raised bed and a Ouachita Blackberry bush. Trying three sisters in a raised bed, which I have not done before. Put in fourteen corn stalks, with two runner bean seeds planted next to each stalk. Planted acorn squash in between the corn and beans. Also planted five okra.

Food scraps and some brown paper bags make up the green manure.

A layer of cardboard over the scraps, on top of which I spread chopped hay. I punched holes in the cardboard in the openings where the plants ended up.

Three sisters plus okra in the ground. They are planted in a mix of potting, garden and raised bed soil.

Ouachita Blackberry bush, planted in hill country soil.