Victory garden sure sounds better than Recession garden.

Okay, I know, my garden isn't a Victory garden but with this whole recession hysteria I just need a prettier verbal image for my first vegetable garden in 16 years than "Recession garden". (see recession hysteria here)

Our migratory summer schedule has generally precluded us from any substantial gardening over the years but I decided that it certainly couldn't hurt to give it a shot again. He hasn't ever really done much veggie gardening so even though he wouldn't be here for the summer harvest I decided to buy starts early this spring and do a small planting just for his visual delight.

4'x8'x18" raised beds filled with 5 years worth of household and yard compost 4 weeks later

You may notice very few white strawberry blossoms in the strawberry bed. It pained me so to snip them off to encourage good root growth this first year so much so that I made my mom snip them off for me. I will be happy about it next summer when I can go out to the garden after work on a warm summer afternoon and pick nice big warm from the sun strawberries to snack on!

my easy herb garden wintered over really well with our strange weather this year.

When I get home in August I plan on direct sowing my fall and winter garden. Hopefully he will come home to a garden full of fresh yummies in September and October and even a few may stretch into the later winter! Check out this fabulous winter gardening book. I think it's out of print and pretty spendy but you could luck out and run across it somewhere for cheap. Spinach, Kale, beets, carrots, lettuces, onions, garlics, potatoes, broccoli and cabbages are all great cool weather crops - there really are a great number of cool maritime weather crops to plant for the fall.

I really want a nice big berry patch too. Tayberries. They are so uncommon here in the states. They are going to be my mission for next year!