Let the gardening begin

I sowed seeds in our square foot raised bed garden yesterday. Here's the lineup:

• 6 squares of Swiss chard (Bright Lights by Lake Valley)
• 2 squares of spinach (Bloomsdale by Lake Valley)
• 6 squares of boy choy (White Stem by Botanical Interests)
• 2 squares of beets (Gourmet Blend by Botanical Interests)
• 4 squares of head lettuce (2 each of Red Sails by Lake Valley and Tennis Ball from Monticello--see below)
• 4 squares of leaf lettuce (2 each of Spicy Salad Mix and Zesty Mesclun Mix, both Lake Valley)

I planted extra Swiss chard because, well, we love the stuff . . . and you can only put two plants in a square foot. You can only put one bok choy plant per square, which is the reason for so many of those. If you're wondering how I knew this, it's because I used Gardener's Supply Company's online kitchen garden planner, which is an awesome tool.

The Tennis Ball lettuce seeds came from Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home in Virginia. We visited there last August and were very impressed with the vegetable gardens there. This variety of lettuce is a head lettuce kind of like Bibb. Supposedly, it was President Jefferson's favorite lettuce variety, and my sources tell me that it will do well here in central Indiana. I look forward to finding out for myself!

We're also working on another raised bed, which you can see under construction between the square foot garden and the deck. Here, we'll eventually plant "tall things" such as tomatoes, beans, and cucumbers.  This is all still really new to us. After all, it's just our second year of vegetable gardening. We've got a lot to learn! Hopefully, our efforts will be rewarded with a bountiful harvest. :-)