Installing veggie beds in Claremont

I installed two 3x8 foot vegetable beds today out in Claremont.  This is for a family relocating from San Francisco to Orange County and the husband wanted to suprise his wife when she gets here in a few days with the veggie garden all done!  Hello, how awesome is that?!!!!

After living in San Fran with exactly one 'stick of a tree' next to their place, they are so excited to have a huge yard with mature fruit trees for their little one to run around in.  I thought I would share the planting diagram and a few pics with you just so you can see how MUCH you can plant in a small space.

I trained the husband and his dad today on how to use Haven Brand Moo Poo Tea on the seedlings to help them grow big and strong.  He promised to send pics in a few weeks so I've got my fingers crossed that another family has been bitten by the bug to grow their own!  I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this family-the dad is on the older side and had grown up in the fields and helped Cesar Chavez back in the day.  He knows every farmer from here to Salinas and had some great perspective on the rewards of physical labor.

You can see by the diagram below that we planned to use the space inside the bed but also calculated that the melons could spill over into the adjoining yard just fine.  A few of the things they wanted were slightly out of season, but they had their heart set on Beets and Swiss Chard, so we'll see how they do this time of year.

For those that LOVE Details, here is a list of everything you need to build these on your own

·         Gloves

·         Pen / Pencil

·         Scissors

·         Apron (optional, but really handy)

·         Tarp for mixing bagged soils and keeping the area tidy

·         Wood 4, 3 foot long boards and 3, 8 foot long boards.  Ours were reclaimed redwood that I sanded down to freshen up the wood a bit.

·         1 Container Seaweed Extract

·         1 Moo Poo Tea Bag Get it here: http://www.ahavenbrand.com/

·         Seeds

·         Plant Markers

·         Crushed Eggshells

·         WeedCloth or Newspaper / Cardboard

·         Staple Gun and Staples

·         Shovel

·         Rake

·         Twist Digger

·         Drill

·         Screws

·         Corner Brackets, 8 ($10)

·         20 cubic feet of soil, compost, amendments, peat moss, etc.