Peas Please!

Despite having a cold, I was able to get a bit of gardening done this weekend. President's Day is traditionally when I trim our rose bushes, and do a bit of other garden clean up. This year, in addition to those tasks we put in two small raised beds in our parking strip.

We have a long history of trying to get anything other than grass to grow in this area, with poor success, so I'm hoping that this time we've come up with a system that will work.

The beds are 2"x2"and there is enough room around them that they shouldn't cause trouble for anyone using the sidewalk or the street.

I'm hoping we won't have any problems with dogs using them as a restroom - we saw a cute sign in town on someone's parking strip raised beds which read; "Please don't let your dogs pee on our food." So maybe we'll put up something like that if it becomes a problem.

In one bed I planted snow peas, and in the other bed I planted sugar snap peas. Each bed has a little support we put together from bamboo - although I read mixed information about whether or not these kinds of peas require support.

I planted two seeds at the base of each support and three in the middle. I also used an innoculant on the seeds.

It rained a bit shortly after I was done planting, so hopefully that didn't make the seeds too soggy.

I'm really looking forward to seeing some sprouts peaking up from these beds!

Locating the garden beds.

I wish I had paid more attention to which parts of our yard were in full sun last summer - it's hard to tell in the dead of winter what the best locations for the raised beds will be.

I had been considering the front yard, on either side of our walkway, for two 4X4 beds each, but now I wonder if those spots will be shaded by the house for too much of the day.

The area alongside our house might be promising as well, but again, I'm not sure how much of the day it will be in full sun. I also wonder if being so close to the neighbor's fence is a good idea.
She's a gardener too, but from what I've read on some local gardening sites, some neighborhoods don't seem too keen on front yard vegetable gardens.

I'd also like to put a couple of 2x2 beds in the front parking strip. I've tried several times to do something interesting with that space, but so far nothing has lasted.

There has also been some local drama to do with raised beds in the parking strip, but as best as I can tell, it's allowed as long as you aren't creating an obstruction.

Someone down the street from us has a couple of small beds in their parking strip that they use for summer squash every year, and I think it always looks lovely.

The backyard is a more neighbor friendly option - but any beds in the back yard will need something around them to keep the chickens out.

This weekend I plan to finish getting this spot set up - I've decided this is where I'll put my first planting of peas. I'll probably start with Oregon Sugar Pod II. I plan on going to a couple of garden stores this weekend to see what seeds are in stock. We're having such a mild winter so far, the peas can probably go in sometime in the next few weeks - easily by President's day.

The last spot in the backyard is where the chicken coop used to be.
I'm sure the soil in this area is very fertile, but I'm not sure how much shade there will be from the fence and the Wisteria. However, since the grass is already dead there, I think I'll put in a bed and give it a try.