8 days later and every veggie type has sprouts.

Square 1 Broccoli

Square 2 Beets

 Square 3 Cauliflower

Square 4 Onion

  

Square 5 Spinach

Square 7 Cabbage

Square 8 Lettuce

Square 9 Arugula

Square 11 Sugar Snap Peas

Square 12 Carrots

Square 13 Sugar Snap Peas

Square 14 Carrots

Square 15 Carrots

Square 16 Carrots

Sprouts all over the place!

Here is the layout...The blank squares have not been seeded yet.

I have sprouts and have started thinning plants already.
The following have sprouted
Square 1 Broccoli
Square 2 Beets
Square 3 Cauliflower
Square 5 Spinach
Square 7 Cabbage
Square 8 Lettuce
Square 9 Arugula
Square 11 Sugar Snap Peas
Square 13 Sugar Snap Peas
Square 14 Carrots

Building the raised bed garden.

I leveled the ground, put the frame down, and leveled the frame also. Then put the weed blocker down.

Mixing compost, potting soil, and some perlite for my garden soil.

Roped off the square foot sections with twine. 

              

Then planted the following seeds with vermiculite over them:

I numbered my squares 1-16 left to right when viewing at the angle of the picture below. Top row has squares 1-4. Second row has squares 5-8 and so on. I will be posting pictures as they grow(or die).



Garden prep and construction

Soil is really hard so i'm adding some perlite to help loosen it up and help with drainage.

Tilled about 4 - 6 inches deep.

Built this frame out with two 2"x8"x12's.  Two 51" and two 48" cuts so that the inside of the frame measures exactly 48" by 48"

Found out about Square Foot Gardening, gonna give it a try.

My wife told me about a class at Saddleback Church called Gardening for Life. It was very interesting to me, so I looked into it and signed up!  It led me to
http://www.newwaystofeedtheworld.blogspot.com/.  What a great way to garden and teach others.  So I want to try it and see if it's that easy.
They got some of their ideas from a book called Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. After reading some of this book, I have confidence that I can maintain an healthy and productive garden.  If I can do that, maybe I can also teach others around the world.

First, i'm gonna make some compost.



Mix in some steer manure and vermiculite.

Then, i'm gonna make some space.

In the beginning, there was a mess...

This is where I was when I decided to get a little more serious. Some hard dirt, badly treated tomatoes, decorative garlics, a chocolate mint and a bunch of weeds... The lawn sprinkler kept spraying the tomatoes and should have fixed it months ago.  All of my tomatoes split badly and I'm told that it is from over watering and/or irregular watering.