Harvest is over.

Garden cantaloupe and other melons are far better than anything you buy at the store,(full disclosure- I’ve given up on growing watermelon. They take up too much space and I can never pick them at the right time) and while zucchini are a pain, you don’t have to plant them.

We freeze our extra tomatoes and make fresh sauces all winter. My parents do the same and make salsa from theirs.

Nothing beats the flavor of garden fresh produce.

We built our garden boxes out of cinder blocks and lined the bottom with linoleum. My husband built a sprinkler system that’s automatic. It doesn’t water the walkways, but we still get weeds there. My husband sprays them with weed killer.

We filled them with a mix of peat moss, vermiculite, and compost. It’s loose and very easy to weed. it’s been 10 years. The only upkeep is adding a bag of manure to each of the 4x4 beds and turning it every year. The blocks settle a little, but we haven’t had to adjust more than a nudge here or there. We did line the top of the blocks with something to keep bugs out, and it’s great to sit on as you work with the plants.

It’s not for everybody, but we love it. I have a small greenhouse that I plant every year and I love the whole process of watching the seeds come up and thrive.