Garden Makeover- Jacuzzi Spot to Garden Plot

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The spa is gone and I've FINALLY got my veggie patch back!!!

Having an 8 person jacuzzi when your kids are in high school is definitely the way to go.  For several years there was always a weekend gathering at our house. Yes, that giant vat did serve a purpose...keeping the kiddos and their associates close to home and out of any involvement in unsavory shenanigans (that we know of anyway.)

However, what with a now empty nest (most of the time) and no desire to keep an extra 500 gallons of hot water on hand, the hubby and I actually wondered , "what would we like to do with the newly available space?" My idea of turning it into a grape stomping venue was nixed immediately--dang! Once we tricked enticed the neighbors into taking the beast off our hands--we realized that we'd freed up the sunniest spot in the whole yard.  Notice I didn't say "all that space," as we DO live in Santa Barbara County, we ARE NOT rich or famous AND our backyard is the size of one and a half postage stamps. Voila! There is just enough room for a nice little vegetable garden.

Due to the lack of space we decided to go with the Mel Bartholomew's "square foot" gardening method.  His  book is fantastic and we've been employing his method for decades, always with great success. The odd shaped 11 x 12 foot area gave us room for two 7 x 3 foot raised planter beds.  That's a whopping 42 squares for planting--just perfect for the two of us.  Thankfully my man is handy, and my son (home for the summer) was willing to help with the grunt big muscle work.

If you're not great with tools and a bit of math, there are numerous sites where you can purchase a pre-made raised bed kit. We used 2 x 6 treated redwood, stacked to have 12 inch deep beds, since we basically live on a sand dune. Having extra room for root development is a must in our area, but with normal soil, a 6-8 inch depth is just fine.

Our local landscape supply company delivered the planting mix after we calculated how many square yards we needed here's for the formula.  We used 2/3 planting mix and 1/3 organic matter--mixed and dumped on the driveway. The boys worked while I cheered them on (darn hand surgery.)

Square concrete paving stones filled in with pea gravel finished the whole thing off nicely.  We used twine hemp (mostly because it was in the shed) to mark off the grid for planting.  I tapped a small nail at one foot intervals and wove the twine in a grid pattern. "The Square Food Garden" blog was VERY helpful in figuring out what veggies liked being neighbors--check out their companion planting guides for sure! 

We're already enjoying the fruits veggies and herbs of our labors.  P.S.  That cute little gardening apron in the last picture is now in the shop  :)

Make it a great day...or not.  The choice is yours!