Your stuff really looks great - plants, landscaping, lounging cat, etc. :) I do not do sfg or raised beds so I will not pretend to be an expert on the subject. But I do have a few observations. 1.) Appears that you have one inch thick dimensional lumber. Will one inch thick dimensional lumber hold up to outward pressure of twelve inches of wet soil or will sidewalls eventually bow outwards? One inch thick boards will also tend to warp/curl outward when the inside surface stays wet and expands and the outside surface stays dry and contracted. What about soil expansion when the soil freezes in winter - will expansion wreck your boxes? 2.) Every sf garden I have ever seen personally, the owner has planted transplants and/or seeded too closely because they are trying to get as much out of the space as possible. This impacts quality of produce obtained. Be sure to follow guidelines on plant labels and seed packages regarding plant spacing to achieve the best results. With your nice beds you should be trying to achieve quality over quantity. 3.) Cabbage for example: Of course it depends on which varieties one plants, but mine can easily take up four square feet (2 foot by 2 foot square) per cabbage plant. Brocs and caulies do not need as much as cabbage but they can still use a lot of space. In the future you may want to go back to planting cabbage, etc. in the main garden to save space. Try bok choi/pak choi in your sfg instead. 4.) Taters look great. I see no problem mixing varieties. They do seem a bit tight regarding plant spacing. Remember to acquire your seed potatoes early and simply store them yourself if need be until you are ready to plant them out. 5.) Regarding celery: All veggies are cheaper to buy, that really is not the point. Celery, like all your homegrown veggies, tastes much better and stronger when grown in your own garden and picked at the proper time. Store-bought celery is almost tasteless, so you will be in for a pleasant surprise when you harvest your own. Plus yours will not be harvested when still immature, and will not be bathed in chemicals and preservatives. The celery is great for canning, and the leaves are great for drying. 6.) Eggplant is great but it is an acquired taste - look for wonderful recipes on the web. Did not like it as a kid, has never been a favorite of mine as an adult, but it has grown on me and I keep planting more and more each year. This year I planted 24 plants consisting of six different varieties. 7.) Do not forget green/bunching onions. They would do great in your sfg. A few kohlrabi as well, if you like them. Trellis cukes and grow pole beans in main garden to save space - go vertical when you can. You could even put in a trellis or two in the back of some of your sfg beds, but they may ruin the nice clean appearance you have. 8.) Watch the watering - do not overwater the raised beds. Let surface dry between waterings and if you are, DO NOT use lawn sprinkling system to water the raised beds - that is too much water for veggies plus constantly getting foliage wet will foster disease/pest problems. 9.) Take notes about your observations and your successes and failures. This can take discipline and may seem silly at first but you will not regret it next winter when you are planning your layouts for next season. You do not need to write a novel - just some quick notes will be good enough. Your photos can be a great reference as well. 10.) Your last picture showing all the beds is a wonderful picture! Take pictures from the same position several times over the season to see the changes that take place. Nice work! Good luck and happy gardening. -Tom

Today we cleaned out the rows in the strawberry patch. We took out another 150 plants and put in these two 3 ft wide rows using 8 inch spacing. I am using more the sq ft type methods for spacing going wide and dense as the original planting was single rows spaced 12 inches as shown here. This was June of 2007. I may be pushing fate as this was the area that flooded last year but I am going to put a break wall of 12 inches in front of them as the water naturally turned here and headed to the pond in the flood. Originally I screened all the soil for the mounds but after the flood these are just quick and dirty rows in case I lose them :) Just tilled in some peat moss. In the spring I will put on some composite. That is over 300 plants that I pulled out of about 1 aisle between the original rows. The other rows I just whipper snipped up them and then ran the till and raked out the berries. We pulled out tons of runners but still needs another afternoons work. It will be interesting to compare these to the other plants that I have in raised boxes in another garden.

Personally, I'd plant more spinach in one. The other, I'd try for something else leafy - even better if the roots are edible too! Nasturtium is fun, especially for a 2 yr old since you can eat the leaves and the flowers :) We can't get enough Chard in my house! Good luck and hope to hear that it goes so well you become addicted!

diclemeg, Wait for the soil to thaw before pulling the plants or turning the soil. I wouldn't say that you really need to "till" the soil in the box, but giving it a few flips with a shovel, while you work in some new compost should be plenty. On the previous topic, some things to consider: You are on the verge of a four season garden. If I were in your shoes, I would check out the Four Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman, Winter Harvest Handbook by Eliot Coleman and the 12 month gardener by Jeff Ashton. A lot of the varieties that you mentioned would rebound fairly well from a light frost. What they really need is protection from the wind. Snow is not a big problem (it's actually an excellent insulator, and will protect the plants from much lower temps). If you had harvested them during the winter whenever the ground was thawed, you could have enjoyed some very tasty veggies. (Heck, you still might be able to eat them, if you pull them as soon as you thaw out - referring specifically to the radicchio, dandelion, and escarole. You might have to peel off the outer parts of the radicchio, but the center might still be good.) Don't just take my word for it though, check out those books from your local library. The key idea is that while the growing season stops in the winter (too little sunlight), the harvest season can continue all winter long (with the proper steps). Coleman lives in Maine, and is able to have fresh greens all winter long, with some very easy to make protections, and easy to follow instructions. Personally, I got all this information too late to be of any good to me this year, but I can't wait to give it all a try this fall/winter. In your case, you have some plants that might actually be able to rebound sufficiently to be harvestable. (Don't pull them while they are frozen. They can rebound if they are still in the ground. They won't grow like you want, as their primary goal now will be seed making, but if you can pull them before they start to grow again, they should be quite tasty (many of the starches will convert to sugars when exposed to freezing temps in root crops).