Ever since my twins were toddlers (they are 8 now), we have had a winter garden right by the front door. That garden, planted in August, has lots of carrots, some winter radishes, some kale, some turnips, and some spinach. We can harvest from it all winter, with the protection of a low tunnel, thick pine straw mulch, and a layer of row cover. (Well, except like right now, when the whole tunnel is lost under snow.) We grow a rainbow of carrots, and by January some of them are 3-4 inches around at the top. They love the huge carrot "coins" that I pack in their lunches. During the more conventional gardening seasons, we usually have a wall of climbing peas with green, yellow, purple, English, snap, and snow varieties; and a pole bean teepee with purple and wax varieties mixed together. Last year my son had a "Pizza" garden, a 6" diameter round bed with rocks to edge it and raise it a bit and a wedge out of one side (for access to the center) planted with tomatoes, basil, oregano, parsley, zucchini, peppers, and a few yellow flowers (to look like cheese). The tomatoes took a major hit when a hail storm pounded us in early July, but that was actually the most prolific bed in the garden by late summer. We'll be doing that again. (The last two zucchini are still in the kitchen, I haven't had the courage to taste them as "winter" squash, but DS doesn't want them thrown away.) Oh, and for the first time we had success with pumpkins, grown on the south-facing slope in the front yard. (We garden on the side of a mountain, with a short season and cool nights all summer, so the heat-lovers are a challenge.) Oh, and the potatoes (all blue, all red, and yukon gold) planted at the base of the pea wall, were a great hit. This year we will be trying a longer storage type, as all three of those sprouted really early! And finally, I have big planters that stand on either side of the front door, one with a yellow cherry tomato (Yellow Currant) and one with a red cherry tomato (Peace Vine), both with some violets or pansies planted around them for early season color. By mid-summer, when they start ripening, the kids will stand there before they even get in the house, and gobble down cherry tomatoes like candy. They are in charge of watering those plants, and happily carry buckets of their bath water out to take care of them. All of our garden beds have a deep mulch of pine straw (just because we live in a pine forest and it is easy to come by) and require minimal weeding. That is nice with kids. The whole garden is for the kids to eat from, whether harvested and brought into the kitchen, or snacked from in the garden itself. The peas, for example, never make it into the house. Neither do the cherry tomatoes. My only rule is the winter garden doesn't get harvested until the conventional garden is picked clean. Catherine Here is a link that might be useful: Keyhole garden

They'll do OK at least for 5 years, probably longer. In 15 gal pots they need replanting every few years. After about 5 years without repotting the vigor drops below what is needed to make good fruit. Your planter is a lot bigger than a 15 gal pot so the trees should last longer. You could get a multigrafted tree which might reduce root crowding. Getting the trees on Citation vs a more vigorous rootstock might help a little as well. What are your favorite cultivars? Mine are (earliest to latest) Flavor Supreme, Geo Pride, Flavor Grenade, Flavor King, Flavor Finale, and Flavor Treat.

Hazel, how exciting to hear about your plants! It's a fun and rewarding time of year, isn't it? I have decided not to worry so much about doing every little thing just so, Dawn is right, plants know what to do. SO. . . when did you plant your beans? You planted them from seed? What kind of beans did you plant? I have not planted mine yet but I'm thinking I need to get on the ball and do it. My habit has been to plant later rather than earlier and I think this year I want to go ahead and get my seeds in the ground. It's been a warm and extremely dry season so far. I'm sure the colder temps are behind us. I just want RAIN!! My carrots and beets are still very small but at least they have a start. Everything I started indoors, under the grow light I made, I have been very disappointed with. (I'll do my homework for next year) I started my squash and cukes too early and I'm just going to plant seeds next week. My tomatoes are just pitiful. I think I'll keep trying and transplant next month and have a back up plan with plants from a nursery. Here in Enid, my selection is a joke, BUT actually last year I bought a cherry tomato plant, variety unknown, that just did marvelous and produced till the frost did it's number on it. My peas that I planted from seeds look great, about 3" tall now. Oh how I hope I get a good crop, I do love my peas! My asparagus is doing superb, almost all of the 18 or so plants have sprouted and are now covered with soil and hay. Dawn, you have so much experience and give great advice, so here is a question for you. What kind of Espoma do you use? I had no idea there were so many to choose from! I also have been adding organic material to my soil for the past couple of years and it's looking good, I would like to simplify things and get a basic fertilizer, if that is what can be done. I have had the OSU extension center do soil sample tests on different parts of my garden for a couple of years and my pH is good, just needs a bit of potassium and phosphorus, which I have added. Thanks all!

Couple of quick things...don't make the bed right up against the fence - with a bed 3ft wide you will need room on the fence side to reach into the bed. Leave about 3ft between the bed and fence (4ft if you can), enuff room for your legs from the knee to an extended foot (and more) so you can kneel down. The peat has no nutrients so you can leave that out of the mix. I don't think Home Depot does this anymore but I made lots of beds when they sold 'cull wood'. It was bent, warped, chipped, or had some other defect but was fine for the garden. They always cut it to 4ft lengths and the price varied from $.51, $1.01, $2.01, etc. I got most for $.51 or $1.01 Some were treated some not - some 2x some 1 or 3/4". The 2x will last longer. I have some untreated 2x beds 10y/o. I just placed the 4x4 frame on the ground, no corner post needed - they haven't gone anywhere yet either. IMO the SqFt method is the way-to-go.