intro post

[rafiwinters]

Hello gardeners! So glad to have found you!

I'm EmeraldEm, or you can call me Em. I live in Providence, Rhode Island in the U.S. I was my dad's gardening assistant as a child (I'm 53) but have never had a garden or space for it as an adult. Just house plants. But suddenly my wife and I moved to a new apartment where there's a raised garden bed at the back of the property. So I asked for and received permission from the landlord to use it.

I have yet to go and measure it to see what the square footage is, but that's on my list. I'd started to get some tools and stuff two months ago, then the pandemic hit and everything went to heck. Now the weather's good I really want to get going! Here are some things I want to plant:

* lavender, dill, mint (I know mint should be in a separate pot or plot). Maybe sage?

* lettuce, carrots, tomatoes

* some pretty flower-things that will nicely grow on and cover the rather ugly stone walls of the raised bed

I've got a trowel, a cultivator and something that looks like a trowel but is narrower and maybe longer. Not sure what it is. The soil has clearly not been worked in ages and has some trash and a lot of weeds in it. Also some rocks. I'd clear it first before cultivating and planting.

So, basically, I'm starting from scratch. Any advice, comments, etc. would be very welcome. Thank you! :)

Comments

[moonhare]

Home Depot on Charles Street has some Bonnie Plants in stock, as well as soil amendments. We should be past our last frost (Farmer’s Almanac says it was May 15th or thereabouts) but be attentive in this cool weather. I would work some Black Kow brand (or similar)manure into the beds, myself, and although it is late Spring I’d consider a soil test (UConn) before the add (but not necessarily before you get the result).

Good luck!

[rafiwinters]

You're local? Cool! We need to get together when lockdown is over (meaning, when it's really over and safe; after the second wave, say). You could give me gardening advice in person! :)

Thanks for advice about the soil & the store. I got my first set of tools and some indoor plants from Home Depot. We're actually going to Jacavone Garden Center (in Johnston), today, on the principle of supporting locally owned, independent businesses. Another local friend recommended it to me. As to soil test... not in my budget, sadly. I'm just going to have to wing it. Maybe next year? I'm only going to use about a third of the available space this year. Maybe next year if I decide to use more space.