Boxes in Fields would just like to say garden boxes are the way to go. From this point forward, no garden will ever be planted in the earth again. Are garden boxes more work? Only for the initial set up. From that point forward, gardening in a box is SO MUCH EASIER than gardening on the ground.

Easier on the growing not easier on the bugs. Horned worm caterpillars still wreck havoc on leaves and stems, stink bugs leave blister spots on tomatoes, and ant beds along base boards and inside corners. All on all not too terrible since there was not a single gopher breakthrough, the birds were kept at bay from the netting, and most of the pests were remedied with soap and water. Soap and water worked like a charm to kill the bumper crop of aphids that suck the life from plant through leaf undersides. Aphids were on melons, cucumbers, and beans. Each plant leaf and stem was soaked with soapy water, gently rubbed free of aphids, and then the entire plant was washed clean.

Plants were producing by the middle of April in various amounts but never enough to have a full meal with. By the first of June the garden was in full bumper mode with exception to tomatoes and green beans.

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Zucchini was made into breads, cut into freezable size chunks, and tossed into smoothies when they were not worthy of either of those long term uses. Mustard greens and chards were rough cut, blanched, and frozen, made into smoothies when the leaves got too big, and mostly was eaten four days out of seven in various meals. When greens were kept on top of the leaves did not get bitter and were super tender.

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Along with zucchini and greens, the okra count was off the chart. Having planted a row of okra seedlings next the water tanks in a pile junk dirt, eight of the ten plants took. While not excessively high in height, the plants flowered and flowered and flowered. Okra was deep fried, jambalaya-ed, and pickled. All were very good and would be made again. Especially the pickled.

Cucumbers as it turned out were planted to close to the melons and cross pollinated leaving the cucumbers very prickly skinned. Grown for pickling, cold packed pickling is what we did, tried, and had moderate success. Cucumbers were crunchy but the skins were tough and lacked that pickle punch. Next year I may try again with a different variety of cucumber.

Before June ended, the green beans and tomatoes were bumped off for good. July brought excessive heat and dry, rainless days leaving only the greens and the zucchini.

Zucchini take up a huge amount of space when placed in a typical ground bed. In reading on garden management, I stumbled across vertical gardening. Strawberries and tomatoes have been grown this way for years, inverted, but same concept. With vertical zucchini, the plants are tied to a central post as they grow. When the fruit is picked, the leaves lower than the fruit are removed allowing for better airflow, less pest infestation, and easy access to produce. In this singular tube, there were four zucchini plants. It was bumper to bumper with produce.

July ended with the last of the beautiful, hot weather loving, not bitter swiss chard being picked. Beds temperatures were getting too hot and plants were struggling. Look at their tips, burned from the heat. So yeah, I think garden boxes are the way to go. Boxes in Fields is already making plans for the fall gardens bumping up the number of plants to grow!