I Can Haz Potager?

I've always wanted raised garden boxes. What better excuse to build a couple than knowing you're planting six times the number of tomato plants you raised last year? Figuring out that one can build decent raised boxes for less than $30 for two 2' x 6' frames helped, too.

If I had any reservations about wanting raised garden beds, this made me realize I must have them. A kitchen garden? Neat! What, it's called potager, you say? How charming! Oui, je voudrais un potager, s'il vous plaît! Or something.

So, next stop is building raised boxes and hoping it's not a tragically bad idea to set them on our concrete patio.

Chewiee does final inspection before installation.

Lining raised beds with black plastic to shield wood from soil moisture. Black supposedly keeps the soil warmer,so maybe that will help me extend my growing season.

Hauling in compost, sandy soil from the big side yard

(dug up when soil for other tomato plants was amended),

manure blend and topsoil.

Tossing the dirt salad!

If you look closely, you'll see five more tomato plants
growing to the left of the box. That's the 'small side yard' tomatoes,
planted the week before.

Filled raised bed.

Not a day too soon...The plants were quickly outgrowing their pots.

The tomatoes will be joined by several herbs and even flowers--

per potager protocols ;)

Box 1 done, with micro-irrigation lines, even.

(Bonus: another look at the Small Side Yard Gang)

Box 2, finis! Total time spent assembling two raised boxes

was about six hours (definitely seemed way longer than that).

'Potager' Tomatoes Planted on May 3, 2009:

Black Prince

Yellow Jubilee

Golden Egg

Bloody Butcher

Brad’s Black Heart

Tigerella/Mr. Stripey

Aunt Molly's Husk

Black Cherry

Plum

Blonde Fig

Red Streak

Vjerino Paradajiz Sjeme

'Small Side Yard' Tomatoes Planted on April 25th, 2009:

Pineapple

Green Zebra

Purple Russian

Yellow Pear

Speckled Roman