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20 Feb ’12
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For 2013 we have decided to boost our food production after trying out a small square foot garden in 2012. I hope to document our progress in this thread for myself and others to learn from. Cause hey, even learning what not to do is still learning!
We are urban dwellers working towards purchasing land for a homestead and doing what we can to gain as much independence and knowledge as possible until that time.
The goal this year is to setup 4 (or more) raised beds that will give us roughly 100 square feet of food production. Herbs and a few misc items will be grown outside our raised beds to boost our production a bit and make use of land that would otherwise not be productive.
We are in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, zone 5a. Our lot is roughly 31' by 135', and unfortunately (at least from a food production standpoint, I view it as a plus in every other way) a lot of our backyard is shaded due to trees. This means our south facing front yard and a narrow strip of land on the western side of the house will be our food production areas.
Now that we've got a bit of the background out of the way, I'll start posting notes and pictures detailing our progress!
If you have any questions I would love to hear them. Same goes for tips or advice if you see us heading off the rails. 
Let's start with a couple pictures to pay tribute to the garden that was the inspiration for this year. Three cheers to SFG 2012!
Seeds and starting seeds for 2013 to follow...
15 Feb ’12
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outstanding, I applaud you KE
20 Feb ’12
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Seeds of freedom!
This year we decided to start from seed. We did this as we thought it would enable us to grow for less money, allow us to become independent as we will be able to save seeds going forward, and ensure we are growing organic.
We bought our seeds from Greta's Organic Garden, a local and organic supplier of heirloom seeds. We had heard good things about Greta so we figured we would give it a shot.
We definitely went overboard on the seeds, but we know they will keep for a few years yet so there is no need to plant everything this year. We will also be able to swap off some seeds with a couple of friends who are getting into food production as well. Our list of seeds is as follows:
King Richard Leeks
Red Cippolini Onions
Habanero Pepper
Mini Bell Sweet Pepper
Cilantro
Parsley
Oregano
Mammoth Melting Peas
Little Leaf Cucumber
Dark Green Zucchini
Manilla Cherry Tomato
Blondkopchen Cherry Tomato
Earliest + Best Tomato - If these do not turn out to be early and awesome I am going to be pissed!
Basil Mix
Chamomile
Kale Mix
Bloomsdale Spinach
Blue Lake Beans
On a whim last year we also saved seeds from a watermelon we got in our CSA share towards the end of 2012.
20 Feb ’12
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Just what's going on here anyway?
With an abundance of beautiful seed just staring us in the face it was time to plan our beds. We took the opportunity and used an hour long drive to my parents place for a family bunch to get things sorted. It was a pleasant way to pass the time. Our beds are planned as follows, but there will be adjustments I am sure once we see what started seeds actually took or whatever whim happens to strike us.
Bed #1 - 3' by 8'
Peas / Peas / Peas
Pepper / Pepper / Beans
Pepper / Pepper / Beans
Pepper / Pepper / Beans
Hot Pepper / Hot Pepper / Beans
Garlic / Garlic / Garlic
Chive / Mint / Mint
Chive / Mint / Catnip
Bed #2 - 3' by 8'
Kale / Kale / Kale
Kale / Kale / Kale
Spinach / Spinach / Spinach
Spinach / Spinach / Spinach
Leek / Leek / Leek
Red Onion / Red Onion / Red Onion
Parsley / Cilantro / Oregano
Parsley / Cilantro / Oregano
Bed #3 - 3' by 6'
Cucumber / Tomato / Tomato
Zucchini / Tomato / Tomato
Cucumber / Tomato / Tomato
Zucchini / Tomato / Tomato
Cucumber / Tomato / Tomato
Zucchini / Tomato / Tomato
Bed #4 - 3' by 6'
Cucumber / Tomato / Tomato
Watermelon / Tomato / Tomato
Cucumber / Tomato / Tomato
Watermelon / Tomato / Tomato
Cucumber / Tomato / Tomato
Watermelon / Tomato / Tomato
The beds, once built, will be spread around the property as follows.
20 Feb ’12
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Let's get this party started.
With an understanding of what volumes we will be planting now that the beds are planned we have hit the stage of starting the seeds that require the longest to get rolling. Last frost here is towards the end of May, so the middle of March was when we'd need to start the leeks, red onions, and peppers. We also decided to start the watermelon, figuring it would need as much time as possible. Since we had saved the watermelon seed from a CSA melon last year we did not have a package to go by, and I was too lazy to use the Internet, so we just started them.
We found a couple of cheap starting trays, grabbed a bag of potting soil, and entured boldly forward. We know just enough to be dangerous!
March 7 2013 was the day the first seeds hit the dirt. We planted 36 leek, 36 red onion, 9 sweet pepper, 4 hot pepper, and 6 watermelon.
20 Feb ’12
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Good things come in small packages.
And now the waiting game had started, or so I thought. Imagine my surprise when this little leek punch through the soil on March 12!
I was so incredibly stoked to see this bold pioneer. I cannot describe the feeling of pride.
Not to be outdone, the red onions responded in kind.
While the first up was a leek the red onions seem to be doing really well. Onion in foreground, leeks behind.
Reaching for the sky!
The watermelon was a complete long shot, and we had no idea what to expect. We planted twice as much seed as plants required, but boy did these guys not disappoint. I swear you could sit and watch them grow. One would break through the soil in the morning, then later that same day it would be an inch tall. Here they are on March 16.
So far there has been no action from the peppers, but I think they take much longer to germinate.
In the next couple of days we are going to get the tomatoes, and anything else that requires it, started.
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