Adventures in Gardening - Pt. 1

I mentioned in a previous post that I'd tell you later about my adventures in gardening.  Well, it's later!

We've been in this house nearly a year and a half now, without really changing or adding anything new to the existing landscape.  That whole time, I've been itching to get my hands in some dirt and plant something.  

This year, as Spring was first trying to spring, I felt the overwhelming need to scratch that itch, but how?  
Flowers?  Herbs?  Vegetables? 

Then, it was obvious. We enjoyed the fresh veggies from our fall CSA so much last fall, but at an average of $40 a week, it wasn't cheap.  

"What if we plant our own veggie garden?"  
 At the old house we had an herb garden, and occasionally grew beans and tomatoes there.  But that was for fun, this would be for food.  
"Could we actually do it?"
 "It would so much work and we'd have to invest some money.  But not as much as a full or even half share of our CSA. " 
"It might be fun."

I got the hubby and kids on board, and it was settled.  I just had to pick the spot and make a plan.

This is the spot we chose. It's our only open bit of fence and runs along the ENE edge of our lot.  

The fence prevents the garden from getting the early morning's sun, but somewhere around 10:00, the sun starts peeking over the top.  From then until dusk, the spot is bathed in full unfiltered sunlight. 
   
The ground here has a very slight slope which should help with drainage, and we never use this part of the yard for anything, but it is close enough to our house, water hose, and gardening tools to make it convenient.  It's also easily viewed from the back of the house and driveway so every time we come and go we'll be reminded to tend it. 

Up Next:
Adventures in Gardening Pt. 2 - Soil Test