Sorry for the delay in posting but it was the start of gardening season and things got a little crazy. I had to basically start from scratch this year. Being off work has freed up time that I can use for a real passion…gardening. But it has been awhile since I have had any time to devote to it and so I was not equipped or prepared for the job that needed to be done. I know I am not the only person that goes a little crazy this time of year. We all have grand plans for the garden of our dreams. We plan out where we are going to grow all of our favorite foods and how to grow enough in our space to feed our family. It isn’t easy to rein in our enthusiasm but we do. Usually because we do not have the time or space to devote to it. After years without even a small garden I decided to throw caution to the wind and go as big as I could with the time and resources I had. It isn’t super fancy or super large, but it is a very good start and I am very pleased. I hope to be more pleased when my atrophied muscles loosen up just in time for harvest. I am going to share the images I have of the process and where we have ended up to date. Please feel free to leave kind remarks or suggestions for improvements as I am still learning and love that I am still learning.
The first step was a yard analysis which lead to several trees being removed from the property. The trees were leaning towards neighbor’s homes and weren’t in the best of health and they were not allowing enough light into our yard to grow much of anything (including grass). Once the light was allowed in we were able to decide where the first raised beds would go. My husband wanted tall beds because we are not getting any younger and he felt they would allow us to garden longer. We built 3 beds that are 4 foot wide by 16 foot long by 24 inches tall.
We lined the inside of each bed with landscape fabric in an attempt to preserve the wood for as long as possible. A cross beam was added in the middle to provide rigidity and to keep the bed from bowing out. The next part came as a bit of a surprise on how much work it actually was, filling of the beds. We filled each bed with a mix of compost and pulverized top soil purchased from a local garden supply store. It took a couple of truck loads for each bed. Afterward I amended the beds with manure, peat moss and macro nutrients.
It was starting to get late in the season and I must confess that I missed my window for the spring planting of things like lettuce, peas, carrots, and radishes. I do have them ready for the late planting. But what I did get into the ground is making me very happy in the mornings when I go out to tend.
I always liked to try 1 or 2 new plants or varieties each time I garden. This year is not going to disappoint in that area. One of my new items this year is Black Krim Tomatoes…they are the ones on the end. And yes they are still green at this time. Just wait until they ripen.
My next new plant is called a Rat Tailed Radish. The radish is more of a pod like bean that grows on the plant instead of under ground.
I have Thai Basil growing in my herb bed which is new to me and oh so pretty with it’s delicate purple flowers. I am also trying to grow potatoes (Kenebec and Yukon Gold) as well as sweet potatoes (Georgia Jet). Just growing potatoes is a new thing for me. I have them in grow bags to make them easier to harvest. I watched a lot of YouTube videos and container grown potatoes seemed doable. The plant I am anxiously waiting on is the white Japanese watermelons that are supposed to have the texture of Asian pears. The plant seems to be a slow grower, but it is growing. I will keep you updated on their progress.
We had a roof put over our back deck so that now I have the pleasure of having my morning coffee outside whileenjoying the view given to me by all of the hard work that went into this endeavor. My brother in law, Cary, was the person that built that roof. It really made me love my back deck even more than I already did. By the way, Cary built the deck too. Thank you Cary!
Now that we have started I have so many more ideas of things I want to do to create my backyard sanctuary. I am not sure what will come next, but it is just a matter of time before this will feel like a true oasis. We will have to see how far we get. I hope you learned a little something about what we do. Please let us know if you have questions or suggestions. So many people have so many ways of doing things and we like to learn things that may help make us more efficient or prolific. I will leave you with just a few more images from this garden. I hope you enjoy.
