Sunday, March 22, 2009

It Didn't Take Long to Decide


Thanks for the encouragement and suggestions as I was deciding whether to garden next to the neighbor's garage.  I think I had already made my mind up before I was finished typing the post, but wanted to hear about how close I could get to the trees.  I would love to make raised beds there, but don't want to spend the money to do that yet.  I may decide to do it next year, depending on how the garden grows this year.  I told Jeff that there are lots of roots, but I have lots of hope.  Some of the roots are from trees that got cut down, and came up easily.

On my way home from church, I stopped at a garden center and bought enough seeds, potatoes, and onion plants to fill in the whole area.  How does that happen so fast?  First, you don't have the room, then you have it and it fills up just like that?  

I left plenty of room next to the line of trees, but may try planting some flowers here and there. The dumpster is due back tomorrow.  The tree in the foreground looks to be dead, but I think Jeff is finished cutting trees down, so I'll have to live with it there.  I want to put one more bed where the dumpster is, but it may be too close to the tree for veggies.  I may plant flowers there.




I dug the 2 far beds by hand, and the dirt was surprisingly easy to turn.  Larry tilled the rest for me because it was going to rain soon, and I wasn't going to have time to do the rest.  The reason the area in the front doesn't have the darker chunks is because I applied composted cow manure to the back ones, and it was wet, and hard to break up.   It was starting to rain, so I just planted without the manure. I planted several kinds of lettuce, a couple kinds of radishes, beets, and kale in short rows next to a row of potatoes that didn't fit in the other beds.



The green compost fence in the corner didn't show up in the pic, but Jeff is nicely letting me put one there.   He is also leaving the stack of sticks for a shelter for butterflies.  I may put them closer to the compost area.  I plan to plant lots of sunflowers in the back of what's been planted so far.



Here's the view from the other direction.  If you click on the picture to see it large, you'll see that I planted onions in the first bed.  I alternated rows of red and a yellow keeper.  I am sharing the veggies with Jeff,  his daughter and her two children.  She and the kids are moving into the house in May.  We can be eating the red onions all summer and leave room for the keepers to grow and mature.  I planted them on the edge, because they need to stay as dry as possible when they are almost ready to be picked.


Next to the onions, are 2 beds of potatoes.  I planted Yukon Golds and Vikings.  The Vikings are a later maturing potato that are supposed to have heavier yields.

I got enough things done in our yard, and across the street, that I am ready for the rain we are supposed to have.  We are supposed to have lows in the upper 20s later in the week, but I think we'll be OK.  Now, I'm excited for the time to come when we can safely plant the plants that need warm weather.

15 comments:

  1. Wow. You didn't waste any time at all did you? Congratulations on the expansion. If I could, I'd take down more of my trees, but I like the privacy and the shade. It would be nice to have a larger garden though.

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  2. good job. I wonder if your back is a stiff as mine. I planted a few different things today, and dug a trench which I filled with some compost, and planted sweet peas. Just got the seeds in the ground and it started to rain. I think I was being told to go and rest.

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  3. Hi Tom and Keewee,
    I knew it was supposed to rain the next few days, so once I turned the dirt, and it was willing, I went for it. I love filling spaces!

    I was going to plant some sweet peas without soaking them, knowing it was going to rain, but forgot to get them in. It was raining when I took these pics.

    My back isn't stiff so far. I have been working out with weights, but not as consistently as I used to. I may feel it tomorrow, though.

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  4. Awesome job. You don't lally-gag at all. Congrats on all that space.

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  5. It must be very gratifying to see your progress. This is one of the perks of gardening, I think--seeing immediate results. You'll sleep well tonight. :)

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  6. Great job Sue! Lots of good things will be coming from your garden before you know it. I like the idea of a shelter for the butterflies and think next to the compost is a good place. Hope it rains soon to get those seeds and onions and potatoes growing.

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  7. So, the action's started finally! It's like Spring has injected renewed energy into us! Good luck with all your new veggies and flowers! Happy Spring!

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  8. I don't think it matters where a garden is because the beauty of flowers or veggies makes it a good place.
    I love your pansies in the tub in your header picture. We have them in every part of our garden and I just love them!

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  9. Great start on your gardens. I got a few things done but no seeds planted.
    Marnie

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  10. Now, we're waiting for the pictures report of the progress.
    Let us watch the first little green bit that appears.

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  11. How exciting! A lot more room to garden in..

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  12. What a great place for a garden.
    Thanks so much for your visits, I see I am behind on your blog too.
    I just read down to see all you have been up to, you are one busy lady.
    Prayers, Bo

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  13. WOW!!! What a nice space to garden. I'm not used to seeing such a large gardening space with no fence around it. Kids + Dogs = big fence at our house - LOL.

    Great job though!!

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  14. Boyhowdy, you don't let any grass grow when you set your mind to something! LOL GOOD LUCK with your new gardening project!! :-D

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  15. wow, it would be great not to have to do all my digging by hand, but our spot is inaccessible. thanks for commenting on my blog, i'll keep checking yours!

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