Summer Garden Project

So whats a girl to do who deeply misses gardening and has no place to garden?

 It didn't look like I could garden at all this year. It just didn't seem possible with moving in August and all. Not to mention that I have no area in my yard where I can grow things, not even in boxes or containers because there is no sun, just full shade. Sun is a requirement for veggies and most flowers, so even though I can observe some amazing nature here in my "forest", I can't have a garden.

A dear friend of mine offered the perfect solution. She needed help with her little 4 x 12 ft. plot, lovely location too. She was timid about gardening as a beginner and though I am no expert I find it very rewarding and relaxing (not at all work for me).  So it was a match made in heaven...her to provide the perfect place and me to provide the little extra help and encouragement needed. And I get to garden after all. Such bliss, seriously no joke, it is therapeutic to me. My element entirely. And in addition, there is nothing better than helping another to succeed.

Even though gardening is different than nature notebooking, if your a naturalist, or lover of nature it certainly is related. So I figure as a part of the natural world it should be included in my notebook. It can teach us so much; patience, how to nurture, about growth, about health, and the list goes on. So we will observe our garden as we go, and follow its progress.

Here is my garden project:

When we began.

Cauliflower

Above is the garden as it looked before. Tammy had a good start with several of her plants doing well. Her cauliflower for one (left). Her strawberries were also well on their way. She was using a row method. The problem with that method in raised beds is the spacing, there just isn't space for that many plants- people often make the mistake of planting a whole package of seeds. It's hard to believe such small things become so big. (I think there is a metaphor in there somewhere.) So when things come up they are all crowded together with not enough nutrients to go around. Most people don't like to thin like they should. Problem is, if you don't thin to the correct spacing, plants won't prosper.

So I introduced her to square foot gardening. I found this method to be the answer to gardening in small spaces. It is outstanding. You can learn more about it at http://www.squarefootgardening.com/.




First, we measured and divided for the square foot method. We used string and stapled it to the wood frame. In his book Square Foot Gardening Mel Bartholomew recommends something more permanent, but for us it seemed practical and most affordable to simply use what we had on hand.

Next, we planted around what we didn't want to move..like her strawberries, and transplanted and thinned some of her carrots and kale. We also filled in squares as seemed fit for companion planting and deterring pests.

Here is how it looked after: 

And here is the layout of the garden since you cant see everything yet,  much was just planted and hasn't come up yet:

In this area we have cauliflower, carrots, kale, pumpkins, marigolds, red onion, and nasturtiums.                                               






  In the middle there are peppers, tomatoes,  and basil.


Below are strawberries, basil, spinach, rosemary, peppers, marjoram, zucchini, nasturtiums, oregano, bush beans, and watermelon.

 

So our project is off to a wonderful start.

Feel free to follow our progress. See what challenges we face and what we learn. Posts to come: building vine supports and thinning seedlings.