Friday, June 12, 2009

New Garden Space Project Part 2


I got a lot done these past few days :)


I am running into a few problems though...

First problem is, I'm realizing that I'm working with AWFUL dirt. It's so sandy and full of small rocks and even big chunky stoney rocks. I'm guessing I'm going to need to add a LOT of organic matter to this dirt before I can grow anything in it next year.

My second issue is that pompous grass. I LOVE that plant so much, I really don't want to get rid of it. But it's so in the way. I wonder how damaging it would be to dig it up and replant it? Should I wait till late fall to do it? Or do I need to just dig it up and toss it away and just be happy that I have more gardening space? Oh the choices!! :(

All throughout the process though, I'm brainstorming trellis designs for this bed :) I want plants to scramble up trellises along the metal fence which would hopefully reflect light and heat onto the plants. I think I will plant different herbs all along the bottom bed. Oh more choices! :D

While I'm taking pictures of the new bed, I'll post pictures of my currently planted beds. They look nothing like all the bloggers' gardens. It still looks so empty :( Maybe I should have started earlier?


bed#1: My lettuce, spinach and tomato bed. I planted them in 3 vertical rows. Lettuce, Spinach, Lettuce. I ended up getting random poppings of lettuce and a cluster of spinach only in the middle. LOL wth? I just added the cherry tomato plants in the top. I hope they grow okay, they're growing very slowly.



 bed#2: Cucumbers in the top row, turnips in the next 2 rows, and broccoli in the bottom row. Everything is so small!


bed#3: Squash and zucchini in the top row, okra in the next row, soybeans in the middle, then radish and carrots on the bottom. The radishes are still tiny too. 



bed#4: Peas on top, beans in the middle, basil under it and cilantro in the bottom 2 rows.



bed#5: The corn corner. they get lots of sun and are growing very quickly :) 

4 comments:

Siren said...

you have great garden beds. You are growing a heck of a lot of stuff! I think my garden would be served better by having smaller, more well-defined spaces instead of one huge 15x17 space like I have now which gets totally out of control after every heavy rain, etc. The weeds!

Plus, it is my first year actually growing stuff (last year was a flop) and I am learning a lot about what plants like to grow in which corners. I'm glad i found your blog. I can't wait to see about the harvests, etc.

Cynthia Sanders said...

Thank you Siren! :D

I do love my small beds. They make weeding so easy. This is my first year growing stuff too so I hope we both can get stuff going good this year :)

Sinfonian said...

Great work! You're packing in those veggies. Pick them young so they don't crowd.

Pole beans make great trellis walls during the summer if you're still looking for suggestions.

Great looking rock garden formation. Mix in 25% compost and you're soil will be golden! Of course I'm sure you did all that.

Take care!

Just Jenn said...

Your new space is going to be so nice! I hate to kill any plant and if you have a spot for it, try relocating the grass in the fall... better to give it a fighting chance then to just dump it all together.

For the new beds that you've just made you could work a layered on-site compost pile that would be crumbly and pretty by next spring.... Beats having to spend a lot of money on bags of compost since you're not ready to plant there anyway. ;^)