With the weather slow to warm, I have time to think (probably overthink) more on my garden layout. In an ideal world, I'd have a lot of space to work with and marked off areas for certain plants that play nice together. Working with what I have means I need to be creative in my organization to maximize sun exposure, provide even watering, and reduce the complexity of different soil needs for certain plants.
The latest plan is a slight modification in bale layout, mainly to ensure certain plants get more sun and to provide more space for big tomato and cucumber plants. I'll stuff in some greens and flowers, and experiment with growing root veggies in the bales, starting with radishes. If the radishes aren't successful, I'll know early enough to start that area over by planting more peppers or cucumbers.
I really dislike waiting for planting season. Everything is delayed at the moment, even my potatoes, originally anticipated around April 2, now may arrive around the April 18. Some of my warm-weather plants aren't scheduled to arrive until mid-June now. I'm thankful for lettuce, radish, and beets, which allow me to feel productive sooner than later.
Meanwhile, I topped the bales with composted straw from last year. It's pretty much dirt now, which means I don't need to pick up a bag of garden soil. Shortly after, my husband built a box around the second row (see photo), which will help contain the bales as they decompose. Not required, but looks nicer.
The latest plan is a slight modification in bale layout, mainly to ensure certain plants get more sun and to provide more space for big tomato and cucumber plants. I'll stuff in some greens and flowers, and experiment with growing root veggies in the bales, starting with radishes. If the radishes aren't successful, I'll know early enough to start that area over by planting more peppers or cucumbers.
Meanwhile, I topped the bales with composted straw from last year. It's pretty much dirt now, which means I don't need to pick up a bag of garden soil. Shortly after, my husband built a box around the second row (see photo), which will help contain the bales as they decompose. Not required, but looks nicer.
I'm so jealous!! Each year I eagerly look forward to planting my garden but this year we're getting the house ready to sell and I won't be planting one. Enjoy, looks like yours is going to be great!
ReplyDeleteMaybe when you move, there will still be time for a garden! Each year, my garden gets more complicated, but I still long for a big, flat yard with a huge garden that could feed the neighbors. Unless I want to grow veggies on the front lawn, all I have for flat space is what you see in that photo. The yard drops off steeply right behind that last bale.
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