Materials Matter

Conitnuing with the topic of starting a garden in the fall is the choice of materials for your garden beds. The simple solution would be not to use any materials at all, to simply till the soil, ammend the soil and plant. It is a completely viable and very cost effective solution.

I would recommend, however, that you consider using raised beds. Depending on your soil, you can easily spend a lot of time, energy and money ammending your native soil. By selecting raised beds, you can combine your native soil with a more loamy mix, peat, sand and compost to create a plantable bed almost instantly. In addition, by giving the bed more height, you make it easier and more comfortable for you to tend to your garden!

Think about it...and Happy Gardening!

Fall is the Best Time To Start A Garden?

I know it sounds like I've gone crazy, but hear me out. Last year I talked about how I fertilize just before putting the garden beds to bed for the winter. The same principles apply. The best time to create a garden, ammend the soil, etc. is the season before you plant. Since the ground freezes here in Ohio over the winter, that leaves the fall season to prepare ahead of time.

I decided to share my nutty theory in multiple posts. The first is about selecting a site in your yard for a garden.

The thought for the first time gardener is to start small....at least at first. A small garden will take less work and materials and frankly, if done well a 4X4 foot garden will provide enough vegetables and fruit for a family of 3 to enjoy during the standard growing season.

Once you get the hang of gardening and get hooked (and you will!) you can expand your garden to incorporate more crops, varieties and to experiment.

The first consideration in locating your garden is light. A vegetable garden needs anywhere from 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day, so select a site that has that amount of exposure to center your garden.

If you will be using native ground only, you will need to test the soil and ammend it appropriately for nutrients and drainage (adding compost, peat, sand, etc.)

We will continue the series talking about other methods of creating a garden...until then, let the thoughts of your garden perculate!

Happy Gardening!

Raindrops On Roses...and veggies and seeds!

Raindrops are definitely some of my favorite things. With such a dry late summer, I have been concerned that my plants and especially my freshly planted seeds would suffer. Even though I collect rainwater for such an occasion, I try to let mother nature tend to my watering as much as possible.

It was so nice to have a gorgeous light and long rain this afternoon here in Columbus, OH. While I am sure the Buckeyes and the fans at the game probably weren't too happy, but this gardener and especially his plants were!

Happy Gardening!

Better Late than never

I have to admit, this spring and summer were rough on my schedule. Among some other things in my life that distracted me from my garden were new responsibilities at work and the completion of my education. That left precious little time for gardening and even less for blogging :-(.

And while I wasn't the best steward of my garden, nature must have known what was going on and decided to take extra special care of me. The beautiful bounty of the garden came through even the little bit of neglect I inflicted upon the garden. The heirloom tomatoes were glorious all the way through. The multi-colored swiss chard has been bountiful and my summer squash ended up the size of king penguins...just amazing. Not to mention beans, potatoes, cucumbers and a host of other vegetables that ripened and provided nourishment for my exhausted body this summer.

As for my soul, when I did have time to tend the garden, it brought such peace and sense of well being, it is hard to describe. Nature and in particular my garden provides such a refuge for the city weary, I want to run up to every city dweller and give them a plant so they can feel just a little of the energy that nature can provide.

Now that summer is waning, and I am about two weeks late in doing it, I headed out to the garden to put in my late summer plantings for late fall and early winter harvest. Carrots, Parsnips, Spinach, Mesculin lettuce and though it is late, I am going to put in a few beet plants. I think with a row cover, I should be able to squeak out a small harvest just in time for Thanksgiving! And in a couple of weeks, it will be time to put the garlic and shallots in the beds to over winter.

This post is short on instruction, I know, but I wanted to send a little bit of garden love and energy that I have recieved into the world to share.

Happy Gardening!