Beginning...Again

I'll admit it.  I've neglected this blog...far too long.  Last year (2010) was spent in the garden, not posting about the garden.  Today, that changes.  Beginning of the year.  Beginning of new habits.  Perfect time of the year to get in the habit ("...that thing which we repeatedly do") of writing my gardening articles on a regular basis.



The Garden, Year One (2009): 
Ten tomato plants, ten pepper plants.  And, Ducky.

 To recap, we are now beginning the third year of a four-year plan to turn the undeveloped half-acre in the rear of our suburban property into a productive and beautiful garden space.  We commonly refer to this space as the Way Back, which is located under Duke Power transmission lines.  We are fortunate that we only have the lines over our property; there are no transmission towers to contend with, thank goodness. Still, because they have an easement on that area of our property, there are some challenges to reach our gardening goals.  This blog is all about meeting those challenges head-on...and achieving our goals.

The basic plan is this:  we've divided the whole Way Back into four quadrants, bisected by a wide, central, mulched path.  Quadrant 1 is in the lower left as viewed from the gate, beginning on the north side of the picket fence.  Quad 2 is on the lower right.  Quad 3 is in the upper left, and Quad 4 is in the upper right.

Quads 1 and 2 are designated for vegetable and flower gardens, and have been the main focus of the past two years' work (2009 and 2010).  Quad 3 is to be the orchard and will be this year's main project (2011) .  Quad 4 is to be the berry patch and will be the main focus for next year (2012).  For folks who move, on average, every three years, making a four-year plan is quite a committment.  Making it happen will be just shy of a miracle!

So, what can you do in the garden in January, you ask?  Well, just like with personal habits, it's the month to take a look back at what worked in the garden last season/Summer, and then to make plans and set goals for the coming months.

Since it is so cold and damp outside at present, I am reviewing the photos I took of the garden this past season to refresh my memory.  When the weather warms up a bit, I plan to take a Coffee Walk (that's what I call my early morning stroll through the Way Back, where the garden space is located) with a small notepad in hand; I'll jot down some notes of things I want to do again...and things I want to change.

To keep it simple, I'll mention three things that worked great for us in the second year of the four-year plan:



Garden Year Two (2010):
Adding the wide center path

1.  We laid out the garden around a wide central path that leads to an area we call the Rondel (an oval-shaped area, directly under the center of the transmission lines.)  The path gives much-needed definition to the planting areas.  It is lined with recycled newspapers, covered with hardwood mulch; this keeps the weeds to a minimum.  It is also wide enough to accommodate the wagon and the wheelbarrow, making it easy to brings bags of garden soil amendments and mulch close to the spot where they will be used.  The Rondel (an idea we got from P. Allan Smith's TV gardening program) is where our resident pot-person, Hyacynth Bucket presides over the bounty.  Although the photo (right) does not show it, we lined the sides of the path with the rocks and stones that we removed from the planting areas.  More than one person has remarked on that little feature!

The Right Veggie Garden, Year Two (2010):
Adding amendments; setting up wide rows;
and creating a bean trellis (like Old Salem)

2.  We added loads of amendments to the (at times, rock-hard) clay soil, and we figured out how to get water to the area.  This area has not been worked or planted in years...if ever.  Duke Power whacked down any trees that sprouted and grew above their stated limit of 15 feet; any vegetation that lived was on its own for moisture and nourishment.  Remember:   there is no faucet to easily provide water to the Way Back.  Solution:  we had our sprinkler guy come put a faucet-like nozzle on one of the sprinkler heads, which he had re-positioned to be nearest to the garden.  Now, I can attach a feeder-hose from the nozzle to the web of soaker-hoses that snake through the rows and schedule watering of the whole area when the sprinkler goes off.  This is important because the water that comes through the sprinkler system is metered separately from the water that goes to the house; sprinkler-system water isn't charged the sewer fee...which is typically twice the amount of the charge for the water fee!





Garden in Summer 2010:
Flourishing peas and corn;
Rondel and Hyacynth are visible



3.  We planted the garden using wide rows, mulching them with leaves, with cardboard moving boxes, and with straw.  The leaves we got from our own and our neighbors' oak trees when they fell in the previous Fall.  The cardboard moving boxes came from our move to NC.  It's all good!

In addition to the wide rows, we added the use of row covers to length our growing season and provide us with a fall crop of lettuce.  How exciting!  We'd never had a fall crop before, so this was really a keeper as far as we are concerned.  We will also use row covers in the spring and summer in an effort to control pests without using pesticides.





Visiting the gardens at Old Salem, NC

4.  We took some time out to visit other gardens. OK, that's a fourth thing, but very important.  I got the idea for the wide central path from the kitchen garden at Biltmore Estates, and we were encouraged in mixing vegetables and flowers in our garden by the ones we saw in Old Salem.

In the next post, I'll outline some things I want to do differently in the coming season.  Meanwhile, take some time to review your own photos...or, if you are fortunate enough to have warmer weather than we have, get out in your garden for a walkabout.  Take good notes...there'll be a test!  (Just kidding, of course...:)

Happy Hoeing!