Our section of NC is infamous for its soil, or should I say clay? One of the first things we did when we moved into this house was to plant a garden. That year we decided to test our dirt on its own to see what we could produce. Pretty much everything died except for the few tennis ball sized cantaloupes that became our pride and joy.
So basically it was a big fat failure. We didn't just blame it on the clay. We also blamed it on the fact that our builder completely stripped our neighborhood of all the topsoil before putting grass down (and you can see what awesome quality grass it is now... walking on it is like walking on needles). When we dug down a little bit we found that the builder had also buried a lot of leftover building materials like broken wood and bent nails. Lovely.
So we knew our only option for a good garden was a raised bed. Last year Ben built one that expanded all the way across our back yard. We filled it with 5 cubic yards of okayish soil (hey, we were on a budget) and planted away. We got a ton of plants (and mutant marigold bushes) but not much fruit came from the plants.
This year is different. Our soil has had time to decompose some more, plus we added the compost that we've been working on for the past couple of years. Now call me evil, but I could write a whole blog post about how much I hate composting, but after seeing our garden this year, meh. It's sort of magical. Take a look.
From top of picture to bottom: Tomatoes, zucchini, cantaloupe, watermelon, swiss chard.
Corn
From bottom to top: romaine, arugula, potatoes, more tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, blueberries, green onions.
Blackberries that are turning black
Green onions
Ben and I sort of joke that we're leaving our house just as we're having success with our garden. But all this work hasn't been in vain. We've learned about how to get great soil, how to build a great box, how to treat each plant in the dirt, how important shade can be, etc. I'm positive we're going to keep learning more, too. After this, I think we should have a killer garden at our next house. Way better than this one for sure. I'm excited.
8 comments:
You put my garden to shame. Only my spinach is doing well.
I'm impressed! You really packed a lot of different veggies into that space. You can be proud!
Your garden looks AMAZING--way to go! Our builder stripped all our topsoil too...at least yours put grass in afterwards. We just have a half acre yard full of weeds :)
I can't believe how much your garden has grown in the week and a half since we were there! Mmmmm! Eat some of that chard for me.
One question: Did you use sprouts or did you use seeds to do your garden?
Lizzie - both. We used seeds for everything except the tomatoes and zucchini. Oh and also the potatoes which you use potato eyes to plant.
after your description of the garden, you need to get the book called, "Tops and Bottoms". the kiddos will love it!
wow!
Post a Comment