New Gardens
This year we’ve expanded the gardens by two or three times of what we had last year. Yet it’s still just a start of what we hope to build.
It is only mid-May, and I have to admit that I let my enthusiasm get away on me a couple of times, so that I wasted a certain amount of effort by starting seeds weeks ahead of the season, and transplanting some starts outside too early as well. It just means that I had to start over again. The garden is teaching me patience and peace of mind.
The land here has a wide mix of growing conditions. The back garden has some decent soil mixed with clay. All of that garden area holds on to good moisture, even during long, hot dry stretches. In some sections I have mixed in extra sand and/or peat to loosen the soil and improve drainage. At present I have started garlic, artichokes, Jerusalem artichokes, climbing peas, kale, chicory, leeks, potatoes, carrots, blueberries, gooseberries, red currants, strawberries, broccoli, brussel sprouts and various herbs. By the end of the month we will transplant various squash, cucumbers, melons, cabbage, bush beans and tomatillos into this area.
The front gardens are a series of winding raised beds. We plan to add to this garden since it gets the best sun exposure on the property. We have built up most of the soil in this section, mixing topsoil, sand, peat, compost, manure, seaweed, etc.. In the less exposed beds lettuce, kohlrabi, turnips, various Chinese greens, radishes, parsley, spinach, garden cress, carrots, broccoli, brussel sprouts and chard are growing. In other beds there are more climbing and bush peas, many herbs, broccoli, arrugula, kale and sunflowers. Within the next couple weeks we will transplant about a dozen varieties of tomatoes that are now growing in the small green house.
By planting small amounts in various areas, I hope to discover this year what plants work best in each area, and under what soil conditions.
The new and large area that will be opened up after building the new driveway, will have less than full sun exposure(depending on how many trees we decide to cut), and is almost completely sand and sandy clay in some areas. In other words, even if we bring in extra soil to build beds or plant trees, the area will be ‘extremely’ well-drained. That said, there should be plenty of water for moderate but consistent irrigation.
** If experienced gardeners/farmers have suggestions concerning what to plant in this area, I would appreciate their advice. *** We plan to seed native grasses over the entire area as well so as to be able to raise small animals (poultry, rabbits, ducks??) starting next year – for meat, eggs, and manure.
Beyond all of these gardens, the property has about a 10 or 11 mature apple and plum trees, along with another dozen young plum and apple varieties donated to me by gardening friends in Victoria.
I am waiting for the machine-work to complete the new driveway and landscape terraces by early June so that I can plant 14 more potted fruit trees (7 types of cherries, and the rest are pears, plums and apples) into the ground, as well as a number of fig trees and other berry bushes.
After three weeks of sunshine and almost no precipitation, it has started to rain steady and beautiful this afternoon. I’ll have a mess of black slugs to deal with, but the gardens will love the moisture.
This year we’ve expanded the gardens by two or three times of what we had last year. Yet it’s still just a start of what we hope to build.
It is only mid-May, and I have to admit that I let my enthusiasm get away on me a couple of times, so that I wasted a certain amount of effort by starting seeds weeks ahead of the season, and transplanting some starts outside too early as well. It just means that I had to start over again. The garden is teaching me patience and peace of mind.
The land here has a wide mix of growing conditions. The back garden has some decent soil mixed with clay. All of that garden area holds on to good moisture, even during long, hot dry stretches. In some sections I have mixed in extra sand and/or peat to loosen the soil and improve drainage. At present I have started garlic, artichokes, Jerusalem artichokes, climbing peas, kale, chicory, leeks, potatoes, carrots, blueberries, gooseberries, red currants, strawberries, broccoli, brussel sprouts and various herbs. By the end of the month we will transplant various squash, cucumbers, melons, cabbage, bush beans and tomatillos into this area.
The front gardens are a series of winding raised beds. We plan to add to this garden since it gets the best sun exposure on the property. We have built up most of the soil in this section, mixing topsoil, sand, peat, compost, manure, seaweed, etc.. In the less exposed beds lettuce, kohlrabi, turnips, various Chinese greens, radishes, parsley, spinach, garden cress, carrots, broccoli, brussel sprouts and chard are growing. In other beds there are more climbing and bush peas, many herbs, broccoli, arrugula, kale and sunflowers. Within the next couple weeks we will transplant about a dozen varieties of tomatoes that are now growing in the small green house.
By planting small amounts in various areas, I hope to discover this year what plants work best in each area, and under what soil conditions.
The new and large area that will be opened up after building the new driveway, will have less than full sun exposure(depending on how many trees we decide to cut), and is almost completely sand and sandy clay in some areas. In other words, even if we bring in extra soil to build beds or plant trees, the area will be ‘extremely’ well-drained. That said, there should be plenty of water for moderate but consistent irrigation.
** If experienced gardeners/farmers have suggestions concerning what to plant in this area, I would appreciate their advice. *** We plan to seed native grasses over the entire area as well so as to be able to raise small animals (poultry, rabbits, ducks??) starting next year – for meat, eggs, and manure.
Beyond all of these gardens, the property has about a 10 or 11 mature apple and plum trees, along with another dozen young plum and apple varieties donated to me by gardening friends in Victoria.
I am waiting for the machine-work to complete the new driveway and landscape terraces by early June so that I can plant 14 more potted fruit trees (7 types of cherries, and the rest are pears, plums and apples) into the ground, as well as a number of fig trees and other berry bushes.
After three weeks of sunshine and almost no precipitation, it has started to rain steady and beautiful this afternoon. I’ll have a mess of black slugs to deal with, but the gardens will love the moisture.
