From Greenhouse to Bean House

   With limited level gardening space, one must become creative when expanding the food plots.  The steep slope that radiates from the Little Bayou House in all directions leaves very little flat areas in which to make rows for plants.  Even putting up the little metal-framed greenhouse that my sweet sister-in-law sent me presented a problem.  Son decided to go with the slope making the tunnel head down the hillside to the Bay.  Since it was to be a temporary fix to keep the potted plants from freezing, I had no qualms about letting him do whatever he pleased as long as those night-blooming cereus plants stayed warm.  Surprisingly enough, they all survived our temps that plunged much further down than we ever expected.  The plants did ok and I was satisfied.

  A couple of weeks ago, that summer garden-planting bug hit and that is where things went amok. I had more plants and seeds than garden.  Even though people claim to want a garden, it is hard to give away plants once they are seeded. So, the problem of too little space had to be fixed with a bit of ingenuity.  As Son and Mark were taking down the greenhouse before an impending wind storm, it hit me that the large (now) empty space was usable for something!  Mark built some nice sized boxes to run along the sides of the (once) greenhouse and we filled them with soil and compost.  A bit of sisal twine was laced between the metal pipe framework and our greenhouse was now a bean house with two rows that are twenty feet in length! 

  The bean plants seem to be happy in their improvised home and this freed up a bit of space for another twenty or so tomato plants and about that many more pepper plants.  It is purely a case of make do with what you have by repurposing.  By the time the framework will need its top reattached for the winter, the beans will be long gone. Now that is thinking!  Double duty gardening!

Blame it on Bugs!

  Several years ago, I had to do something that was new to me.  While container gardening seems to be the rage with most folks, I was used to planting things in rows in the ground.  Growing up on the farm, we had never heard of planting things any other way.  Sure, Mom had a few potted plants that sat on the front porch but this new idea of boxed gardens had not even occurred to Pop.  In fact, I think he probably would have laughed at it and said it was not gardening at all.  But, as I said, I had to resort to this method of gardening and, for a while, it was good.  The whole idea was to keep the voles from tunneling under the rows and raising the garden well up off the ground did a good job at that and was also easier on my back.   It worked well...for a while.

  Earlier this spring, I noticed that the garden boxes were showing a bit of rot and knew that their time had come to an end.  I was hesitant to rebuild them as I am always trying to ease "one more season" out of things.  Well, that season did not happen.  Recently, Mark and I were poking seeds in one of the raised boxes when I noticed that it was listing to one side.  Hmmm. a nice shove righted the box but also produced a loud cracking sound.  Oh well, it could be worse, right?

  The "worse" came sooner than expected as, at that exact moment, dirt started pouring out the bottom of the boxes!  Two large holes dumped everything...soil and seeds...into a heap beneath the boxes!  Oops!  The boxes now resembled something from a Bugs Bunny Cartoon from long ago.  He used to raid gardens and pull carrots and cabbages from below ground and now my boxes had huge holes as if Bugs had been at work!  "One more season" was never met.  The boxes are demolished and I have no gardens at all!

Off to a Good Start

  Despite the dense fog that was shrouding the Bayou this morning, I headed out to a bit of garden work.  I have long neglected the plot and needed to do a bit of weeding.  The warm, humid weather we are having of late supports massive growth of not only the cabbages but also the weeds.  Things were getting a bit hairy out there!  

  Just before the first of the year, a cousin had given me a whole mess of green onions.  These were the same type that Pop used to plant on the farm so I decided to save the last inch of each stalk to use as a "starter".  Last week, I finally found the time to stick forty onion sets in the garden boxes along with the root end of two celery bunches.  While it is hard for me to grow celery from seed, rooting it is quite easy and the onion sets would have no problem getting a great start.  This is sort of like "recycled gardening" as it is growing food from what most folks toss in the trash.  To my way of thinking, there is far too much waste in this world as it is, so why not recycle when I can.  It pleased me to see how well the plants were doing.  The onions, celery, cabbages, broccoli, brussels sprouts, collards and carrots are growing by leaps and bounds.  It will not be long before I am able to harvest.

  Winter gardens are so much easier than those in the spring and summer.  First, there are no gnats!  Even though I was doing close work, nary a gnat hovered around my face.  Second, the heat is not debilitating.  We had a balmy seventy degrees today making it perfect for gardening.  Third, weeds are kept at a minimum.  Other than a good bit of what Pop used to call "water grass", the gardens were relatively clean.  Also, the winter gardens are pretty much pest free.

  After about three hours of tending the gardens, all of the raised boxes are in good shape.  Tomorrow, the fog will clear and be replaced by rains.   The gardens will be good to go and I shall be stuck indoors once again.

 

This Little Garden Patch!

  This little garden patch is getting overgrown!  All of the recent rains have helped the plants flourish and, now, what was a mediocre plot has fast become almost too robust.  The squash plants are waist high, the tomatoes are a foot taller than their cages and the beans are spilling out of their planter boxes.  Not that I am complaining, though!  I am quite sure that as soon as the cooling rains quit for more than a week, things will look much different.  As matter of fact, here it has been just a couple of days with no moisture and a good many of the herbs are already showing telltale signs of the heat.  The sun scorching down upon the sage and basil has not been too friendly.  Still, the garden is doing well and has been plying us will free meals.  Each day, I harvest a good many summer squash, green beans and mustard greens.  Throw in a hefty amount of plums, peaches and Boysenberries and we eat meals fit for a king! (If said king was a vegan!)  

  All of this bountiful garden is planted in a small space formerly known as the Rose Garden.  The name was changed once I threw in a nice size herb garden.  The Rose/Herb Garden did so well that I decided to move my entire kitchen garden inside the confines of the fenced area.  Now the space is planted in not only lovely flowers but, also, herbs and many different types of vegetables. What was once a lush, green lawn has quickly become filled with plants that supply our dietary needs.

  Since the space is so tiny, walkways are lined with garden boxes made from untreated cedar fence boards.  This is the first year that I have tried this container gardening.  So far, it is working well and the plants are producing heavily.  These boxes have the added convenience of fitting some old windows perfectly so, come this winter, I will still be able to have a reasonable garden. The windows can provide a bit of protection during the night and easily be removed during the daytime hours. 

  

  Yep, this little garden patch has proven itself to be quite prolific.  I do believe that less is more in this situation!  The tiny garden is producing much more than the several larger plots of days past.  

Up and away!

  I am tired of fighting critters!  It so seems like a losing battle at times. Termites, fleas, ants, grasshoppers, voles, squirrels, coons....the list is seemingly endless!  The buggy critters are in the process of being controlled but those furry fellows are still being quite naughty.  Every night, the coons and voles wreak havoc on the garden.  The coons have great fun pillaging the above ground parts while the voles are happily munching my roots.  Nothing gets in the way of their tunneling!  So I have decided to go a different route.  My choice is the path less traveled!

  Mark made some great planter boxes for me this past month.  We used cedar fencing boards to make the boxes to help prevent rot and perhaps keep the bugs at bay.  The boxes are raised above the ground to keep ants from claiming squatters' rights and to prevent the voles from honeycombing the soil with their tunnels.  Ahh, yes!  I am beginning to like this container gardening idea!  The true test, however, is whether the plants will do well in six inches of soil.  I set to work filling the boxes and sowing the seeds.

  Now after just a couple of weeks, I am happy to say that the plants are flourishing!  The beans are growing by leaps and bounds and the squash are a dark, healthy green!  Bell peppers and herbs seem to fully like living in the boxes.  When Mark built the boxes, he followed my instructions for the corner boxes.  I wanted to try something a bit different.  I requested that he make four boxes as squares but deeper...far deeper, than the others.  These I would plant with potatoes. I put about six inches of soil in the bottom of the box and planted four cut potatoes in each box.  That gave me sixteen potato plants in just a small space.  As the potatoes grow, I can add more soil which amounts to "hilling" the plants. Hilling being adding lots of dirt around the stalk of the plant.  I have already had to add another six inches of soil to these boxes as the plants are doing so well.  Mark left an area on the top so I could add one more round of boards if necessary.  (I think I might just have to do that!)

  Time will tell if the box gardens do as well as my regular "in ground" gardens have done pre-critter times.  If they do produce well, the building supply places better stock up on cedar fencing!  I will be adding more boxes!