Our Garden Grows!

The weather cooperated again today, and I moved two loads of patio stones. I was sore and tired of dodging mosquitos to get the stones, so then I did some other work in the garden. I will get one more load of stones tomorrow, to give us a final 5-stone deep (about a foot) raised bed. I want it deep enough for carrots, and tall enough for people to sit on it and garden.

I went to dig up the compost heap and pile some nutrient-rich awesomeness into the nearly complete bed. Lo and behold, the compost was in use! Some of our stray cantaloupe seeds from the last couple weeks decided to sprout up and take residence. They were clustered in the center of the heap, where all the good stuff is. Well I decided to respect the interdependent web of existence, value the inherent worth and dignity of the melon vines, and envision a future with free cantaloupe every Sunday.

I cleared the covering leaves from the heap and carefully dug up 2 wheelbarrows of pretty good compost from around the plants. Then I transplanted the smaller plants a little further from the center to give them all plenty of room, and put back the covering leaves. I marked a larger area with some bamboo poles and added more leaves to compost for future melon plantings. The entire area is now our Melon Patch! I hope all the gardening will be this effortless.

Besides the cantaloupes, there are a few things that were already growing in the garden.

The mulberry tree.

This sad little banana plant.

Whatever this and this are. (Someone told me, and I forgot)

A whole bed of something that appeared with the rain. Possibly a weed, but maybe an herb? (I decided it was a weed, and pulled most of them)

Aspirations and Inspirations

I started going to the local Unitarian Universalist church earlier this year, and found a really nice community. The large community garden, however, had fallen into disuse. So I've spent the last few months formulating a plan and creating compost. I am, by no means, a skilled gardener, so this is all a huge learning experience for me.

There are large patio stones that were left in a pile when the stones were replaced with a recycled wood patio (or so I am told by reliable sources). The sandy soil here is (apparently) awful for gardening, with lots of parasitic nematodes and burrowing critters of all sorts. Today I started to build the raised bed out of those patio stones. It may not do my stone mason heritage proud, but I am pleased with the progress.

First I laid down some old chicken wire, and then a weed cloth over top. I made sure the patio stones covered at least 2 inches of the wire and cloth and held it down well. I'd say the stones are about 2 inches thick, and I plan to stack them 5 high. This way, those of us with bad knees or backs can sit and help plant, weed, and harvest if we would like.

first layer of stones

Next, I plan to utilize Square Foot Gardening techniques. I will need to get seeds, peat moss, and coarse vermiculite. Planting will start soon, and following these guidelines. I plan to start from seeds directly in the bed, because I have no idea where I would store seedlings in the meantime.

There are many challenges ahead, which I will detail in later posts, but I am up for it.