Keyhole Gardening

With world hunger and a need for local food production, teaching gardening skills to starving people is a must. I try to envision trying to garden with what I have around me only in the process. In the U.S. we have the luxury of garden centers, nurseries and basic clean running water. Keyhole gardening offers plain smart design. Using a composting basket in the center allows for a constant feeding of nutrients and water to the garden. Grey water can be recycled from household daily use and poured straight into the center creating zero waste of drinking water. With the nutrient dense soil more food can be planted in a smaller space and not waste water and resources. The design seems simple enough that a garden  could easily be constructed by most households and communities. I would like to build one of these myself. This video is one being built in Uganda. This design can be adapted to whatever area you live in. Rocks and boulders may be used instead of brick. Freecycled material may also be an option for those of us in the U.S. for material. It would be great not only to be able to use this to grow our own food, but learn the skills so that we may be able to help others no matter where they live.

Smart Gardening

I love efficiency. With limited time and resources, smart planning helps to maximize what you can do and reduce waste. I study urban garden design because it forces people to be more creative with smaller spaces. When you  can make a space efficient and pleasing to the eye then in my opinion you've succeeded. These urban practices can be applied anywhere, whether you live in the city or in the country. Patti Moreno from Garden Girl TV is one of my favorite designers of efficient gardening. She does a great job of presenting ideas that we all can apply somewhere in our own backyards or apartments. Today I'm sharing "Raised Beds In The City". You can adapt her design ideas to meet your needs. I like the chicken houses she's built to fit perfectly on top of the beds. I've seen this done for rabbits also. Its practical design that I think can be carried out into the later years of life when strength and mobility start to become challenging.

Veggie Garden Update

Summer is moving along at quite a fast pace now. The 95+ degree temps we've had this week are a prelude to months ahead. Its warmer than it should be already, but it seems the garden is hanging in there with some hand watering and frequent visits by me. I am concerned now that this will be another difficult grasshopper year ahead. I've seen them start to pour out of my herb garden, especially the mint. (or maybe they just like nice breath, *wink*) I'm sure the purple martins will have plenty to eat around here this year. I'll have to keep monitoring the situation as the growing grasshoppers see what all they can eat in my garden.

Herb garden of left. Veggie garden on right.

Butternut squash blossoms

If everything goes ok with the butternut squash, I better start looking for recipes for them. There are tons!

Gardening in a tub works great. Here is a grape tomato plant with contender green bean plants.

Companion planting green beans with tomatoes helps pump nitrogen into the soil that the tomato plant needs.

Later in the week I will talk further about growing tomatoes. It seems to be a plant we've all had questions about from time to time.

Cinder Block Garden

I recently received a comment about my cinder block garden that made me realize I need to elaborate the "why" I chose to use them. Truth is, I have many so I'll try to explain a few. 1) Years ago, I read "Herb Gardening in Texas" by Sol Melter There are several illustrations in this showing beneficial uses of cinder blocks and herbs. The compartments in the cinder blocks lend themselves as natural planters for herbs and plants that need some sort of containment. The blocks also have a level of flexibility in design, whether you want to bury them halfway to mark a border or stack them for a raised bed that is easier on your back. 2) Organic gardening is another factor I had to consider. Yes, there are natural wood alternatives that have a slower decomposition rate than others such as redwood and cedar. Pressure treated wood or railroad ties would not be something I would want to use for raised beds long term when growing food. Cinder blocks meet both the organic and non-rotting need I have here. It seemed an easy choice. 3) Flexibility in design. That sounds really strange when talking about concrete, but I often compare the blocks to my son's building blocks he played with for years. When I built my cinder block beds a few years ago I thought I knew what I wanted. After several seasons of gardening in them, I decided to change my design for more efficiency. Before After I needed to maximize garden space and make the walking paths smaller for weed control. I  am using the same amount of space as before, but have a much greater area for planting. I've liked the option of being able to change things around. That's just one of my quirks. Efficiency is important to me. 4) Good workspace design. I like the fact I can fill most of the block cells with either plants or something more solid such as pea gravel. As you can see in the "after" photo, I have mint planted there. Good ole' invasive mint. *smile* It looks great and saves me the trouble of it choking out the rest of my herbs. Along the sides of the beds I'm going to fill them with pea sized gravel. I am amazed how much that helps when I work in the beds. I can easily place my knee pad on top of the side and work the bed with little strain or pain. It will serve to keep weeds and spiders out of there too. Black widows just love those kind of spaces and I'm not willing to get that up close and personal with them! 5) My goal for building these beds always goes back to sustainability for me. I'm not getting any younger and these beds should hold up for me for years to come. I consider them an investment into the years I may have trouble with handling harder physical labor. They take little effort to maintain and I can make changes to suit my needs. I googled, "cinder block gardens" and was surprised to find some pretty impressive designs out there. I guess I've only scratched the surface for their uses. I need to get the ball rolling on that!

Earth Day Tribute - What Type of Gardener Are You?

Grapes are really abundant this year

Pink Verbena

Mullein

Spiderwort The more I garden and visit with other people and their gardens I have started asking this question. Its easy to be defined by a style, but in truth it goes deeper than that. I have found that gardening in many ways is an extension of a personality. Order, whimsy and purpose mark a garden in the same way we dress ourselves and decorate our homes. I think it is why our curiosity is sparked when an opportunity arises to walk around someone's yard or garden. They all tell a story. And we want to hear that story. Being involved with the Master Gardener program allows me the privilege of seeing more gardens than most. It's interesting to know that some gardens are more showy and "out-front" types that appeal to the eye.Those are the ones that make an immediate impression on visitors as one who knows everything about gardening and must be an expert. The truth is, the surface has only been scratched on the levels of gardening and know how. Even among our Master Gardeners if a question comes up about a certain plant or situation we often know immediately who needs to answer that question. That is why we have "Specialists" for certain things such as Vegetable Gardening, Composting, Etymology, Propagation etc. Its just hard to know everything. I often wonder when someone asks to see my yard what they expect. A botanical garden maybe? A show stopping view from the street? That always intimidates me when I think about it because in truth, I'm not that type of gardener. Mind you, I LOVE flowers and blooms of all types. I collect perennials and my inspiration is always an English Cottage Garden style. I fill in plants and collect them as gifts from friends and family. All of my plants have a story to tell. What is my type? I guess I'm really a backyard type of gardener with a cottage style flair. I plant things with a purpose. I like flowers and herbs so my bees and butterflies are welcomed in for a visit and nourishment. I plant vines and trees for shade. I grow food for animals and people. Its a broad spectrum of interests and I enjoy the challenge. It may not always be showy, but boy does it have a story to tell. One thing I can say is this, moving to the country has liberated my garden creativity process. I love the idea of hanging baskets overflowing with massive annual flowers and show stopping landscape design. I am inspired by them and often under my own breath say, "next year I will try this or that". But I often find myself back in the same places year after year building and dreaming in my own backyard. I like that... no pressure. Today I will be planting a few more herbs and filling soil in a three more raised beds where I grow food. I have several plants that have been given to me as gifts from friends that need a home in my yard. I will gladly place them with love and care as I think about my dear friends who gave them to me. New raised garden beds

Spring Progress

Getting back to my gardens and animals is something I've really looked forward to this year. Many of the things that have occupied my time have come and gone so now I'm ready for some fun. A few updates for this year include the expansion of my raised bed garden.                   I have changed the beds from 4x4's to 4x12's. I thought this would allow a lot more workable space and make the space more efficient. I so far have 5 of these beds built in a grid pattern. I'm slowly filling the beds with soil. I recommend the soil mixture used for Square Foot Gardening for most beds. So far I have an herb bed, a strawberry bed and one for flowers. As I fill my other beds I plan on filling them with more strawberries and a possible asparagus bed. Because all of these need to be in an undisturbed area, raised beds reduce the need for weeding. Asparagus is actually a really attractive fern-like plant. I will be happy to see it be used for more than just a quick season of food.