Maybe the New Year will bring a small miracle to you. Lettuce looks yummy. I sure do miss my zone 9b CA valley this time of year, but at several million dollars an acre in the Northern San Joaquin, also, well, I am enjoying re-learning how to garden in the High Desert of Nevada! Thanks so much for sharing - your garden has enriched lives not only in your neighborhood, but also a few hundred miles away. Good luck to you!
My First Real Garden Part 2
Kanita, your lettuce does look fantastic. I am sorry for you losing your garden. I hope you are able to find a new place where you may garden if you lose this one.
Happy New Year everyone!!!! Well, I spent this afternoon visiting my new community garden space. The garden that I was on the waiting list for almost two years happened to call me last night to tell me that they finally have a space for me.
It is such a beautiful huge garden atop a mountain in Santa Monica with a view of the ocean, hence its name Ocean View Community Garden. The plots are a really large size as well, officially they are15'x15' although I think they are a little larger.
I have a lot of work to do to clear out my space and get it ready for planting. Everyones plots are soooo gorgeous, and I hope the people are equally as nice as their plots.
Here is a before pic:
Yippee! Great news kanita. I am SO jealous of the size of your plot. 15' x 15' ! Wow, I could really feed the family with a plot that size.
I think I can feed at least 4 adults with the size space I have. Looking at the other gardeners proves that. Here's a photo of someone else's plot.
The walking path you see is inside the plot! I can't fit a whole plot in one picture!
Wow! I love it. Hopefully I'll get more space in 2007 too. So many plants to try.
How awesome, Kanita! Many blessings for your new green growing spot!
Congratulations! I think you had a whole boat load of good karma coming your way after all the work you put into turning the other place around and inspiring so many in the process... I'm just delighted that this opportunity came up for you!
15 x 15 is a nice big space, but I have no doubt you'll fill it up and then some... wishing you a winter of happy planning and happier seed sowing!
Thanks everbody!!!! It just hit me at about 9pm that now I can go ahead and order all of the new seeds I have been wanting to try. Especially those new round mauve eggplants from Tomato Growers.
kanita,
I'll be planting those mauve eggplants this season. My seeds came in this week.
Digs
Wow Digs, you didn't waste in time ordering yours. I have to call tomorrow for sure and order mine.
CongratS, Kanita! Here's to your 2007 VICTORY garden! Keep posting the progress pics!
kanita,
It's an obsession. I love to read the catalogs when they come in and I can't help myself. Before I know it, I'm online and ordering way too many seeds.
Digs
Seems like this is an even better plan! Glad it is working out so well for you! Time to order lots more seeds, lol Hope you get a couple more of their plots too!! ~ Suzi :)
Ohh Suzi...don't encourage me! I had set a $25.00 budget for seeds, I have passed that by so much, its not even funny!!!
Don't worry, kanita. Seed and plant budgets are for sissies.
Call me a SISSY?
LOL!!!!
Well, then I am definitely not a sissy! Although I am going to try and trade for seeds as much as possible, I think trading is so much fun! And, a couple of seeds that I was going to buy, I have already from various trades I did last year.
I worked in my new plot yesterday, and cleared out the gigantic cannas that were growing in one corner, cut back the neighboors salvia that had taken over a bout a couple of feet of my space, and low and behold, underneath all of the dead salvia was a bay leaf plant! Small but very healthy and covered with leaves. I also have a rosemary bush and some sage that the previous owner left behind. The plot actually measures17', so I am a little confused on how I am going to set it up and arrange it. I had a bunch of ideas, but then when I got there yesterday the size and the way its currently laid out threw me off completely. Anybody got any ideas?
kanita, with the size of your plot, you have many options for growing. Have you made a wish list of all the things you would want to plant if you had the space? Do you want to grow fruit as well as vegetables? This list will give you somewhere to start.
If you want maximum production from a small space, John Jeavon's book "How to Grow More Fruits & Vegetables....." and Mel Bartholomew's "Square Foot Gardening will show you some intensive techniques.
And of course you can combine intensively planted areas with more decoratively planted areas.
You could also check for books on Kitchen Gardens to give you some ideas on a decorative way to plant the veggies. Your local library may have a copy of these.
Are you allowed to plant fruit trees? If so, you might want to put a couple of fruit trees on the north side of your plot. You can keep them a managable size through summer pruning or by training them to an espalier shape.
http://www.davewilson.com/homegrown/homeindex1.html
http://tinyurl.com/urfby
http://tinyurl.com/w8txf
http://tinyurl.com/ymhw2a
I second what garden mermaid said. Start with a wish list.
I gave up garden budgeting early because I blow it so bad. Seed and plant budgets just make me feel bad when I overshoot the mark, and I don't want to feel bad!
same here
Hi All!
Mermaid, I wish I could grow fruit trees as I have two citrus dwarf trees in my old garden, but the new garden does not allow trees in the plots, not even dwarfs, but one of my neighboors does have a dwarf citrus tree in her space, but I don't know. Maybe she had it before the rule was added.
Wish list, geez that is so long. I would love to grow fruit, but other than strawberries, I can not think of what fruits I could grow. I see a lot of my neigboors have grapevines. I would love to grow grapes if possible, or blackberries or raspberries.
i have "Square Foot Gardening", but I do not have John Jeavons book. Today, I cleared out all of the wood and turned over the dirt, tomorrow I will lay out my beds. One of my neighboors gave me one of her sweet potatoes she grew. It is the most beautiful sweet potato. She told me to cut off the end with all of the roots and plant it, which I will do tomorrow.
Also, I dug up more bulbs which turned out to be Amarylis bulbs (Belladonna) which came to a total of 31 bulbs, and also there were a ton of Dahlia tubers planted which I dug up. I will pull up the 2 French Thyme plants and the rosemary plant. The lady who gave me the sweet potato suggested I pot up the bay leaf as she says they grow so big.
I went to Walmart yesterday, and most of the new seeds that I wanted from Burpee, they had for only $.97 and $1.50! I am so glad I waited on placing that order.
Are the thyme and rosemary plants struggling? If they're just bigger than you'd like, try pruning them back, or get rid of just one of the thymes.... There's nothing like the flavor of fresh herbs! I've got a bay tree (potted because they are tender here), and the fresh leaves have all sorts of flavor notes that are just missing from dried ones.
I'm guessing you could get some fun trade offers for the amarylis bulbs and dahlia tubers.... or maybe somebody else in the community garden would take them in return for starts of other things that you'd like. It sounds like you're off to a great start! I hope you'll find more "good neighbors" like the one who shared her beautiful sweet potato with you.
Hi Critter!
I have a whole herb collection, but where the thyme plants are located is not a logical or a good place for them. I am going to put them in hanging baskets. I plan to have double end shepard hooks at the corners of each of my beds with self watering hanging baskets. This way, I can get even more out of my space by container gardening at the same time I am gardening in the ground. The rosemary has to be moved as well.
Oh, that's an excellent idea with the self watering baskets! LOL, I didn't think you meant you were just going to pull up the thymes... but I had to check! ;-) You should also be able to tuck more sprawling types of herbs into odd corners, or even put them in your pathways.... I can't wait to see what you come up with for your new space! You've got all of us excited right along with you!!
kanita, our community garden allows fruit trees with the stipulation that they not be allowed to grow higher than six feet, which is the maximum trellis height allowed. The reason for this rule is to prevent the trees or trellises from shading an adjacent bed. Our plots are ~3.5 x 16 feet beds, 1 per member, and close together.
With a 15 x15 foot plot, you would be able to keep a summer pruned fruit tree at a manageable size without shading a neighbors bed. The Dave Wilson site has a lot of good information on keeping "backyard" trees at a manageable height. Please understand that I am not advocating violating the garden rules! You may be able to discuss the issue with the community garden managers and see what the reasoning is for the ban on fruit trees. They may be willing to let you plant a couple of trees if you agree to keep them pruned or espaliered to a low height like the berry vines. Just food for thought.
Thanks Mermaid, I'll ask the garden master if I can at least have a dwarf tree in a pot, but he said absolutely no to growing one in the ground, as some member planted what they though were dwarf trees, but they ended up growing to over 7 feet tall.
Today, I had help from my friend Eric so I got a lot done. Why on earth did I take a real farmer to my little space? He insisted that we completely level the area and fill it meticulously with compost. I made so many trips up and down the hill to the compost bin, at least 20, which is at a 150 foot incline. But hey, I have my garden so I'm not complaining. Besides, by the time this is over, not only will I have a fabulous plot, I will have buns of steel! Every simple idea I had became increasingly complex with Eric's design ideas, but I think I can make them work, its just going to take even more work and a little more money.
The thyme plants I pulled up turned out to be 2 different thyme, lemon thyme and french thyme. I also found a sage plant which I split in half and gave one to one of my neighboors and I also gave her half of the thyme and an oregano plant that I found hiding underneath all of the debris.
I bought 8x8x16" cinder blocks to put every few feet in the pathways, so that I can plant small things like radishes and small carrots in the openings. I am using my space to the fullest.
Sunday, I went to Target and the whole gardening center was on clearance. I was able to get 6 double shepard hooks for only $4.45! I couldn't believe it. I also got my self watering hanging baskets from Walmart, some new gloves, and a really cute gardening bag, oh and a couple of really nice metal rust resistant folding chairs that were regularly $29 each, all for under $50.00! Then since that was such a great find, my friend Eric and I went to another Target where we were able to load up on some gorgeous pots for $4-$8! These planters were huge 22"-30" and regularly $40 and up! 24" extra deep window boxes were only $1.48 I don't know what I am going to do with all of them, but I'll figure it out.
Sounds like you have your work cut out for you and you're all set on supplies. Congratulations!!!
Please keep us posted on your garden progress.
sounds wonderful!!
The deep window boxes would be nice along a border or pathway.... just save a little space between them and your cinder blocks so you have somewhere to set down your feet, LOL.
Sorry about your first garden Kanita.
Luckily you were able to get this new space.
Please continue to post pictures of your project.
I need to stea....I mean "borrow" some ideas! :-)
BB
Gee ~ Sounds like fantastic deals! When God closed that door, he sure did open one tremendous window of opportunity! Best wishes and happy gardening! ~ Suzi :)
I know its been a minute. I have been so busy with work and the garden and putting in my community hours at the garden. So now I finally have some pictures of what I have done with my little space.
kanita
Added tons of compost.
My first bed set up.
My second bed built.
Bed 1 on February 10, 2007
Bed1 March 31, 2007
Beds 1 & 2 (I have a total of 5)
Bean and corn patch.
