Gardening – Page 5 – All-In Gardening

Welcome 2022

It has been over a year and a half since I last posted, but I needed the time to just learn how to be on my own again.

As I begin this year I have set some goals for myself. One is to get back on track with this blog and website. It has been neglected for far too long.

Second is to stay consistent on my other website. I have been publishing weekly blog posts and my readership has increased, which makes me happy.

Third, I just want to enjoy what life has to offer. Summer 2020 was a major challenge for me but I got through it, and built a deck almost all on my own; simply because it was something Ross and I had talked about and I needed something to do. Summer 2021 had its own set of challenges, with the almost zero rainfall and wasps that kept me inside. Here’s hoping Summer 2022 is better in that regard.

Now that I’m moving forward in life, let me tell you about the few things I have done since May 2020.

As mentioned, I built a deck onto our house; a project that was supposed to be ours since travel was out of the question. (Damn COVID.) I may have built it a little bigger than we had talked about, but I’m happy with the result. When the package was delivered I took one look at the pile of lumber and thought, “What have I gotten myself into?” After some googling I found some information I could work with, and proceeded to mark out dimensions.

Fast forward to September 2020 (I started it in July, after we had Ross’s Memorial Service and family get-together) and the deck was done. Aside from a little help from my daughter, my son’s girlfriend, and a friend, the majority of it was done by me. And I only bled once when I cut my leg with the handsaw (no stitches required, just a band-aid). Finished size: upper level 8′ X 20′ and the lower level is 16′ X 24′.

Click on the image to be taken to the signup page.

After taking a Leave of Absence from my library position after Ross passed away, I handed in my resignation at the end of September. I decided I could manage on my savings and some life insurance; a choice I’m glad I made. I did the occasional writing gig, and made some sales on Etsy that helped pay some bills.

I invested in a snowblower so I could do most of my own snow removal. My father-in-law did use his tractor and plow a couple of times, which was appreciated. The downside to it all was we didn’t get near the snow we should have, which led to a very dry spring and even drier summer.

Summer 2021 was spent tending to my raised beds (I built two more with the help of my daughter), camping with a friend, and fighting off the wasps when I was outside. I made a self-watering planter and filled it with herbs and put it on my deck. It was nice to have fresh herbs right outside my door. I have plans to build at least one more this summer for more herbs.

Photo above was taken March 19, 2021, just after my daughter and I put my new outdoor furniture together.

The yard changes continued in November when I hired an arborist and his crew to take down some dying poplars, Manitoba maples, and a very overgrown caraganna hedge. I now have somewhat of a view from my office window, and a winter view of the field north of my house. When spring rolls around the row of young caragannas will fill in and I’ll no longer be able to see the field, but that’s okay. I do plan on having the crew back to get rid of some other dying trees, but that will have to wait until my budget allows.

And now here I am, with the first two weeks of 2022 already gone. As I anticipate a summer filled with more rain and less wasps, I have plans to plant some roses, build an arbor, and create a living fence around the firepit. My goal is to publish at least two blog posts per month, and add more articles to the website as well. Life does go on, and moving forward is something we must do no matter what life has handed us.

Oh, and my houseplant collection has grown considerably as well. I’m seriously thinking about adding on a 4-season sunroom to let in more light and give my bigger plants a better home. Did I mention the only south-facing windows I have are my office and where my dining room table sits?

I am excited to be back on track, and am even more excited to share my gardening experience and knowledge with you.

If you like what you read you can show your support by pinning this post, sharing on social media, or buy me a coffee.

So Many Projects; So Little Time

Oh my! Where has the time gone?

Oh wait! I know!

Spring is finally here and I have been taking full advantage of it. I have my greenhouse frame in progress, the Hugelkultur bed almost ready for planting, my asparagus and rhubarb planted, and the holes dug for my raspberry bushes. We have also cut down some dying branches in the yard, and enjoyed our first fire Saturday evening.

Whew! Just looking back at all we have done is making me tired, but all that still needs to be done is more overwhelming. However, I have decided to cut back on the number of raised beds I build this year because I want to see how the Hugelkultur one performs first. I’ll be utilizing smaller planters, recycling some old tires, and am going to attempt a couple of self-watering containers. I think the latter will be ideal for peppers and some salad ingredients.

Another addition we have planned this summer is a deck. I’m looking forward to being able to enjoy the sun and shade without the danger of a garter snake slithering past my feet. Just the thought of them makes me shudder. (The fear of them goes back for as long as I can remember.) I haven’t quite decided if I want to plant climbing roses or grapes by the deck though. Or perhaps an espalier fruit tree.

The photos below show the progress of my 4 X 16 foot Hugelkultur bed, which will have a permanent home inside the greenhouse. As you can see the framework has not been covered with plastic yet, but hopefully I will get it done by mid-month. It needs a little more reinforcing and anchoring, then the plastic can be added. I firmly believe I’ll have to get up before the birds one morning (groan) and put on the plastic while it’s calm. (Can you tell I’m not a morning person?)

The filling of my first Hugelkultur bed. If this works like I think it will, more will be built next year.

After I filled the bed, I laid weed barrier down around it to try and keep the grass and thistles down. The soil was brought in from the garden so hopefully some earthworms hitched a ride in the bucket as well. The soil settled considerably when I watered it so I will have to top it up before I plant in it. I’ll give it a few days to settle a little more, then top it up. By that time I should have the plastic on the frame and I can class it as a real greenhouse.

In the last photo you can see the black strip of ground beyond the frame. That is where I planted my asparagus, rhubarb, and also where the raspberry bushes are going. We won’t be harvesting any rhubarb or asparagus until 2022, but I’m looking forward to getting a few raspberries this summer. I’m also quite tempted to transplant a saskatoon tree to see how well it does. We have several along the road just south of our driveway, but they are quite difficult to get to. It would be great to have one in the yard.

I’m quite excited to transform our yard into the vision I have, even though it’s going to take longer than I’d like. I do suppose since Rome wasn’t built in a day I shouldn’t expect our yard to be either.

Have you tried the Hugelkultur method of raised bed gardening? Let me know in the comment section below.

Thanks, and happy gardening!

Small Space Gardens

When my kids were little we had a sandbox in the corner of the yard for them. As they got older they spent less time in the sandbox so I converted it into a garden. I don’t recall the exact measurements but I want to say about twelve feet by twelve feet.

I utilized the Square Foot Gardening Method (by Mel Bartholomew) in it and had fantastic results. I was amazed at how much I was able to grow in that little space. The only thing I wish I could have changed was its location in the yard. We built the sandbox under a big tree so the kids would have shade, but the shade wasn’t exactly welcomed by some of the vegetables.

After trimming a few branches I was able to provide enough morning and early afternoon sun to keep the garden happy. The tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers were grown in my greenhouse which had more exposure to the sun, not to mention protection from the elements.

Jump ahead a divorce, several years, and a few gardens later. When I had a traditional garden the soil was mostly clay, which made it difficult to grow. Plus the weeds always got a foothold which was more discouraging. When we had wet summers it would be days before I could venture into the garden, so I ended up losing some of my produce.

My first raised bed garden experience was a success. Although we had the space for a traditional garden I decided I wanted to try raised beds instead. I made three of them four feet by four feet, which gave me sixteen square feet of growing space each. The others I made two feet wide by eight feet long. They were easy to plant, easy to weed, and easy to harvest.

One thing I didn’t do was leave enough space between the beds. (Mistake #1.) I couldn’t easily get my lawnmower or a wheelbarrow between them, which made my maintaining the pathways harder. I suggest three feet between the beds along the long side, and two feet between them on the short side. And don’t get all fancy and make a design with them: straight lines and longer rows are easier to navigate and maintain. (Mistake #2.)

When I do my beds this year I am going to keep all of the things I listed in mind. Plus I’ll be using mulch in between them instead of having grass. That’s also going to make maintenance easier. Sometimes one doesn’t know how it’s going to work out unless you try it, and when I made my first ones I really had no idea how to do them. I found some old lumber, got some nails, and started building.

When making your raised bed, which is ideal for small space gardening, be sure to make it no wider than four feet if you have access all the way around it. If it’s going to be along a wall or fence, cut the width in half. You want to be able to stretch across it comfortably to maintain it. Plus when it comes time to harvest, you will want to get every last pea pod, carrot, or tomato.

If you don’t have the means to build a raised bed, you can still garden in your small space. Utilizing large containers which can be moved if necessary will also yield some good results. The key is to have good soil in them and proper drainage. A friend of mine (and co-contributor) has made and used self-watering containers. I have asked him for an article on how he made them, so will hopefully be posting that in the not-too-distant-future. It’s not something I have made, so I only feel it’s fair to get the right information from someone who has done it.

Now that our snow is finally melting I can begin construction on my greenhouse. I’ll be posting updates on it as well, so stay tuned. You can also like my Facebook Page for more updates, photos, and progress.

The view of our yard from the middle of the driveway.

Have you tried Square Foot or container gardening? Let me know in the comments below. If you have questions feel free to contact me and I’ll answer in a post or my FAQ page. (FYI, my FAQ page is looking a little bare. Let me know what you’d like to know about small space gardening so I can add to it. Thanks!)

Happy gardening,

Diane

p.s. If any of the links in this (or any other) post don’t work, please contact me so I can fix them.