The time is finally here. It's time to get dirt under my nails, old jeans, and work boots. Yes it's time once again for my annual garden. We bought our property in June of 2008 and are finally able to do a garden. The first year, I was pregnant with our twins and did nothing. Last year we spent the season working on the yard. There are lots of trees, and because of the leaves, there was no grass growth in more than 1/2 of the yard. There was also monkey grass planted EVERY WHERE!! I was able to get it dug up around the front trees, and also in front of the porch. We have marked out my flowerbeds in the front of the house, and have tilled those up already. Because of our soil content (almost all clay) we are going to get a load of bank sand, and a load of top soil in here. Because the beds get hardly any sun because of the way it's situated, I am thinking of using shade tolerant perennial's. I figure if I can plant perennial's and free will seeding annuals, then I won't have to worry about continue purchasing of flowers for the flower beds. Hasta's are beautiful, and there are so many varieties to chose from that are tolerant in zone 8b where I live.
Morning glories, roses of every shape, size and color will all make an appearance. I've got every intention of using our wedding arch as a garden arch with climbing roses to mark the start of my space. I can see it so clearly in my mind, and I'm so excited to actually get it started. I'll take pics along the way.
We actually marked out the garden space the other day. The area is HUGE by standard garden plans, but I don't do anything standard. The space is a huge 30'w X 40'L. It won't be just long rows, but actually broken up into avg 9x9 plots with 2' walk ways throughout. So each plot will be accessible from every angle. My compost pile will also be moved to be included in the garden area. I'm actually in th process of planning out each and every one of the plots. The first one was easy after a little research. Using the "Three Sister's Method" of planting; Corn, beans, and squash in one plot has been a common practice among Native American cultures. I'm in the process of doing research on perennial veggies, herbs, flowers and plants. Each plant has multiple purposes that not only help the veggies/fruit they are planted next to, but also many have medicinal uses. Our family is working on becoming self sufficient, and this garden is the first major step!!
Found a great article on grey water use in a self watering system.
This is the best video I've found so far. He walks you through from tub to flower bed!! It's a fantastic video, with great information.
When we build the house we plan on implementing his grey water system when we do the plumbing, and we are both excited about it. My husband was seeing $$$ going up in smoke when I started going over the extensive garden plans. He wanted to know if we did manage afford the plants to fill it, how in the world would we feed and water it. The answers rolled off my tongue from my hours of research. Filling it would be easy enough; all grown from seeds. Feeding it, well that's where the compost pile (I started last year), and the companion planting comes in. I started to explain how different plants, herbs, flowers and veggies planted in groups will have different effects. He zoned out after a few minutes and said well ok how do we water it. I told him eventually I'd want to set up rain collection barrels, and then explained the grey water system that I wanted to implement. He watched the above video, and then was excited and on board!!
Because we've got 3 small children and no fence around our property, it's nearly impossible for me to work outside by myself. To solve this dilemma, hubby and I work outside on a 4 day rotation. He works 4 days, and then has 4 days off. On his 4 days off, it's an unspoken rule, that we spend each and every waking moment outside working in the yard. The only exception to that rule is during nap times, and meal times :) During the 4 days he's at work, I spend my days taking care of babies and planning garden/flower beds. I know this seems like overkill, but I figure if we are going to spend the money on it, I want to spend the money on perennial's and self seeding annuals. I also spend a great deal of time researching herbal/natural remedies for everything from pest control to herbal shampoo and everything in between. Both of which goes directly back to the companion planting.
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