Garden Update

Raised beds...potatoes in front are growing nicely, but the peas may burn up soon.

 I have been working on my garden little by little when I have free hands and no tiny one hanging on my leg....usually in the last wee minutes of daylight left each evening, if I'm not too worn out from the day.

This is the other side of my garden, where there are no beds yet. My plan is that next year, I have at least two or three more raised beds or bordered planting areas.

I love my tractor tire flower bed (:

Sunflower bed....going to have a ton soon!

The first of my sunflowers

Spring Garden

 My garden is a work in progress. Lots of people have the problem of not enough space...me, I have the opposite problem....there is so much space that I want to fill with beautiful garden that I don't have the time, money, or energy to do it all at once. So, I am taking baby steps.

 This year, I managed to convince hubby to let me have some raised beds instead of trying to take care of an enormous, spread out area. I wanted things more concentrated to help reduce weeds and make it, well, prettier. 

 I am trying out a method that is new to me (mostly since I haven't had a ton of gardening experience) but actually a method that has been used probably since the beginning of time....companion gardening.

 It's suprisingly simple really. It's just a matter of sorting and planning. As you can see, my garden is just beginning to grow, but I am looking forward to seeing what happens! 

Next year, I am definitely adding strawberries and some other perennial fruits and vegetables. After that, in the next few years....rock paths, arbors, sitting area, expanding my perennial flower garden, a little garden shed/greenhouse......aaaaah....I can see it now.....and my kids will grow and help...and hopefully, enjoy the garden as much as I do! There is so much to be learned there, as well!

Fall Gardening

Now, don't get me wrong, I am NO gardening expert...I learn from what others have done and try what works for me. Our garden is 60x40 feet...yes, it's LARGE! It's too large for me to keep up with the way that we had our rows spread out and far apart in the  past, and I've been wanting to try raised beds for some time. I've also wanted to do what is know as "companion gardening"  within the beds because I don't want to use any pesticides on my plants. So, after MUCH discussion (sometimes heated disagreements), I finally convinced my husband that we needed some raised beds. Hopefully it will help with drainage, keeping weeds under control, making better use of the space, and make it just plain prettier to look at. 

So, my plan is to plant in these four 3x6 feet beds and on the opposite side of the garden, we will plant our rows of corn and okra and I will slowly add either more beds or make some sort of separate are for berry bushes and other perennial fruits and vegetables. I also want our garden to be a place to hang out and play with the kids, so I plan to incorporate some fun little things as it develops. (these raised bed kits and much more at Gardener's Supply)

Raised beds

My critter catcher AKA Harry Dog