Mini garden in the Yard

I will be trying out the square foot gardening method in my raised bed in the back yard.  Do you think I should replace the soil with Mel's mix?  I must admit that part of the attraction to this method is that my maiden name is Bartholomew...no relation to the author of this method though.  The raised bed now gets late afternoon shade, however that is much improved because a large weeping willow was removed to the south of my yard.

I am thinking the girls will enjoy planting using this method because it should be a very productive garden.  What should I do with the improved soil that I will remove from the bed?  I have been adding compost to it for the last five years or so...so it is pretty good soil!

I think I will use the wonderful suggestions from My Square Food Garden to plan the bed.  The current space is 4 by 8 ft which is just about perfect.  I want to grow peas, lettuce, kale, carrots, radishes, a miniature tomato, a pepper and some herbs in this garden.  We will definitely inter-plant with flowers. Maybe a bush cucumber to round things out.

So who has done the square foot method and what did you think of it?  I can see planting fall crops and over winter crops in this spot so I want to be sure that I have great fertility in this bed.  I think onions, leeks, and garlic, along with chard and kale should round out my seasons.  I might even put in some mums to add some color in the fall.

So who has suggestions?  Cautions?  Encouragement?

Thanks for reading!

Relationships are Tough- Even Gardening Ones

The greatest variable that any project will ever face is the group of people that work to make it happen.  Each person has a different idea about how the project will develop, how much time it will require of the individuals involved, and how personally invested they intend to become.  Next, add the production of food. This endeavor has as many approaches as the sun has rays.  The challenge of taking ten or more people and developing a workable plan when creating a community garden is not one to take lightly.  In this post I will look at some of the issues involved and try to give some enlightenment as to how each works in the garden.

1. Land Wars- It is certain that you will have a finite amount of land to use for your project.  The decisions regarding how to divide and use the space will be of major importance.  Will the entire space be used as one large garden or will it be divided into individual plots.  How much land will be used for paths and utilities and how will these be maintained.  If there are individual plots will they be the same size, can an individual garden more than one plot? If it will be one large garden how much space will be given to each crop?  Who decides?
2. He said, She said- If you have individual plots you set your self up for boundary disputes.  His weeds/plants are shading her tomatoes.  Her weeds/plants are encroaching on her plot. In a large garden you might face. She left the water on, he said he was going to get the cabbages weeded this weekend and look what happened!  Trust me communication is important!
3. Disappearing Acts- Hey what ever happened to so and so?  Has anyone seen them?  Do you know if they went on vacation?  People will disappear during the growing season.  I don't know if they are abducted by aliens or simply overwhelmed by how much work it takes to bring a garden from planting to harvest.  Trust me they will disappear and they will probably not answer your phone calls! Your goal is to check in with everyone as often as possible, offer encouragement, and provide realistic expectations.

Through the five years that I have been doing this I have learned that our garden opperates most effectively as a cooperative community garden.  This means that we all help to tend one large garden and we share out the harvest.  If one person leaves we do not have a plot that is slowly reclaimed by weeds.  We post what jobs need to be done and individuals complete them and sign them off.  We meet monthly to discuss what needs to be done and answer questions.  Yes, people do leave and we miss them. However, because we work the garden as a group, when someone has vacation time it does not effect the overall operation of the garden.  We have come to know each other much more intimately because we must communicate to keep the garden running smoothly. In short by growing our garden this way we have built a community!

These are a group of wonderful volunteers that came out to help us harvest for the local food bank!

Grow a Salad in the Front Yard

Front yard gardens have gotten a lot of attention lately.  Today’s world of HOA’s and city ordinances makes the creation of a front yard garden an intimidating one.  It does not have to be, that is if you are willing to grow your edibles in a covert manner.  Just about any regular landscape plant that you would place in your front yard for ornamental purposes has an edible counterpart.  Let us explore this idea further.

I believe you should be able to grow whatever you want in your front yard as long as it is well maintained and attractive.  This does not mean that we will always agree with everyone about the attractiveness of our yards but that we should recognize that others can see what you are doing.  The first important element is structure.  A well planned yard is almost always more attractive than a helter skelter approach.

 The largest elements in your yard are most likely a lawn area and your large trees.  The trees can easily be replaced with fruiting varieties, in fact this may be the perfect place to plant a nut tree.  Many smaller yards would do well to consider dwarf varieties of fruit.  These will flower early in the year and loose their leaves in the fall.

Today you can purchase just about any type of fruit tree grafted onto dwarf rood stock.  These dwarf trees may only reach a height of 6 feet. Semi Dwarf trees tend to top out at about 15 ft.  Either type makes typical sized fruit and can be easily harvested by hand.  By growing these varieties you will find you have room for more trees than if you went with standards. Replacing the lawn can be a bit trickier.



Consider a blanket planting of strawberries, oregano  thyme, and clover to replace that lawn.  It will not require mowing and you will be able to utilize what it does replace. This will not be a lawn to play ball with your kids on, but it does provide the eye a resting place and give the yard a more “normal” appearance.  Clover is great for giving you a lawn you can walk on and it will improve the soil.  You can pick a variety that does well in your area and it is unlikely that you will ever have a problem with it.  For smaller areas a planting of strawberries keeps a low profile while providing great tasting fruit.  Low growing herbs like oregano and thyme provide a low mounding effect and attractive if small flowers.



Now the real fun begins as you decide what to plant in your garden beds.  There are many fruit bushes that are attractive.  Some even offer vibrant fall foliage!  When planted in mass many vegetables are quite attractive.  Kale, cabbage, lettuce, and even root vegetables can be laid out in attractive patterns or bands much like annuals are planted.  Add structure by growing beans or peas up an obelisk or over an arbor.  If you use cages on your tomatoes pick out the most attractive and durable ones you can afford.  The goal is to create a bed with a variety of texture and color just as you would in a more tradition planting.

The first garden seen here has a whimsical structure while the second one is slightly more traditional with its bed along a fence with a lawn area behind.  The use of texture and color keeps the eye moving.  You do not have the orderly rows of veggies surrounded by clean dirt in either case.  This keeps it from looking like a farm and very pleasing to the eye.

As you plan your garden make sure to include edible flowers.  They will provide extra color and attract pollinators.  The Scarlet Runner bean is very attractive to hummingbirds and provides excellent green or dried beans.  Every part of the nasturtium is edible from seeds to blooms to leaves.  Sunflowers along a side yard fence will provide food for the birds and even structure to grow beans up!  Edible flowers are wonderful for adding variety to a salad and may make your garden appear even more ornamental to your neighbors.


Your front yard garden will quickly become a topic of conversation among your neighbors. Be sure to provide yourself a nice place to sit in the shade and chat.  As you are drawn outdoors and into the front yard you will quickly meet neighbors and have a chance to share your harvest.  This might just be the ticket to becoming more active and leaving that television for rainy days!

Planning Your Garden Space

Now that you have a group of people who all are interested in creating a community garden it is time to develop your vision!  The best place to do this is on paper.  Remember you will need access to the garden, this means pathways that are wide enough to travel but not so wide that they invite weed growth.  It is best for beds to be no more than four feet across so that you can weed them without walking in them and compacting the soil.  It will save you a lot of time if you use your water access to develop a drip watering system.  So your paper plan needs to include your water source, your beds, and your pathways.

Things to consider include: how many people will be gardening, will everyone have their own bed or will you garden together, and will you be using a rototiller or tilling by hand.  I have found that individual beds are the most popular solution.  However, in practical experience I have found that new gardeners can be overwhelmed easily with this method.  Our garden uses the communal method with a greater sense of community and better production.  

With the communal method you will have to decide how to split up the harvest.  In our experience this is not much of a problem once the garden comes into full production, early in the season though you need a way to determine who gets that first ripe tomato!  The lottery method where every one's name is drawn and they get to choose what they want works well.  Most people try to be very fair about what they take home.

Once you have decided how to lay out your garden it is time to decide what to plant.  Keep in mind that you will only need one summer squash plant per family but might want three tomato plants per family.  It is better to over plant and have excess produce that you can donate than to find you did not plant enough to satisfy the groups appetite.  You will likely pick up a few new members late in the season and it is nice to be able to welcome them knowing that you planted enough so that no one feels that they are missing out on something.

You may decide that as a group you would like to focus on heirloom or non-hybrid types of vegetables.  This will allow you to save seed for the future.  If you decide to try seed saving remember that many things will cross pollinate.  You need to plant just one variety or have sufficient space between them.  I would suggest that you save seeds from self pollinating varieties and enjoy growing a wide variety.  One of the joys of community gardening is growing varieties that you cannot find in your local grocer.

The Seed Savers Exchange and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds are both excellent seed catalogs.  They will mail them out to you for free and it is a great way to find some really fun vegetables to grow.  The customer service representatives are wonderful at helping you determine if a variety will do well in your area.  Have fun with this part, try something you would not usually buy at the store, half the fun of gardening is in trying something new!

Community Garden Club

Finally you have a site...and better yet you have permission to use it!  You have access to water and you are ready to search out like minded people and get this garden growing!  First step is finding other gardeners so that you can make plans for your garden.  Trust me this is much easier now that you have a location.  People know that you are serious about making this happen and that you will follow through.

One of the easiest ways to meet a large number of people is to host a free class!  This will be easiest in Spring when everyone who wants to garden is still making plans.  Many libraries will allow you to borrow a room for your class as long as it is free.  Remember those Master Gardeners I told you to make contact with?  This is where they come in.  They should be willing to provide a presenter for your class free of charge.  The Cooperative Extension Office is also an excellent place to find a presenter.  You want your class to be about gardening, if possible make it about community gardening!

It will be up to you to advertise your class.  Put up posters and enlist anyone who has expressed interest up to this point to put up fliers as well.  Get on Facebook and Craigslist and list your class as a free community event.  Call up your local paper and get a short blurb in their events section.  Stop by the nursery and leave a flier there...you really need to get the word out because you need a big turn out for your free class.  Contact your cities Parks and Rec department and make sure they have your contact information and information about your free class.  Parks and Rec may also make a Facebook notice and put you on the cities listing of local events.

The night of your free class show up early and set up a table where you can collect contact information.  Plan to give a brief presentation at the class about what you are trying to accomplish and be prepared to share all that you have already done.  Be ready to answer questions and be sure to invite people to join you in creating a garden.  You will use the contact sheet from your free class to reach out to everyone inviting them to your first meeting!https://www.facebook.com/#!/permalink.php?story_fbid=396984540393354&id=105445642818892&notif_t=like

So you want to start a community garden?

The journey to create a community garden can be a long one.  Zoning and finding an available location is often the first step.  Many would advise building a club so that you have a core group of people to help you develop your garden.  That may work, but remember if you have a vision for your garden you need to make sure that it is clear and that everyone is behind it.  Your local zoning and planning department down at city hall can answer any questions you have about a vacant piece of land.  They can tell you who owns it and what access to water it has.  Make friends down at city hall, you will be spending a lot of time talking to these people!

Once you have found a location and gained permission to use it (no small task) you are ready to start forming an association to manage your project.  A key person to enlist would be someone in your Parks and Recreation Department down at city hall!  You may also consider forming a blog or joining a social media site like Facebook in order to get the word out.  Plan a meeting and post information about it on every free posting space available in your neighborhood.  Coffee houses, book stores, feed stores and nurseries may all have a community posting space you can use.  Make your fliers as upbeat and as attractive as possible.  Please remember to provide contact information along with the meeting time and place.

So- you are doing wonderfully!  You have a place, a small group of enthused volunteers, and the support of your local representatives.  Wait, you mean you haven't written to your local elected officials yet?  Well you better get on it!  An endorsement for your project from the local mayor will give the community confidence in you and your group.  This is important as it is likely that you need to start soliciting donations from local businesses to get this garden off the ground.  If you don't have a 501 3 c, and lets face it, its expensive, check with your city and local USDA as they have programs that can help you with funding.

Wow! There has been a lot of ground work up until this point and we haven't even turned over one spade full of soil yet!  Don't worry we will get to that soon.  In the mean time, contact your local Master Gardener Association, their contact listing will be with the local Cooperative Extension Office. 

Talk to you soon!  You are on a fantastic adventure...I promise it will all be worth it!