Each year we make time to plant an organic garden, we feel it keeps us connected with earth and nature, as well as, having the extra benefit of very tasty and nutricous food for our meals. We are fortunate to have a small stream with deposits of rich aluvial soil. Every few years the organic deposits are gatherred up and wheelbarrowed to the circular garden to mix in. It provides the nourishment for our tomatoes, beans, beets,and brussel sprouts.
We have learned over the years that these particular vegetables suit our needs perfectly. We also grow cucumbers and squash, but they are planted out of the garden, in small hills around Domecountry.
I like to dig the garden at least four times a year, this keeps the soil loose so vegetable roots can easily penetrate the soil to keep our plants healthy and strong. Weather and time permitting I dig it twice in the fall and twice again in the warm spring weather. It keeps me in shape as well I enjoy being in the outdoors doing productive things. Vegetable gardenning makes more sense than ever, especially considerring todays economic challenges.
In winter we spend time planning the way we will lay out our plants for best results. The tall pole beans are in the north side, or what we call the back of the garden. In front of them are the bush beans , both green and yellow. Tomatoes are next where they take up the middle of the space, in front of them we sow the beets. New to us are the brussel sprouts which I put with the tomatoes.
Beet tops are the first to be harvested, soon after that comes the yellow and green bush beans. Tomatoes soon come along with baby beets. The pole beans are next to mature, which last almost to the end of September, by then the brussel sprouts start to be ready, lasting until winter. We have found this to be the best assortment for us to enjoy a good supply of fresh food for our pleasure and nourishment at our table. Sometimes we include other vegetables like green onions, broccoli, or green peppers.
The entire garden is surrounded by short cedar log pieces dug into the ground to form a small fence or barrier, gives it a nice look and defines it from the lawn. The garden is exactly 16 feet in diameter, not large at all, quite amazing though is how much this little space can produce. Each year we learn a little more about planting and getting higher yields.
The challenges are fun to face , the one that comes to mind is staying away from the commercial solutions to problems like staking the tomatoes or the support system for the pole beans. Rather than buy things we try and use what we have around us. The use of abundant hardwood saplings for staking the tomatoes and building trellises for the pole beans are great eaxamples of this. We also use cotton fabric strips made from old tee shirts to use for tying the tomatoes and beans to the wooden supports, this elimantes the need to buy twine.
I like to start my days in nice weather having a cup of coffee in the morning while tending the garden, its therapeutic, giving me a great start to the day!
Lately , since urban encroachment we have encounterred new difficulties with our garden activities. Ground hogs!! They are vegetarians and enjoy dining on fresh garden sprouts, its very discouraging. The garden sprouting up is a delight but when its gobbled up its very discouraging. It seems almost impossible to find a workable solution but one has come about from nature itself! In the past we have trapped the unwanted rodents and relocated them only to find that they are not alone and usually within days another one shows up to eat further the freshly sprouted beans, they dont seem to fancy beet tops or tomatoes. Although the plants do recover, they do not produce in abundance like they should, and often we have to replant only to find the new shoots eaten again. This year how ever something different occurred, foxes!
The area was home to foxes years ago, they were displaced with developers taking their dens without a thought to build golf courses. Its sad really because with some foresight they could have been worked around saving all of us a lot of troubles. The foxes are a wonder and since they moved back, making a den behind domecountry, most of our groundhog troubles have disappearred. Those foxes dine on everything keeping things cleaned up. The mother called a vixen and her two pups were observed eating the following; rabbits, groundhogs, racoons, skunks, geese, ducks, mice, moles, snakes,and last but not least a baby deer! We are thankful the foxes have returned. I found it interesting that they also eat morels. File now availableDownload a short clip of them by clicking this link, Foxes.
Produce from the garden starts about the middle of July making meals so much more tasty, fun and enjoyable. The garden starts to die back in september and by November its time to start digging it all up again readying for spring. I usually burn the left vines and stalks right in the garden.
I strongly encourage all people to get involved making a vegetable garden, a most beneficial use of time in my opinion.
