fidgiegirl
2-2-13, 7:02pm
Two happenings this week have my mind turning to gardening.
First, I signed up for a community ed class on planning gardens. It's not until April, but it still has me thinking. I'm going to use the time to plan alternative plants on the steep slope in the front of our home. We can't mow it well, but because it's so steep, we will have to leave the grass in place while another type of plant grows in. Hoping the class will help us with plant choices or how to make the transition.
I also signed us up for a community garden plot about a mile away from our house - a 10x20 plot. There may be a lottery - not sure. So we'll have a sunny place to grow veggies.
We also have two 8x12 beds at my parents', but those really require thought on plant selection. They have to be plants that can do well in pretty rugged conditions - the soil is sandy, though we will plant in manure, they'll grow down into sand. My dad will water, but not weed or harvest. We'll make it up there a handful of times to do those things; they live an hour away so we don't make special trips but if we're going up for something else we hit the beds. One is a new bed, and we'll do squash/pumpkins in it. The other has had squash in it for two years and we are wondering if we need to let it be for something else this year. Haven't found a suitable candidate for our requirements yet, though. Maybe melons? Or are those too close to squash to allow the soil to recover? We have refreshed it with more manure last fall so maybe resting/rotation is a moot point in that case? Advice is welcome.
And then there's our two houses. I had a pretty alley garden at our old house (our rental) but I need to make it a little less high-maintenance for the tenants. We're going to split hostas from this house and take over there to fill in. And I'm going to dig up some of the gardens I had tried to get going over there, but didn't plan/space out well and they look like crap under the tenants. Those are going back to grass. We bought block on sale to make crisp sunken edges so they can mow right over the edges. They are good about mowing but not weeding, and I think it's a bit much to really expect them to be. So I won't waste the plants, because our house we're living in is pretty much a blank slate! Needs lots of soil remediation so I think this spring we will rent a truck or trailer and go to the county to get compost, or we will have to buck up and pay for some loads. We need a LOT. Also there is a lot of rock to take up. Our house will require mostly shade plants, but hoping to put in some shrubs as well.
Wow! Sorry so long! What about you?
First, I signed up for a community ed class on planning gardens. It's not until April, but it still has me thinking. I'm going to use the time to plan alternative plants on the steep slope in the front of our home. We can't mow it well, but because it's so steep, we will have to leave the grass in place while another type of plant grows in. Hoping the class will help us with plant choices or how to make the transition.
I also signed us up for a community garden plot about a mile away from our house - a 10x20 plot. There may be a lottery - not sure. So we'll have a sunny place to grow veggies.
We also have two 8x12 beds at my parents', but those really require thought on plant selection. They have to be plants that can do well in pretty rugged conditions - the soil is sandy, though we will plant in manure, they'll grow down into sand. My dad will water, but not weed or harvest. We'll make it up there a handful of times to do those things; they live an hour away so we don't make special trips but if we're going up for something else we hit the beds. One is a new bed, and we'll do squash/pumpkins in it. The other has had squash in it for two years and we are wondering if we need to let it be for something else this year. Haven't found a suitable candidate for our requirements yet, though. Maybe melons? Or are those too close to squash to allow the soil to recover? We have refreshed it with more manure last fall so maybe resting/rotation is a moot point in that case? Advice is welcome.
And then there's our two houses. I had a pretty alley garden at our old house (our rental) but I need to make it a little less high-maintenance for the tenants. We're going to split hostas from this house and take over there to fill in. And I'm going to dig up some of the gardens I had tried to get going over there, but didn't plan/space out well and they look like crap under the tenants. Those are going back to grass. We bought block on sale to make crisp sunken edges so they can mow right over the edges. They are good about mowing but not weeding, and I think it's a bit much to really expect them to be. So I won't waste the plants, because our house we're living in is pretty much a blank slate! Needs lots of soil remediation so I think this spring we will rent a truck or trailer and go to the county to get compost, or we will have to buck up and pay for some loads. We need a LOT. Also there is a lot of rock to take up. Our house will require mostly shade plants, but hoping to put in some shrubs as well.
Wow! Sorry so long! What about you?