Garden

For the last week, I have been getting ready for “Garden 2017”. Getting everything cleaned up and put in place takes almost as long as it does to plant. The Hoop House  green house has been a storage area all winter. Things have been stacked up in there to put away “later”. Now is “Later”. I think the cat has been using the green house for a bath room.  Ugh! That detail will involve in taking out the floor and starting over. Sweeping and scrubbing and hauling are not my favorite things to do. However, one of my very favorite things is to move the plants that have been growing in the basement under grow light to the green house. That is fun!

The big garden (10,000 square feet) needs cleaning up. Dead plants, from last year, need to be pulled up, areas need to be raked and new nursery fabric needs to be put in place.  The Pedestal Raised Beds require hoeing. They are the first areas that I plant.  All that is the next step after the Green house clean up.

The general plan is to get ready this week, move plants to the green house in April, and plant the big garden and Pedestals in May. Bob will help with the hauling and doing the heavy work. I will be organizing, putting things in place, and taking care of all the plants.

Yesterday, was so beautiful. Warm and bright with sunshine. I was able to work outside all day.  I move slower this year, but I am moving. My back continues to heal and I am grateful to the One who heals.

Hanging flower baskets will soon be hanging from my back porch. I am filling them with new soil and Diapers. I line the bottom of the basket with a clean disposable diaper, add the soil, and plant my flowers. The diaper holds moisture inside the basket and as a result, it cuts down on my watering time.  Size small disposable diapers work really well. Try it, you will like it.

The raised gardens on pedestals, are my favorite way to garden, probably because they are so easy for me. I can sit on a stool or lawn chair and plant, pick or just enjoy the raised gardens. There are eight of them in the back yard. Each one is four by four. They require no stooping or bending or crawling around in the dirt.  I appreciate this more than ever this year, since I fell in January and fractured a vertebra in my spine.

I will  plant tomatoes, peppers, cabbages, radishes, carrots, broccoli, red beets, onions, beans and all manner of green things for salads. (Kale, collards, lettuce, spinach)  Several of the pedestal gardens will be full of flowers and herbs. (Basil, parsley, sage, and thyme) Our main garden will have all these things too. But it is so fun and easy to be able to sit in a chair, right outside my kitchen door, and work on my “Pedestals”.

Bob is building more Pedestal gardens for sale.  They will be available towards the end of April. For more info on this project, call or text me. We will have a waiting list for the Pedestal garden.