Our back yard is really wierd, and when it rains we have a river flowing through the middle of it. So instead of fighting it all, I'm embracing it. Got some river stones and plan to dig a *planned* river bed and putting stones at the bottom of it so that we don't keep losing soil every time it rains. Also using my fenceline to grow my vertical crops (corn, tomatoes, green beans, peas, cukes, etc) and put plastic netting up onto the surface of the fence so I can weave the plants in and out and they'll grow UP not down on the ground. I'm some what using the square foot method, only I'm doing 1 foot deep (into the ground) and say, on one fence line going 16 feet long by 1 foot from fence to garden fencing (to keep dogs from eating my crops!). Make sense? And I've gotten some cypress mulch, some peat moss and have already dug up all 62 feet for my main garden and now have to dig it out, put in some mulch (for water retention and cuz we have lots of clay in our soil and cuz I can't find anywhere around here who carries vermiculite! GRR!) and peat moss and mix in the rest of the soil and wahlah! Great gardening soil! Already did one small garden around this huge telephone pole in the middle of our back yard. I'll have to scan my garden plans (made blue-prints, sort of! LOL). I'm trying to figure out how to create some sort of water feature w/out having to buy anything....cuz when it rains we get this sort of *lake* (aka big puddle) in the bottom corner of the yard. Again, embrace it, not fighting it. I don't have the equipment (nor $) to level off the entire yard nor the dirt or $ to buy more dirt, to fix it all.

(embrace it, don't fight it!)


So, that's where I'm at so far. I've been feeling pretty yucky and it was only in the 50's today and very windy, so I didn't get outside today. 60's is fine for me...so lets hope for some warmer weather. I"m really excited about my gardens (flower, sunflower, veggies, pumpkin patch, butter fly bushes, perhaps more if I can get them!) and can't wait to get out there on a more regular basis! Justin is FLOURISHING playing outside with me! (sits in the big ditches I've dug for the veggie gardens like it's a bathtub! SO cute!)

Thanks for listening to my rambling. :) Just excited about gardening!

BTW, anyone else drooling over the gardening catalogs? I got my Burpee catalog last week and have been circling this and that so if we get some extra $ I can consider getting it! LOL

Ohh the "river" sounds so cool.

I also like using your fence for your climbers. We do that too, mostly because the back chainlink fence is so ugly without it. Plus, it's nice to have a little extra growing space.

Chole

Sounds beautiful! Cant wait to see pictures!

Love Val

Sounds like a good plan to make a river bed. No sense in wasting all that soil:D

We have really sandy soil here and while tomatoes and irises grow great some other stuff doesn't. You mentioned cyprus mulch, peat moss and wahlah. I've seen peat moss in the stores (walmart) but where do I get cyprus mulch and wahlah? Do I have to go to a nursery?

at WalMart. The cypress mulch is the most torn up mulch, meaning it'll compost the fastest. I added some to my soil to help retain moisture in my beds cuz we have heavy clay soil. Same with peatmoss. :) Haven't a CLUE what wahlah is. LOL

I'm using the square foot method (well, sort of) so I dug a trench about 16 inches wide by 12" deep by umpteen feet long. Took the dirt out and made a pile of it. Added peat moss and cypress mulch, mixed it up, then added a shovel full at a time, the soil. Mixed it up until there was about 40% soil, 45% peat moss and 15% cypress mulch. Once the seeds turn into seedlings and a bit bigger I will put down more cypress mulch to keep the weeds out of the garden. I had to use chicken wire and wooden stakes to make a critter proof fence (the dogs will EAT everything I'm trying to grow! LOL) so it won't be an easy task to weed right now. :) Got the chicken wire fencing for $29- for 150 feet at our local Tractor Supply store. Peat moss was, I think, $7- for the big bag and the cypress mulch was $2.34 per bag.
HTH!

BTW, if you don't mind the work, do it my way. If you'd rather not kill your back like I did, go with the raised beds. Get topsoil, peat moss, vermiculite and cypress mulch and mix it together for a great bed!

Best of luck!

Originally posted by calicohemp
Sounds like a good plan to make a river bed. No sense in wasting all that soil:D

We have really sandy soil here and while tomatoes and irises grow great some other stuff doesn't. You mentioned cyprus mulch, peat moss and wahlah. I've seen peat moss in the stores (walmart) but where do I get cyprus mulch and wahlah? Do I have to go to a nursery?

Originally posted by Stacy
I'm using the square foot method (well, sort of) so I dug a trench about 16 inches wide by 12" deep by umpteen feet long. ........go with the raised beds. Get topsoil, peat moss, vermiculite and cypress mulch and mix it together for a great bed!

Best of luck! [/B]

I have Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew but haven't put it into action cause we're renting right now with a possible move this summer. I'm all for raised beds....so much easier on the back. I did put some stuff in containers but the dogs messed it up (when emme' was a pup) so I haven't done that again. Last year I put the tomatoes out in the flower bed since it's outside the yard. Yup right along with the pansies, irises and dianthus were two large tomato plants:D

mulch (for water retention and cuz we have lots of clay in our soil and cuz I can't find anywhere around here who carries vermiculite! GRR!) and peat moss and mix in the rest of the soil and wahlah

I was referring to the wahlah here. You said you mixed the mulch and peat moss in with the soil and wahlah.

forgot to add his url: http://www.squarefootgardening.com/

He makes gardens look so nice:p

Originally posted by calicohemp
I have Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew but haven't put it into action cause we're renting right now with a possible move this summer. I'm all for raised beds....so much easier on the back. I did put some stuff in containers but the dogs messed it up (when emme' was a pup) so I haven't done that again. Last year I put the tomatoes out in the flower bed since it's outside the yard. Yup right along with the pansies, irises and dianthus were two large tomato plants:D



I was referring to the wahlah here. You said you mixed the mulch and peat moss in with the soil and wahlah.

forgot to add his url: http://www.squarefootgardening.com/

He makes gardens look so nice:p

Sticking my nose in to say that I think she means voila

voi·là ( P ) Pronunciation Key (vwä-lä)
interj.
Used to call attention to or express satisfaction with a thing shown or accomplished: Mix the ingredients, chill, andvoilà!a light, tasty dessert.

OH....:eek: :o Ok that makes sense now. Here I was thinking it was some kind of special manure or soil mixture :rolleyes:

(in my defense...english is my second language and I learned to spell wahlah voila in French, sorry I missed that)

no need to defend... it took me a while to figure out what it meant too. And I have an English Literature degree... lol


Love Val