As you all know by now, I'm huge on making my own baby food. This summer, I plan to take that process one step further to actually grow some of what we eat.
Our backyard lacks drainage, and is primarily clay so I'm thinking that I'm going to have to resort to container and raised beds.
Any tips and tricks you care to pass along? Feel free to post in the comments!
Our backyard also lacks shade...alot of shade. We planted 6 cedars along the back fence (our Oceanic 6...l-r Desmond, Kate, Jack, Hurley, Sayid, Sun), a Newport Flowering Plum on the left (Juliette) and a Celebration Maple on the right (Sawyer) last spring and they're looking great, but don't provide alot of shade for the rest of the yard, so whatever I plant needs to be good in full-sun.
We also have 3 window boxes attached to our deck that I'm hoping to use for maybe garlic and onions....herbs and peppers? I'm not too sure, or should I just fill them with beautiful flowers? Last summer, Nana V planted everything as I was off at the hospital having Owen! And...since I had a newborn...everything fried in the hot sun!
Last year, I had a 3 tier container garden that had all of my herbs and peppers in it. The herbs did really well, so I'm thinking that I will use it for that and put it here at the corner
I'd love to plant some cucumbers, onion, garlic, basil, thyme, mint (maybe in the back left corner of our yard since I know it will spread like mad), peppers, carrots, and maybe even some potatoes. I'd be thrilled to grow a vine of some sort on our side fence, maybe blueberries? Do those grow on a vine??
As you can see, I need some assistance!! Any tips, tricks, advice, suggestions of plants that will grow well are greatly appreciated!
8 comments:
I was just about to suggest tomatoes because those love the sun, then I remembered you hate tomatoes. LOL. Herbs do well in pots, especially oregano and mint that love to take over everything, and you can grow potatoes just about anywhere (including coffee cans a la Jamie Oliver) and it doesn't matter how much shade you have! Blueberries grow close to the ground and LOVE sun. They like acidic soil. I saw them growing out of rock on a mountain in Newfoundland!
I have the exact opposite problem, no sun! So I grow my tomatoes in a hanging basket on the fence and herbs in pots on my patio. I plan on planting some carrots this summer and maybe some peppers. It will be fun to teach Matthew all about food and how it grows. He may be a bit too small this year, but it'll still be fun.
I have a raised garden and find it easier to tend to. I don't have to worry about snipping the leaves with the lawn mower/weed eater when doing yard work. I planted cucumbers the last 2 years and they grew right out of the garden. They DO spread like crazy. I didn't do very good with root veggies. I posted about my garden a few posts ago and linked some websites if you are interested. Tomatoes do well in the sun and if you don't like them you can always make sauces with them.
TIP: Plant your veggies, tallest to the back so they don't shade out the other smaller veggies. Water them early in the morning before the sun is on them or later in the evening when the sun has gone down. If they need water during the day in the hot sun, I usually just watered at the roots so the leaves didn't get burnt.
This is your first vegetable garden so it's a learning experience. GL!
Woohoo! I've been reading up during Owen's nap and it looks like we'll be planting an inground garden with brick edging!
Cucumber
Peppers
Onion
Garlic
Pole Beans or something that will climb up the fence
Container herb garden: chives, oregano, basil and lemon thyme (I grew it last year and it was AMAZING!)
Mint in the back corner by the Birch (Locke)and probably just flowers in the window boxes
I think blueberries grow in bushes. I need to plant a garden too!
Apparently melon will do great in my area...WOOT! Bring on the watermelon!
Oh FYI, I purchased my stuff from Heemans last year and it all seemed to do very well. I pph Heemans and can't wait to start planting.
PS. Your plan sounds great!!
Awesome! I got my stuff at good 'ol Walmart last year, and the herbs did well...but then Owen came and I neglected to water EVERYTHING!
I think a trip to the nursery is in order for the weekend!
Is it too early to plant??
We're going to plant a veggie garden this year too! I'm so excited! I'm going to sign you up for Vesey's seed catalogue. I LOVE getting it in the mail every few months and drooling over the gorgeous flowers, fruits & veggies. Vesey's is a Canadian company in PEI and their products are fantastic.
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