New neighbors moved in next door last year and tempted me to start a garden in my front yard. My soil in the front yard was never that healthy looking and was very much clay. But at the insistence of my neighbors to show my gardening technique, I took the bait. But instead of starting my own garden, I started a garden for them.
There were two reasons for this. The first reason was that my health was starting to fail again and with the news that twins were on the way, I didnt know if I would honestly be capable of gardening at all. The day to day struggle of dealing with a lung disease is debilitating, the pain excruciating and unbearable, and the mind follows the body, when the body is failing.
But love conquers all.
My wife came home and saw how nice the neighbors garden looked and with a tinge of jealousy in here eye she asked simply, "where's mine?"
And thus began the garden of gardens. An experiment in what can grow with what, a melting pot of theory.
I started with gasoline. Im just kidding, I really have no idea why that gasoline is there at all. Oh right, I was tilling with my gas honda tiller. See that green plant there in the middle next to the onions? Those of you following the blog should recognize that as the "zombie celery." It never died, in fact, I moved it up front after it survived a cold winter and was living all alone in a field of dreams.
I went to the local feed store and ordered some artichoke plants. I went a little nuts and ordered 60, since Id heard that the local populace wanted them, and since Id gone to every store in the county and left empty handed. Funnily enough, I visited a lot of gardeners that month who were very grateful that the store I ordered them at actually had them in stock!
I planted rows of corn, some ancient corn someone had purchased off the internet and given to me, and some corn from a few rotten pieces I had saved from a grow last year. I didn't know if it would grow or if it would be any good and I was worried about the water lines under the garden, since I only tilled 8 inches deep, to avoid hitting any. Still, everything started to take off. As you can see on the far left, in the center of the picture above, my neighbor was transplanting into my yard and I into his. The plant Im referring to is an aloe vera plant. The rest of the aloe veras on his side died, and they were all quite old, but on my side, they died down to practically nothing, then started to thrive!
The garden became a sort of competition, with them adding more each day, and the look from my wife. So I began to get a little competitive, which isn't like me at all, but there's just something about a woman being involved to drive a man crazy...
And of course my wife's roses deserved a spot in this garden!
And so I began to decorate with bricks, creating stepping stones into a world of food.
See the clay. It was disappointing to say the least, but as you can see on the bottom of the picture, I began to plant peanuts, as peanuts restore nitrogen and other goodies to the soil, making it healthy in only a few months. I love peanuts!
And I started to create organization.
The tomatoes grown from seed in the kitchen window began to do quite well.
So I put tomatoes of different kinds against the fence, hoping they werent too close together!
I built new fences around my yard and the neighbors yard to keep our dogs out, since they were as curious as we were.
And I put up that terrible tarp from my last post for a bit of privacy on the porch.
But I was most proud of my strawberry garden. This stuff loves to spread.
And all it takes to create a potted plant, is a little ingenuity.
So I took some soil that was being stored away that had been depleted of nutrients.
I added a little worm tea to it.
Like this.
And let it sit a while.
I went to check on my artichoke and my aloe vera plants, both medicinal plants.
Wow, look at the corn grow!
Tomatoes, corn, squash, and melons, garlic, broccoli, potatoes, and peppers!
And look at how the plant took to the transplant. I just submerged the bottom part of the vine and covered it with a stone, so it wouldn't move out of the pot. Within 3-4 days it can be cut from the vine and transplanted wherever you want. It's that simple.
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