New Asparagus patch--
First of all anyone who knows us know that we are a very large,
crazy (in a good way) family. We say the more the merrier about most things. (kids,animals etc.) ha,ha. So if you are reading this post and are shocked that they have Ducks, and Dogs in the pool; don't be. We don't just have animals we LIVE animals. No worries, there was no clorine in the pool when the Ducks had their swim. The dog, Titan took to it pretty well but his face in this picture just tickles me!! He reminded me of the Shepard Charlie in the movie "All dog's go to heaven."
For mothers day I only wanted one thing; more garden space!!!! So I took the opportunity to use my Mother's Day power and
with full advantage had the hubby and all the children help with a few new plots.
We ended up putting in three new areas. I used the No-dig style for all of them. Relatively quick I had new planting space. Each year I think I have enough space and then I find myself longing for more because I have new things I want to plant.
The new cinder block, No-dig space is mostly for greens (lettuce,cabbage,Brussels sprouts, collards, Swiss chard, cauliflower) In the back of each I planted different variety of tomatoes. In the cinder block holes I planted lettuce, and corn. I'm not sure if the corn will thrive but we will see. When planting the corn I planted four seeds in each hole so that they propagate. I will thin them once they sprout, leaving only the healthiest plant.
Then I decided to use some things around the house for my pole beans. I had an old swing that I did upside down tomatoes on last year. I also had a broken doggie gate that I was going to just throw away but felt I could find some use for
it. So I ended up with a make-shift solution for my pole beans. I ended up keeping the soil in the bag and planting directly into them. I just pushed the poles through the bag and left enough space for the plants to grow up and around the poles and eventually onto the gate. I added through the holes some compost and manure.
The smaller cinder block area in the front is for Asparagus only, and the holes in the cinder blocks are planted with a variety of lettuce.
I reused the
BIG tire (some comments were worried about leaching of the tire) I planted Sweet Potatoes in the center. I also decided to grow red and russet potatoes in cardboard boxes (I have read that it keeps them pest and disease free) and I also planted watermelon, and cantaloupe in a few boxes.
Onto the Straw Bales-In the center I planted Zucchini, acorn squash, Muss Melon, cucumbers, eggpant, and sweet potatoes. I planted directly
IN the bales only; different varieties of Strawberries, and one Big Boy tomatoes plant because I ran out of room elsewhere. The bales this year are second year and broken down more than I had expected. The good news is that I will compost them after this year. I will have to transplant the Strawberries, but I plan on doing another Cinder block, No-dig area for them. I will also buy new bales next year and start the process again.
All In the Family,
Chewy
PS: Sorry the pics are not in the proper order..still learning how to edit this......you might have to scroll up and down to see corresponding pic.
