Garden Renovation

I built my first garden back in 1997 and other than minor repairs it really held up well. The original garden was a 10 x 20 raised bed garden. It had a picket fence with one entry gate. The fence was low enough that I could step over it and get into the garden if I didn't want to use the gate. I never really liked that because it meant I was stepping on the dirt in the garden. Every time you step on the dirt in your garden it gets packed down. The more you walk on the dirt, the harder it gets. Vegetables just don't like growing in those conditions. Many times you will see gardeners lay boards down to walk on or step on. The board helps spread your weight out and lessen the impact on the dirt. Other gardeners will have designated walkways that run along the garden beds. It's all a matter of preference and how much space you have for your garden.

When my winter lettuce was just about done I decided to deconstruct my old garden. It came apart easily and I stacked the boards and picket fence by the side of the garage. I just couldn't put it into a dumpster yet. I wasn't sure what I was waiting for but I had worked so hard on making the picket fence that I just couldn't throw it out yet. My patience (and the neighbors' patience) paid off because several weeks after I had torn the garden down, a good friend came over to visit. She talked about how much she wanted to start a garden. Here was the perfect way to help someone start a garden and not have to throw all the boards and pickets into the garbage. We offered her the boards and picket fences for her to start her own garden. She jumped at the opportunity. She knew her son would love to reconstruct the raised beds and picket fence. I was super happy they wanted it. A couple of days later it was gone. I am happy that the pieces of my old garden have found a new home.

I decided to make my garden bigger and change the layout. I wanted to be able to access my garden beds as easily as possible. I created two 10 x 10 beds and one 5 x 22 bed. I then laid them out with a walkway between them to look like a T. At the end of each part of the T, I created an entry area and space for a gate. I decided to use pickets again and added chicken wire inside the pickets to stop the local rabbit family from squeezing through. I always think of the book "Watership Down", by Richard Adams, when I imagine the rabbits working their way into the garden. Another cool feature is that the gates have hinges on them that I found in a salvage shop in San Diego when I was visiting my sister. There were so many cool hinges to choose from.

Once I had the beds in place I ordered some compost for filling the raised beds. I got the compost from Farmer Dave's Compost. It is a family owned business located in Racine. They have a great mix of pure compost and dirt. This works out well since pure compost will settle too much. If you get a mixture of compost and dirt, it is more dense and the level of dirt in your garden bed won't settle significantly. Here is a link to their website http://farmscompost.com/

I really think the garden turned out well and I hope it lasts me another 18 years.

Here are some pictures of the construction process.

The load of dirt

Almost full

Pickets being added

One of the gates with recycled hinges and sliding latch

All planted

San Diego Flowers

It is is always fun for me to look at flowers and garden ideas when you go to other cities. It is especially true when you go to a city like San Diego whose climate is so drastically different than the one you are used to being in. I'm pretty sure San Diego is heaven for a flower and vegetable gardener. Just think, you could have a vegetable garden year round. The average coastal high temperture is about 70 degrees and the average coastal low temperature is about 55 degrees. Instead of compressing a growing season into about four to five months like in Wisconsin, the growing season in San Diego can stretch for a full twelve months.

Having said that, the drastic change of seasons we have in Wisconsin is a strong pull for me. The knowledge that the growing season comes to an end for a period of time, and that you and your garden can rest, is a feeling I like.  For me, "putting the garden to bed" in the fall provides me a sense of inner peace.

San Diego garden that has something growing year round

I have been in San Diego for the past two days with my sister, Betsy, and her family. We had an awesome time and visited many different parts of the city. California is experiencing one of the worst droughts in history. Individuals and businesses have been asked to reduce their water consumption by 25 to 30%. This requirement to reduce water consumption has changed what kind of flowers and plants Betsy and her family can plant around their house. Instead of an in ground sprinkler system, they have changed their irrigation system to a drip system. Also, instead of traditional annuals like zinnias, cosmos, sunflowers, etc., they have shifted to succulents that require less water. Here are some pictures of the succulents and drip irrigation system.

                                    

                                    

                                    

  

Drip line into the potted plants

                                  

Here are all sorts of pictures of the flowers and gardens I saw over the past two days.  

Apple Tree

Geraniums

Geraniums completely covering the fence

Plumeria

Bird of Paradise

Early Garden Work Inside and Outside

Think about where we were last year at this time - crazy cold with no hint of spring whatsoever. It was so cold that the start of the Wisconsin fishing season up north was pushed back a couple weeks because there was still ice on the lakes.

I know it was cold this winter but there was never a cold snap that lasted for weeks on end like last year. This winter the ground was sufficiently frozen with a normal amount of snow fall so we should be in good shape for a successful growing season. Having said that, it is has been a bit dry but the heavy rains in early April took care of that temporarily. With those rains we are now way above normal for precipitation for the month of April. Such extremes.

For the second year in a row I planted lettuce and spinach in my garden last fall inside the cold frame. Planting at that time gave the lettuce and spinach time to grow and get established before the really cold weather set in. This spring the lettuce and spinach began to grow again with the warmer temperatures in March and the sun pounded on the cold frame. As of April 13th I have had two cuttings of lettuce and spinach. In fact the lettuce grew so well that I had enough to give to my neighbors. Here are some pictures of the lettuce and spinach inside the cold frame along with a picture of one of the bags of lettuce I gave away.


The winter months provide a perfect time to tend to your garden equipment. This winter I brought almost all of my tools down into the basement for cleaning. First, I made sure I had all the dirt off the tools with a metal brush. Then I wanted to address the metal on the tools as well as the wood handles. Each of these areas require a different approach. For the metal area I lightly sprayed with WD-40 and rubbed it in with an old rag. For the wood handles I lightly sanded down any rough spots and then give the handle a good application of linseed oil. This is also an excellent time to sharpen any tools that may need it such as a spade or sod cutter. Here are some pictures of the tools after my cleanup.

Out with the Old ...

One of the first projects I completed after I built my original vegetable garden was the construction of a compost bin. Compost bins are so important for a gardener. It doesn't matter if you have a small garden, large garden or container garden. What comes from a compost bin is a critical element to add back into your garden. I am constantly filling my bin up with coffee grounds, egg shells, old plant material, leaves, grass clippings and vegetable scraps from the kitchen.

I built my first compost bin about 15 years ago. The design of this compost bin was based on plans contained in the book "Crockett's Victory Garden". As you can see from the first picture, the idea was to create three separate sections. As the material broke down it was moved to the right so that the last section contain compost ready for the garden. It has served me well but as you can see it was time for a new one.

The internet is a wonderful thing and I was able to find some really good designs and ideas for my new compost bin. After my research, I decided my new compost bin would be built again based on the same concept of my old one by providing three sections for the various stages of the composting process. However, I decided to make several upgrades and modifications based on my 15 years of composting experience. To begin with I made the new compost bin sections wider and deeper. This allows me to add much more initial material and get more finished compost at the end. I also, raised the bottom of the compost bin off the ground about a foot. I did this to make moving material from one section to the next easier on my back. Also, by having the compost above the ground I am preventing roots from growing in my compost. It was amazing how the last section of my compost bin attracted roots. In a way it was good because it told me the final compost was full of nutrients and easy for plants to grow in. Finally, I changed the size of the screen that divided the sections. The old compost bin  had one type of screen for the whole unit. The space between the wire was very wide and compost was constantly falling out. Not sure how much compost I wasted by having it fall out the back and sides but I was constantly cleaning up around the outside of the bin. This time around I went with a wire mesh and made sure I had small holes on the last section so the compost stays in the bin and not out the back. The bin was made from a combination of scrap wood and new wood. I avoided green treated wood so that the compost didn't absorb any of the preservatives.

I got this done late summer which was just in time for all the leaves from my yard and the old garden plant material.  All of this helped to complete the composting circle. I think it turned out well

Here are some pictures.