The weather is great and I am ready to take up the summer garden and start fresh. This past gardening season is one I would like to forget. When I lived in MA the garden was over by mid Sept. so if it got out of control or the weeds started taking over, it was for just a short time. I could pull it up and till it in and forget about it. But here in TX that isn't the case. Yep the garden got out of control and there are still plants producing a little bit. I hate to yank them out yet. So, what I am doing now is planning the winter crops and how I will deal with this garden next year.
I have a hard time with disorganized gardens. Last year was the first year I had good results in this fairly new veggie garden. Nothing got out of control and the weeds were not a problem. For some reason this year was different. I didn't have weeds as much as I had grasses. Even though I had laid down a weed barrier the grass traveled underneath it and came up where the plants were. Eventually by the end of July the heat and the grass was my downfall. Enough of that.
After some contemplating what to do so that I can enjoy the garden and keep it in line I concluded I needed to add some garden boxes. This way the paths would be permanent and I would not have to deal with them any more. I am going to lay down weed barrier with some mulch on top. When I run out of that free really good weed barrier I may let grass grown and then keep it clipped. Of course if it isn't watered it could die down if we have another baking summer again and no rain. Not sure if that would be as nice to walk on. Keeping nice paths between the plants was one issue I had so this should solve that problem.
My first 4 boxes will be 2x8 feet. I have a square area off the main garden that these are going to be placed in. It has a shade cloth for summer and I can place the summer squashes in there and a few other veggies that need some relief from the heat during the summer. But for now I will plant my beets and other cool weather crops there. The shade cloth will be pushed back since I will want to have the sun for the winter crops but also to heat my studio.
Since this patch of garden had not been planted this summer the grass grow like crazy and was a foot tall or more. I hit it with the weed eater and knocked it down. Even though we had several days with out rain the soil was still soaking wet and sticky and could not be tilled. We have rain coming in again mid week but if all goes well maybe by next week it will be dry enough to till. The reason I am tilling is this: I want to take some of that good soil I have in the paths and add it to the boxes. I can sink the paths some lowering the boxes some giving me more soil in the box and less I need to add.
I have been hearing a lot about square foot gardening so I decided to check it out. Not a hard concept to follow or do and I am going to give it a shot. I will be putting my own twist on it a little bit. My soil is rich and full of composted manure and such so why go out and buy more. I will go ahead and add my peat moss and vermiculite to what I have and mix it up. I then shall lay out the grids and get planting.
I haven't decided how to lay out the main part of the garden yet. I have some left over 2x6's hanging around from some building projects that I will be using to build the remainder boxes. I have two 2x6's that will make a 5x5 and that may be the center box with other boxes arranged around it. I was thinking of putting it on the diagonal and use that center 1 foot for some sort of architectural item that vines can grow on. I have all winter to find something or build something for that. Of course I need to plan my drip system for this new plan as well. And one thing I am not going to skimp on is a timer. Last summer I used one that was great but was battery operated. Then the battery ran down and the timer went screwy. And putting a new battery didn't help. I think this year a hard wired or plug in type timer is how I will keep my drip system working correctly. One gardening friend is good at laying out drip systems so I plan on calling on her for help.
I also plan to use rain water for my drip system but if we end up running out of rainwater I will use the well as my back up.
Next week I plan to get to work on this new idea and will post more with pictures of what I have come up with so far.
Happy Fall and Happy Gardening
2023 Update!
8 months ago
3 comments:
I'm rethinking my garden, too. I need to make the rows a bit wider, although have very little room to waste. I might wait next year to plant the tomatoes and peppers until the fall. Nothing did anything this year until September, anyway.
I'm trying some spinach, but think it's still too hot for it here.
bobbi c.
I live in an apartment with a landlord who hates nice things - okay maybe she's just a control freak and wants me to plead for everything. Anyway I am planning a small raised garden and found a neat article in the latest Mother Earth News about getting a lot of produce from one small 100 sq ft garden ... and I am in the area of the country where gardening ends in September - yipee! I want to try the Indian way - corn first followed by beans that need stalk poles and surrounded by squash to fill in the open spaces ... other than that I don't know what else to plant. My kids don't do veggies and I avoid them like the plague when I am over run. Ideas? Oh and best wishes on your attempt to refurbish your garden
Ann if you don't want to do a lot of veggies, and why plant stuff you won't eat, try herbs. Flowers will work this way too.
Now if your kids help with the planting and the care of the little garden they may eat what they planted. Seems to work with lots of kids.
What ever you choose have fun and enjoy being outdoors.
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