Coveting "The Good Life"

I was reading one of my favorite garden blogs (In the Garden Online) this morning where Colleen was lamenting about how she's so ahead of the game that she's able to just sit back and wait to start gathering food from her garden. While I read her list I realized that it mirrors the same list of things I've been agonizing over.

1. This Spirea (pictured right) has the most beautiful little white blooms with a tiny yellow center. I'm likely getting rid of it in a couple of weeks and every day I've stared at it it from my kitchen window thinking I should cut some of the flowers to bring inside. Haven't done it!
2. I've had these lettuce and mustard green plants (pictured below ) in these little cups where they were grown from seed for several weeks waiting to be planted.
3. Mint tea - I'm scared to grow mint on the count of I planted one little ole mint plant years ago at a house I was renting from my grandmother and it took over. To this day when you walk in the back door of that old house, the smell of mint is intoxicating. No-thank-you to invasives!
4. When I step outside I see no thriving eco-system. I just see all the un-done work. The "eco-system" is hanging out in my neighbor's yard (she's a teacher and off for the summer and way ahead of me on gardening) waiting for me to get my act together.
5. My plots are not planted. In fact, my plots are not even built yet! I've got one table full of veggies waiting and a million empty pots that need to be planted. (The sky is falling - the sky is falling!)

This year's garden has really taken a backseat to the other stuff in my personal life. Between the weddings and swine flu's and budget's and community garden fundraising... I either need a time machine, or a bunch of spare gardeners or I may not get to see my kitchen window lined with tomatoes this summer.

Are you on schedule? God knows I hope I'm not the only one...

Kitchen Garden Expansion: Before Picture

Yesterday when I posted my tentative kitchen garden expansion plan many of you asked for a before picture.  Ask and ye shall receive! 

Here's the general area where the new garden will be installed.  

You can see one of the existing 4x4 raised beds in this frame.  That'll be removed.  I'm not sure of the dimensions of the new garden yet but it will not take up this entire space.  I'm simply trying to give you a wide view of the general area. 

Check back later today for Day 1 wrap-up.  I've got work to do!

Technorati Tags: DIY,garden planning,kitchen garden,organic vegetable gardening,urban homesteading

Plotting My Next Big Garden Move: Kitchen Garden Expansion

Now that  few months have passed since finishing all my outdoor projects (pergola, patio), I'm really itching to do something amazing in my garden, again. 

In my effort to be more like the Dervaes or at least get a little closer to Urban Homesteading, I've decided to significantly expand my kitchen gardens.  Here's my kitchen garden history

• 2007 chose a big awkward spot just beyond the patio (AKA big pile of rubble) and threw down weed cloth over the area (around 8 x 10).  Things grew great, the weed control was awesome and despite the ugly factor, the location was prime for sunlight and maintenance.
• 2008 built 2 4 x 4 raised beds which I used as temporary leaf compost holders over the winter.  I like that they are contained and raised but the weed control was non-existent and plants are not thriving like they should due to the over-crowding.

For 2009 I'd like to build more raised beds using cedar this time (GB, you were right!) and a more of them!  I'd also like to be able to place a short cute fence around the kitchen garden area to keep the bastard rabbits out. 

I'll be removing a big section of my backyard for this expansion.  I'm not exactly sure of the dimensions yet but I'd like it to accommodate a minimum of (4) 4 x 4 raised beds a maximum of (6) 4 x 8 beds.  I'd also like to have narrow raised beds around the interior perimeter that I could fill with strawberries and a place in the back for my rain barrel and a 2-3 bin compost system.

I have an official plan drawn by Pie Guy (remember he did the official pergola plan, too) which I'd love to share with you but my stupid scanner is broken. 

I'd love to get this done in time to plant garlic.  Anybody know when's the latest I can plant garlic in zone 5?

More to come on the urban homestead project.  GB, call me! 

Technorati Tags: urban homesteading,garden planning,vegetable gardening,little homestead in the city,DIY,weekend warriors