Look - the garden beds are in! We did the final 5 hours of moving soil around – taking some out of the yard entirely (about 8 wheel barrows worth) and getting the beds shaped. This pic shows both planting areas – well there are really four planting areas.At the top of the photo at the edge near the neighbors yard is a sunken bed the will help manage the water that runs off the north east corner of my roof. That water will help deep water the female Mulberry Tree (gives me berries in the spring) as well as the future mini apple orchard.
The bed below it is for the edible garden. I transplanted the salvia from the pots on the porch to create a perspective so my neighbors could see these are gardens, not mud pits!
I threw a mix of about 10 different kinds of flower and veggie seeds into the dirt which I had amended with really great organic mulch (from Ken Singh). Then I covered the seeds with more mulch and watered everything down really well with compost tea. The seeds have started to sprout (after about a week). I am really excited for them to turn into a riot of plants, all growing and blooming at different times.
Then this sunken ‘pit’ is to manage the water that runs off the porch roof (could be up to 200 gallons in a one inch rain!) and where I will plant a desert tree for shade for the house and the garden.
Now, I get to just sit back and water the beds and watch them for the next 30 days or so. Well, not really sit too much. I still have the brick edging to install and a brick patio, but I feel like the push is done to get the seeds into the ground so they could germinate.
I got it all done just 2 days before the Thanksgiving rain of ’08. It was great to see Mother Nature provide the water and then the sun.
This is not the end of my journey, just the beginning of new front yard adventures. I am already planning what to plant next spring!
Happy Digging,
Doreen Pollack
www.down2earthgardens.com
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