Post by shamrockmommy on Jun 3, 2015 9:48:28 GMT -5
My name is Shamrockmommy! I'm in Northern VA, have been for almost 3 years now, after 20 years of moving around with the military. Happy to say we are staying fora while now!!
I've had a small garden growing the last 2 years, using the compost in place/lasagne garden method and so far the plants have produced beautifully! This year we are going to shift it all into raised bed with hardware cloth bottoms- the gopher and voles have been plowing through it and taking out most of my plants
It will be a "pottager" when all said and done. The beds will be sortof in an E shape, with the middle dash part being a cold frame- maybe two for starting seedlings and for exending the season for chard (love!), Kale, lettuces and herbs. Right now in the process, about half done building the back bone of the raised beds. We went to a "community forklift" store that has used wood for sale from 15-40 c per board foot, so we got a whole bunch loaded into the pickup for right around 150.00!
Next we are replacing our house windows on the main level. They are horrible, leaky, single pane windows. We have a nice a/c and heat system but the cold, heat and humidity still seep in through the windows. Can't wait to have those replaced, new windows arrive on Friday! The old windows will be come cold frames, and possibly a greenhouse in the future! (super excited on that one!!)
I've been trying to find a "hobby" that defines me. I have dogs, and have shown dogs in conformation, and obedience, and that's fun, but really expensive. I just realized that I think my hobby is gardening. I'm not super knowledgable at all- I used to joke that I have a black thumb (certainly true for INDOOR plants, can't keep those alive at all!), but as I was walking though my garden this morning, and then admiring my 2 year old butterfly garden that we put in for the dwindling monarch population, I've realized, hey, this is it. This is my thing!
NOW... I need more education on this. I don't want to get too crazy about doing things right- part of the fun of this has been that, hey, if it grows, great! If not, ok too! But I would like to know what people do in the fall to prepare their raised beds for winter. I don't till my mounds, and so don't plan to till my raised beds, either. I do plan to add something like this: Cut down/chop finished plants and lay down in place, top with leaf mold (we have TONS of trees here), top with compost (have ample access to composted horse bedding/manure- nice and black). Does that sound alright? Right now I'll be filling the new raised beds with cardboard/newspaper, leaf mold, compost, old hay, compost, and then plan on getting enough nice "garden dirt" in bulk to cover 3" or so on the top level. Sound good?
Currently growing in the garden is: Sweet corn, sunflower, carrots, bush green beans, grape, roma and better boy tomatoes, lavender, sweet peppers, 2 yr old strawberries (nice to see them sending out runners this year... will they transplant ok this fall when the beds are done?), dill, cilantro, sage, marigolds.
Next year in the pottager, I also want to add a couple of the round half whiskey barrels for herbs specifically, and some odd pretty pots for flowers, too. I plan to use mulch as paths, as it sounds better than rock, should I ever want to take out the garden, rock sounds like a pain in the rear to take up.
So much to learn! Also, any good books that are your old favorites with great information?
Thanks and Hello!!
I've had a small garden growing the last 2 years, using the compost in place/lasagne garden method and so far the plants have produced beautifully! This year we are going to shift it all into raised bed with hardware cloth bottoms- the gopher and voles have been plowing through it and taking out most of my plants
It will be a "pottager" when all said and done. The beds will be sortof in an E shape, with the middle dash part being a cold frame- maybe two for starting seedlings and for exending the season for chard (love!), Kale, lettuces and herbs. Right now in the process, about half done building the back bone of the raised beds. We went to a "community forklift" store that has used wood for sale from 15-40 c per board foot, so we got a whole bunch loaded into the pickup for right around 150.00!
Next we are replacing our house windows on the main level. They are horrible, leaky, single pane windows. We have a nice a/c and heat system but the cold, heat and humidity still seep in through the windows. Can't wait to have those replaced, new windows arrive on Friday! The old windows will be come cold frames, and possibly a greenhouse in the future! (super excited on that one!!)
I've been trying to find a "hobby" that defines me. I have dogs, and have shown dogs in conformation, and obedience, and that's fun, but really expensive. I just realized that I think my hobby is gardening. I'm not super knowledgable at all- I used to joke that I have a black thumb (certainly true for INDOOR plants, can't keep those alive at all!), but as I was walking though my garden this morning, and then admiring my 2 year old butterfly garden that we put in for the dwindling monarch population, I've realized, hey, this is it. This is my thing!
NOW... I need more education on this. I don't want to get too crazy about doing things right- part of the fun of this has been that, hey, if it grows, great! If not, ok too! But I would like to know what people do in the fall to prepare their raised beds for winter. I don't till my mounds, and so don't plan to till my raised beds, either. I do plan to add something like this: Cut down/chop finished plants and lay down in place, top with leaf mold (we have TONS of trees here), top with compost (have ample access to composted horse bedding/manure- nice and black). Does that sound alright? Right now I'll be filling the new raised beds with cardboard/newspaper, leaf mold, compost, old hay, compost, and then plan on getting enough nice "garden dirt" in bulk to cover 3" or so on the top level. Sound good?
Currently growing in the garden is: Sweet corn, sunflower, carrots, bush green beans, grape, roma and better boy tomatoes, lavender, sweet peppers, 2 yr old strawberries (nice to see them sending out runners this year... will they transplant ok this fall when the beds are done?), dill, cilantro, sage, marigolds.
Next year in the pottager, I also want to add a couple of the round half whiskey barrels for herbs specifically, and some odd pretty pots for flowers, too. I plan to use mulch as paths, as it sounds better than rock, should I ever want to take out the garden, rock sounds like a pain in the rear to take up.
So much to learn! Also, any good books that are your old favorites with great information?
Thanks and Hello!!
