This is my potential gardening space....
Last year we attempted to grow a few items from baby plants we bought and put into pots, but it was late in the season and whatever did show potential was damaged by the dog before it reached ripeness. We're not allowed to really alter the yards nor block the lawn crew from mowing, and so this patch of 15 feet by 1.5 feet that you see above is our flower bed that we are allowed to actually plant it. The catch is that the housing policies state that these areas have/are sprayed by pesticides by the housing company as a means to keep bugs from entering homes via the foundation, etc. Since we are leaving in a year and we're technically not allowed to alter the beds beyond planting in them, raised beds aren't really an option. And now with 2 dogs, more pots in the backyard are not really an option. I attempted planting lettuce and turnips (some of which you can see amongst the weeds that have grown back....) but never really ate them due to the pesticide concerns. Plus they didn't really produce as expected--probably in part because this bed floods every time we have a heavy down pour.
However my newest idea is to invest in a few more hanging baskets and attempt to "garden" in those using this same area. I know I could do herbs and a fellow blogger and I discussed strawberries....but I'm not sure what else would do alright in such shallow soil? I'm also thinking of attempting corn and wild flowers in the actual bed but am not sure if the soil (about 3 inches of sand/dirt and then red clay) would allow for corn or not. And we'll attempt another tomato plant in a pot on the front slab that gets lots of sun--hopefully it'll produce this year if we start it sooner. I'm definitely open to suggestions about how to garden in this space though because I'd really like to attempt something.....IDEAS??
The good news is that while helping the neighbor down the street look for bed side table options, I discovered a big bag of organic potting soil that was marked half off due to the bag being ripped. Deal! And since I was buying potting soil I went ahead and bought some strawberry starts, corn, and wildflower seed. We have two hanging baskets already so I figure I can start the strawberries in the next couple weeks, and then accumulate more baskets along the way.... Most the stuff I've seen shows that the planting season for here begins in Feb and/or March....
Other good things about today:
--Pancake breakfast with the hubby & extra bacon for the dogs.
--Stopping by the office to see the coworkers when dropping something at work for the husband.
--The hub found the new thermos he thought he already lost and that we bought him just last week.
--My weekly phone call w/ Granny and the end to phone tag w/ a good friend from back home!
--Email exchanges w/ two of my favorite gals from my MPH program.
--Neighbor & I checked out the on-post thrift store. Didn't find furniture, but I dropped off a bag.
--Quick & satisfying evening run.
--Called f/ the referral appointment already.
--Discovered that the eco-friendly bed company found yesterday carries an affordable bed of similar design to what we want, it'll still be in stock when we can afford it, they'll ship to us, and my oldest brother is willing to check out the showroom as its 1.5 hours from his house....Deal!
I'd love to hear gardening suggestions! And I hope you've all had a good day today as well!
6 comments:
Could you put containers/planters all along there and plant in those? Like half-whiskey barrels or a collection of large buckets or pots? You could plant some flowers inbetween the pots for color and interest maybe? And some hanging strawberry pots and/or tomato pots could be placed here and there like you say. A half-barrel of mixed herbs is also nice! I think there are lots of things you can do with colorful pots and plants that would be both functional and cheerful - have fun with it!
oh wow, i'M looking at your picture and right now we just got DUMPED with snow... weird. :)
i like the idea of bigger planters- that maybe your dog won't knock over...
planting in hanging pots is a great idea too- i don't see why you couldn't plant similar stuff, you can get hanging pots in all sorts of sizes- lettuce would do well anyways.
i say all this, and we are attempting our second only balcony garden this year!
good luck and can't wait to see the progress :)
I would just go for small, low maintenance flowering flowers that will give it some curb appeal. Things like pansies are brilliant and last a long time. You could also get herbs in a box at the front and strawberries, cherry tomatoes, lettuce nearer the door!
Here is an interesting idea for 'no space' gardening...
http://robj98168.blogspot.com/2010/01/no-space-gardening.html
I just found your blog through Eco-Yogini. Humm, that's a hard gardening question. The hanging garden could work, just pay attention to where the sun hits, and plant accordingly. When it comes to gardening (I'm a newbie myself), just do it and observe what happens--that's part of the fun.
Thanks for all the feedback everyone! Definitely appreciate it. I spent a couple hours this afternoon pulling out the weeds, grass, and failed turnips/lettuce. There's still about 6 feet to go, but I'm looking forward to sowing some wildflowers (shade tolerant) and I think I'll try to corn at least. Then will do hanging baskets (moveable to get more sun too) and a couple of planters/pots. Thanks for all the advice (and for the link Theresa!).
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