my victory garden

i talk about ’square foot gardening’ versus row gardening and i throw all of these terms around- and i realize some folks may not have clue one what the hell i am talking about.  so, i thought that i would just talk about what i am doing personally- and fit it all together if i can.  i haven’t really started taking pictures yet- but i will post pics too as i go.

i had nary a clue how to do anything before i do what i always do when i don’t have a clue (i am channeling my inner seuss)- i google.  and what i found was vast.  but it helped me to narrow down what i wanted to do and what i could handle and what i started doing was container gardening.  i put lettuce and cucumbers in window boxes on my small front porch and i added tomatoes and peppers in two large flower pots.  i also had green and yellow beans in two more flower pots.  we had some green onions in another window box.  we had a few nice salads out of that adventure and i gained valuable knowledge on what plants looked like in various stages of growth.  i had been strictly a houseplants kinda gal.

but, i figured if i had a green thumb with houseplants- why not gardens?  my dad had gardens for years.  we also had a yard and a rototiller.  since i was living in a second floor apartment with a postage stamp yard- i wondered what i could grow in a small front yard garden- and i stumbled upon mel bartholomew and square foot gardening.  what a concept!  no real work to be done- you build a frame and put soil in it- then you plant seeds and voila!  a garden.  so, then my journey took me to what i should plant together for optimum yield- and i happened upon companion planting- and the bible of all companion planting- ‘carrots love tomatoes‘ and because i am a flower kinda gal, the sister book- ‘roses love garlic.’  i thought my head would explode

now, it has been two gardens later and i have my own big yard- and my sister’s yard- to plant.  and i wanted to get the most bang for the buck and i wanted to save the seeds each year so that i didn’t have to keep spending money on seeds.  i mean seriously- burpee made a fortune on folks being lazy   i opted to go heirloom where i could and organic for the rest- so i avoided big name seed companies.  i was not going to pay monsanto for their genetically modified seeds thank you very much.  i buy from seed savers exchange and johnny’s seeds- and i am keeping my fingers crossed because i am new to johnny’s this year.

i am concentrating in my back yard on the basics- tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, corn, squash, beans, etc.  and what i intend to do is mix and match the two styles- traditional garden rows with the square foot method because otherwise, i would have one big assed square foot garden   i am planting corn, beans, squash, and sunflowers together.  the beans and squash will run up the stalks of the corn and sunflowers and look pretty and benefit each other.  the squash or pumpkin leaves help scare raccoons away from eating the corn.  i am planting tomatoes, peppers, bee balm and basil together as they are all beneficial to each other- and the bee balm helps to attract local bees to pollinate my other veggies- not to mention shore up the natural bee population that is being decimated by disease, pesticides and monoculture farming.

i will plant nasturtiums and marigolds throughout my garden as they help repel many types of insects and i need to plant more garlic as it helps keep rabbits and other critters at bay.  the flowers i will be planting also help in making it look more like a flower garden and less like an invitation to help yourself to my ‘maters.  eventually, i will be landscaping the front with fruit bushes and dwarf fruit trees- for shade, variety and good eats.  this year, i will be planting the herb rue amongst the rose bushes to repel cats and japanese beetles.

i won’t lie- i spent much of my fall and winter poring over my reference books and planning and plotting what to put where- which side of the house gets the most sun and when- and that kind of thing.  but once i get a system in place, all i have to do is plant, weed, and water.  oh, and then pick, and eat   i intend to freeze and can and store the root veggies- and i have pored over material too- you don’t have to have a traditional root cellar to store foods.  and i will continue to share what i learn.  i truly believe that we need to reconnect with what we eat.  amongst the recalls and the abuses to the animals we slaughter and the workers who slaughter them- or pick our veggies, we should be striving towards doing away with those practices.  we need to know where our food comes from and how.  our survival may depend on it.

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