My Garden

This is what has been taking up my time lately.  A few years ago we tilled up a corner of our back yard and installed a garden.  It was originally just a typical garden... nothing special.

2008

2009

2010

In 2010, we took the fence down in the garden that bordered my neighbor's yard and he built the same size garden on his side, so the garden doubled in size.

In 2011, I am pretty sure that I didn't plan much and the garden just ended up full of weeds so I didn't bother taking pictures of it...   I don't even have any pictures with the garden in the background. 

When I originally built the garden, I had high hopes for the things that I would grow and the time that I would spend nursing my plants into edibles...  then reality the bugs hit.  In the midwest we are riddled with blood sucking insects like fleas, ticks, chiggers and mosquitos.  I'm not sure if it is my pale white complexion or the way that I smell, but these guys love me.  At the peak of the season, I can't even walk outside without getting eaten alive...  and considering that I am trying to grow an "organic as possible" garden... without using pesticides, there is no way that I can even get close to the garden after a certain point in the year.  Then it just ends up being this big block of weeds and a HUGE waste of time.  Then spring rolls around again and I seem to forget all about this and make another attempt at my garden.  This year, however, I did remember but I am making one last attempt before I throw in the towel.

With all of the images floating around Pinterest of raised bed gardens and the clever things that people are doing with pallets, I got a few ideas together and ran with it.  The idea is that I will have raised beds, rock in the pathways and if I treat the pathways, I might not have to compromise the "organic-ness" of the actual plants.  I realize that any use of Pesticides is a big no-no for the organic farmers, but I am going to have to do something here!  I am researching repellent flowers and beneficial insects, but in all honesty, I think I am going to need a little more help than that.

To give you an idea of the space, my side of the garden is 15.5' x 17' (my neighbors' side on the West, being identical) and behind the garden (on the south side) is a wooded lot, which aides to the large bug population.  Every year I make a guide as to what and where I planted everything.  This is the guide this year.  Things written in pencil have no yet been planted.

The garden is still a work in Progress, I don't have all of the rock in the walkways and it is a bit early to plant a few things, like tomatoes and peppers, so here it is so far.

These are the 3 pallets in the center of the garden, the top one being mostly cool weather plants.

 This is the herb section of the garden

And here are some close ups of the plants flourishing now.

My hopes aren't as high this year (I am trying to be more realistic), but so far so good.  I love how the garden is coming along and hopefully I will be able to keep ahead of the bugs and keep up with the weeds...  because those can be pretty overwhelming too.   I am trying to keep a detailed record of the progress from this year, so hopefully there will be plenty more to come.