This year, like last year, my gardening ambitions have just about doubled. I already couldn’t really keep up with the space I had last year, and this year I’ve got twice as much. We’ll see how I do with this.
The rundown on my gardening spaces, in order of appearance (in my life):
* Community Garden at Oakdale Street – I have had this garden plot for three years now I think, and I have not been impressing my neighbors over there very much. The first year, which was my first vegetable garden, I grew exactly one thing: a gourd that you can cut in half and make into two bowls. I got as far as drying out the gourd and cutting it into two bowl-shaped things, but they are still sitting in my pantry unfinished. My second year I did pretty well growing beans, basil, and I can’t really remember what else. The third year was last year and it’s pretty well documented here. This year I’ve got a mind to really use this space well and give my fellow community gardeners a better opinion of me. The space is pretty shady, so I’m putting all my cool-weather stuff in there, and leaving all the hot stuff for other places. I’m planning spring and fall gardens there: in the spring, snap and snow peas and early legumes: chick peas, fava beans, and maybe even some lentils!. In the fall, I’m hoping for my first real success with cole crops: broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, etc and maybe some beets and spinach to fill in the holes.
* I haven’t really pulled it together to help much in the Oakdale Street orchard, and it’s in sorry shape. The concord grape vine is still badly overgrown and unruly, the brambles (thornless blackberries, golden raspberries, and red raspberries) are tangled up with bindweed, knotweed and hops, the plum tree didn’t produce any fruit last year (I think it was too stressed by bugs), and the old peach tree needs to be cut down and the younger one moved into its place. There’s also administrative stuff I should be helping with: we’re trying to get city water to the garden, the ownership of the garden is still in question, and some very large trees need to be removed to let some light in. I am also supposed to be building a picnic table for over there.
* The Southwest Corridor Community Farm (aka BUG garden) – my plot over there is so dreamy – all big and sunny. I’m trying to practice some rudimentary crop rotation. So I put my garlic in the place where some beans grew last year (I planted the garlic kind of late and the weather got cold very early so I’m worried about them), and tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants will go where there were onions last year. Still not sure what will go against the back fence there.
* BUG Garden orchard and common spaces – again, there’s a huge amount of work to do here, but not as much as the other orchard, and with more people to help. One thing I’d like to do here is figure out what’s going on with the supposed kiwi vines. There haven’t been any kiwis so far (I think they’re supposed to be male and female and only produce after 3 years or something). Another thing is to keep the grass mowed. The long-time gardener who used to keep the grass mowed passed away last year, and the rest of us will need to pick up that work.
* My new backyard! I moved in September ‘07 and my new house has a very sunny big garden, as big as my plot at the BUG garden, plus room for another one that size. There’s a lot of work to do preparing the soil, though. And also there’s a chance the landlord will sell the building and kick us all out, so we might do a lot of work preparing and planting a garden, only to lose it all! Oh the suspense, can you stand it? The plan for the moment is to put the onions and beans in the existing garden, and squashes on the little hillside garden-to-be. I’m sure the plan will evolve, as I share this space with at least 2 other people, and we’ll have to work out who wants to grow what. I’m also thinking about trying some millet and quinoa there (hippie). Also there’s a corner of the garden that’s designate for herbs, and we’ve got plans to put in just about all the herbs a person will ever want there…
* Shady backyard areas – My roommate Dee is planning on planting some shady things in the mostly shady part of the yard in the back of the house. There’s also a strip of dirt in full shade, and I’ve ordered some plants for there, and have some seeds (that may not be good any more) that I ordered last year from the New England Wildflower Society. So shady plants for eating: ramps, wild ginger, horseradish, fiddleheads. And flowers for shady places: trillium, jack-in-the-pulpit, and solomon’s seal.
* Front yard weaver’s garden – Ah! What a fantasy! But I went ahead and ordered seeds from Sand Mountain Herbs of fiber flax (Regina), Woad (for blue dye), Safflower (for yellow and red dyes), and soapwort (for, you know, soap). The fantasy is to dig up two big beds in the front yard where now there’s just grass, and try out growing plants for spinning and dyeing linen. Nice fantasy, right? We’ll see. I think I’d need permission from the landlord and probably won’t get it…
* Container garden – last year I invested heavily (and I mean heavy!) in a lot of big containers, because my old house had no sunny garden space, only a rooftop. This year I don’t really need those containers, and don’t really know yet what I’m going to do with them.
* Wilett NY!! Last year my mom bought 60 acres of land in New York State, kind of near Ithaca and Binghamton. She’s got visions of retiring there and is planning her homestead. She wants an orchard and vegetable gardens. What she’s got is a whole lot of hay field with about an inch of topsoil, a clay hardpan, and a big big drainage problem. Yikes! She wanted to plant trees there this year, but I’m advising alfalfa and red clover instead, to break up the hardpan, draw up nutrients from deep down, and fix nitrogen. Maybe we will also do some small test gardens, just to see how they do in the climate, and with gardeners who only visit once a month or so.
So there you go, my hoplessly overambitious plans for this year’s gardens. I can’t wait to get started….
