We keep telling ourselves once the initial prep is done, next year won't be this much of a push. That may be a lie, but please don't say. The boxes were built last weekend: 2 4x8s, 2 4x4s, and we already have several freestanding lg containers to hold the wanderers of Rosemary and Basil.
Not sure where the lovely vertical garden will go: that's waiting for a relocation spot for probably flowers.
The garden is staked in a somewhat level part of the yard, past the break of the oaks and pines and not too far from water or the fruit trees. In full sun.
Choosing what to plant is like shopping for groceries when you're hungry... everything sounds good. We've added some grape vines on the inside perimeter because they need to be out of Sam's reach. Zucchini and tomatoes and garlic chives, for sure. Eggplant and carrots and kale. Bell peppers and artichokes and lemon cucumbers. Pickling cukes and green beans.
As the perimeter grows, we look at what is staked out - 17x21, 21x24, 24x24 - which will fit everything and have 3' walkways between and room for a bench, and it still looks small compared to the yard. The Hubs will design an extendable fence.
But first: staking, clearing, laying chickenwire, leveling boxes and ordering soil. This is the most wonderful soil, and hiring someone to level it out and use what we have is really expensive. Topsoil is really expensive. So -- after a weekend out there, and talking it through, we'll need to pick up a scraper levelling blade and maybe a front scoop to really do the job. Until then, it's the hoe, flat shovels, the garden weasel and the weed cutter tools. Old School.
There are a dozen container daisies waiting their turn, as slooowly the bedding areas around the grass are cleared of clover weed. My chore. Daisies will cover the floor where the last 3 citrus are situated - a lime tree in center, and two lemons flanking it (a Meyer improved and a Eureka).
That planting bed faces South, in the hottest part of the afternoon, and should do well, especially with the automatic sprinklers from the lawn. We've been checking out low cost irrigation options for out back - roller sprinklers for spot watering, and surface mount pvc pipes that run along the perimeter and T in to water what is close by. Somewhere on the web had this Gorgeous and Ingenious garden irrigation system. Not our design but we sure wish it were. Maybe someday, right?
Happy Monday.
