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I have written about the plans for the new row garden for the last few days. This plan (idea) has been brewing for the entire winter and now we have begun working on it. The rain has slowed the appearance of the excavator but we got another huge load of compost yesterday and deposited it near the new garden area to be worked into the soil. That makes 3 or 4 big loads now. Should be good soil (probably already is) for the garden. I have been trying to convince my husband that a 'no-till' method would be favorable to a traditional row garden. He likes the old-fashioned (Read: tillable for weeding purposes) row garden and I like the permanent paths with slightly raised beds that remain the same every year. We would rotate the crops of course, but the basic layout would be the same. I have been reading a little about cover crops and with the sheer scale of this undertaking, I think some of the beds will need to be planted with a cover crop this year and uncovered and implemented next year. I like to get the 'bones' of a project completed and then fine tune it as time goes on. That way we aren't disrupting our crops as we define areas from the previous year. The gray areas are the main paths that we would be able to drive a yard tractor or a 4 wheeler with a trailer on for access and ease of adding compost and the like. I guess I still need the 4 wheeler but I have a nice yard tractor. The green represents the actual planting beds, and the white around them would be smaller paths for accessing the growing area for planting and weeding. And finally, the yellow is the corn area on the north end. Here I would be willing to let my husband do it his way, with a rototiller in his paths as I suspect the corn will be his baby. I like things to be neat and orderly. His obscession with tidiness is non-existent. (As I read him that part, he mentioned that I pick on him here sometimes, which is certainly not my intention. I tease him constantly about his lack of neatness and he reminded me that he sleeps way better than me and maybe I should be more like him. Maybe in the next decade I will accomplish the zen-like attitude he has about not sweating the small stuff. For now, we laugh at each other and our quirks. I will continue to remain grateful that he puts up with my OCD and high strung personality:D)
Hi Heather, you each are 'who you are' and you can't really change your underlying personalities, so it does sound like you are both able to work out the differences! I think relationships are just a constant journey of working things out along the way!! You sound like I USED to be--my husband thought I was way too picky. NOW, however, I've turned into the Opposite;-( I have no idea what happened, but I'm not nearly as orderly nor do I care too much when things are somewhat out of place. I guess over the years I've mellowed. I love how you can plan so well and be on top of things! I think you are doing a great job, and I cannot imagine doing all of those things! You are an amazing farmer/gardener and I pale in comparison:-)
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter, and have a wonderful spring, dear Heather;-)
Looks like a good plan. Use of cover crops is good, as it will be enriching the soil and preventing weeds in the areas you don't use right away. A suggestion....Corn is pollinated by wind, so does better if it is planted in large blocks as opposed to long rows. I learned this when I had my row garden on our 1/3 acre plot. It is now grown back to grass, but when my husband retires we plan to garden there again. I never have room in the kitchen garden for everything I want to grow.
ReplyDeleteWow! This looks great, Heather! (And Connie is right about planting corn in blocks, btw.) As for the Zenlike attitude versus the do-it approach, hmmm. Something to be said for both, I think, which is doubtless why there are two of you!
ReplyDeleteIt is humongous! You are going to be able to grow so much!! Will it all be vegetables or will you grow any flowers in there?
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the corn! I left it to my husband one year when we grew it and us city folks didn't realize you only get one ear per stalk! He planted 80 stalks and they all ripened the week we were on vacation! Our neighbors enjoyed the fruits of his labor.
ReplyDeleteCompromise, compromise. That is what my hubbie and I do. And as he often points out, our two heads working together are always better than one.
ReplyDeleteI like your new garden plan!
Quite a plan. I'd go with the no till, but what a great thing to be able to do cover crops for a year before you need to use it. I'm wondering about why some of the beds go in one direction and some in the other? Rachel
ReplyDeleteThe mind boggles. This is very ambitious. I vote for a cover crop in 2009!
ReplyDeleteIt is humongous, Heather! I even started to worry about you, but then I read about a tractor and calmed down - you are well equiped! You are two hardworking people!
ReplyDeleteHi Heather~~ I am going to enjoy seeing this project come along. I hope you'll keep all curious eyes updated. As for you and hubby? Opposites attract! (I know from personal experience.) Happy Easter
ReplyDeletenow that's a veg garden! mine looks like a toy in comparison! i don't envy you that work, but you'll be able to have a roadside stand and sell produce! wow! how fun!
ReplyDeleteHeather! Your OCD is awesome! Love your layout. What program did you use? After I posted our Excel layout I made huge changes to it and it was so easy to do because it was all digital! We actually decided to move our new chicken coop outside of the main garden area to a landscape bed.....much easier to figure out and move around in a digital format vs. actually moving all of the beds! How is the weather down south? We just put the last coat of paint on the new coop because it was raining here all day and is supposed to continue until the weekend:-( Hoping to get the beds in place, filled with dirt and planted soon!
ReplyDeleteGood idea to have the large paths for access. You could teach my wife something about getting into the garden. A path is NOT wasted space :)
ReplyDeleteWe've had our garden conflicts - she used to be flowers and I vegs when we first married. Now we've morphed into the other and the conflict continues with each of us on the opposite side.
Can't help myself moment:
How do you tether or fence in a goat?
1. - short leash on a high branch
2. - wrap in chicken wire
I once took care of 10 goats for a friend. we built a 6 foot high fence with 5 strands of barbed wire and 3 of electric to make sure they didn't get to my gardens. (we had over an acre of gardens) One day I came home from work to find a 1/4 acre of strawberries completely eaten. Not a single plant left and I still have no idea how they all got out.