Ulog 6: An Easy Peasy DIY Garden Patch ๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ’–

in #ulog โ€ข 6 years ago (edited)

A moment if you will, for what was my first garden patch. In full growth, in it's second and final season with me ๐Ÿ’–

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This garden patch was started out with no experience! And, basic research into permaculture principles. I was very inspired by the #growfoodnotlawn movement. Against my research my ex- husband & his friend at the time, 'HAD' to rent and use a tiller to create the foundation. So, they started it that way. And, we cardboarded the entire plot. Collected very well aged soil from the floor of a very old barn. I think it was composted horse manure. And, purchased one truck load of garden mix soil from a local nursury. We took to filling wheel barrel upon wheel barrel of the dirt and made huge plots. We grew in these plots. And, used wood bark mulch in between the plots. It worked really well. Was very labour intensive. Lots of weeds grew but they were very easy to remove. I made the plots too wide. It was difficult to reach the whole area easily. The second season, we added more plots. Purchased another truck load of garden mix, and were able to add the raised bed boxes in the pic. We got the dirt and boxes from a friend who was leaving the country. Again, lots of labour to set it up! I found the boxes to dry out too quickly in our climate. They're very water intensive which is very tricky when water is not easily available. Again, the boxes were too wide to reach easily into the middle. Lots of lessons learned. Thank-you sweet garden for all of your teachings ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’›โค

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The idea for the new garden was inspired by this sweet garden. My sister saw that it worked! She was impressed and inspired. She wanted to #growfoodnotlawn too! The ideas started to percolate!! This is the garden area April 4th, 2018 earlier this season. It almost seemed gardening would not even be possible with the deep snow and extreme cold at the time!

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I happened upon a great video by Geoff Lawton. It was about 'the simplest way to build a garden'. I was totally inspired! Shared the idea with my sister.

The idea was:
Step 1: toss compost on the ground
Step 2: toss manure on the ground
Step 3: layer cardboard
Step 4: pile up mulch of any type 6" thick
Step 5: create little nests in the mulch.
Step 5: scoop a handful of dirt into the nest
Step 6: plant in the dirt

It seemed simple. Logical and relatively less labour intensive then my previous garden. Now, to wait! For the ice & snow to melt! We had a good pile of kitchen scraps collected over the winter. We just needed manure, cardboard, mulch, soil some seeds & bedding plants.

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The snow began to melt!! We also needed a fence. To keep the dogs out of the garden patch.

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Up went the fence!

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We collected oodles of cardboard from the local recycling facility. It was my nephews favourite part of the day to visit the dump! Haha We chose straw for mulch, and you can also see the boxes of manure we got by contacting a friend with horses.

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We plopped the compost and manure right on the grass!

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Put down the cardboard, many layers!

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Being sure to keep the rows fairly narrow. Then, we added the straw. This was all quite light work. We laughed so much! And, had so much fun!!!! It was really awesome

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Next came the dirt!

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Buckets of dirt! This part was way more tiring! LOL But a helluvalott (sharp t) funnier

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After we rested, we got to making the nests in the straw and added our handfuls of dirt.

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I was AMAZED at how little dirt we actually needed to use. In some areas we made troughs in the straw, then added the dirt. We planted potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, peas, beans, and bedding plants of squash.

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I am amazed too by the water retention. The plants all seem to be sprouting up!! So far so good ๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’š

Here's our garden today!

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My whole exploding heart โค โฌ‡๏ธโฌ‡๏ธโฌ‡๏ธโฌ‡๏ธโฌ‡๏ธ

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Grow Garden Grow!!

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All other photos and banner are by me. ๐ŸŒน

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It's really good news to see your garden is growth... Hope so, all is well. I really love your garden... You have lots of patience..... You will make success your own luck... Good bless you

Upvoted & Resteemed

Thank-you very much for your kindness @heart0048 Many blessings to you too!! ๐Ÿ™Œ

FANTASTICโค๏ธโค๏ธโค๏ธโค๏ธโค๏ธโค๏ธGeoff Lawton is my hero I have watched and learned so much from his inspired permaculture videos on you tube. you have done amazing things here @yogajill and I applaud you wholeheartedly, I truly do. EVERYONE should do this in their gardens and the world would be the food forest it needs to be. No one would go hungry and everyone would have more than enough food to eat share swap and just give away. Blessings to you from the jungle my dear dear friend. I could not be happier to read your blog today . Upvoting and resteeming ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘โค๏ธโค๏ธโค๏ธโค๏ธโค๏ธโค๏ธโค๏ธโค๏ธ

Huge Thank-you @sallybeth23!!! You sure know how to make a girls day! I appreciate your support and the very cool booster upvote VERY much ๐Ÿ’– I was feeling so low when i made the post, wasn't real sure it was a good reflection of how I was feeling about it. I guess it was just 'one of those days'. But, the response I've had has been so positive and uplifting! This is by far my most well received blog. Which has a lot to do with you. And, our shared passion of growing food. Now ---let's hope the garden is a success!! Here's to hoping ๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’›โค

Oh it will be a huge success. If you do the right things, the right things happen. Itโ€™s the same with all aspects of life. Itโ€™s going to be EPIC. โค๏ธโค๏ธโค๏ธโค๏ธSo now you either have to dig up your concrete or cover your yard in raised beds which will it be? Digging up the concrete would be a greater gift to Mother Earth but both good

ย 6 years agoย (edited)

Oh lovely! I so jive to your vibe!! Ok, so the property I am in is a social housing rental till I am back on my feet again. As much as i'd love to move the patio blocks I think that wouldn't be allowed. They are letting me put some pansies in the ground around the berry bush. BUT! I have begun gorrilla gardening in the little bush area nearby!!! I feel sooooo bada$$ ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿคฃ. I have a good feeling it will go really well. I keep going out there so late i can't get pics. But, i used the same method as noted in this blog. With smaller little spots. So far, i have 4 types of squash and some peppers going! I will give it a little time, see how it goes then will add some beets and turnips.... who knows what else! ๐ŸŒฑ๐ŸŒฑ๐ŸŒฑ๐ŸŒฑ
Always a plant par-tay!!!

"easy peasy" my ass. lol! That's a lot of garden!. ;) I wish I were a gardener. maybe one day I'll get there. For now I'll stick with my one little garden box. Which reminds me, I should probably water it...

Nice work on your garden. That's awesome! ๐Ÿ’–

ย 6 years agoย (edited)

๐Ÿ’– haha! For the most part it was pretty easy (for me anyway!) My sister did most of the heavy lifting when it came to the soil (my shoulders & upper body are so wrecked from last summers car accident) and the fence was pretty complicated ----my bil and nephews took good care of that!! I hope your little garden patch is doing well. Do you have someone to watch it while you've been away?

Hi @yogajill!

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Very exciting ๐Ÿ™Œ Thank-you so much!!

Love! Love! Love!

That is a great job, well done!! I think the straw is brilliant!!! I can hardly wait to see the updates! I am so excited for you!!

Thank-you so much @earthmother!! It is working out really well. Everything we planted is up!! Including the pole beans I got from @lyndsaybowes a few seasons ago! I look forward to offering updates!! ๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒน

So much work has been done! It's definitely a hard work but so much fun! I can see you put lots of love in this project! I so envy you this garden :)

So much fun & love in there! It's actually very light work for the most part quite simple. It shocked me tbh. I am glad you enjoyed it ๐ŸŒน

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Thank-you so much!!!!! I really appreciate your support ๐Ÿ™Œ first i have heard of your project. I am a huge diy'er and love nothing more than to inspire others to feel comfortable diying for themselves too. Much Love ๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ’–

I'm amazed the compost and manure went under the cardboard! That's different than how I've read about. Usually I see cardboard>manure/compost/leaves or straw. I'm curious to see how well it does this way! ๐Ÿ˜ƒ Especially since Colorado is so dry, too

I know right! It was nice because the kitchen scraps were relatively fresh we added some soil to them which worked amazingly well. So there was more composted then i thought there would be but still lots of fairly fresh green compost if you know what I mean. Geoff said the compost/ manure and cardboard will bring all the worms to the surface! All of our seed have sprouted!!!!! Bedding plants are doing great! Here's to hoping it keeps going ๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ™Œ

Wow! You really got after it, didn't you? I just love permaculture, but we bit off too much (30 acres) too late in our life, we are sort of giving up on it. Some day I hope to have a SMALL yard and try again, something an OLD woman can manage lol!

ย 6 years agoย (edited)

So, the permaculture dream is alive but it's on hold? I am all horney to do up your 30 acres!!! Oh my lanta! Boy oh boy! You got me all fired up! It can be so easy! That's the beauty of permaculture poco a poco!! I live vicariously you see!! I have the opposite issue as you right now! Just a small concrete patio and am renting. The garden in the pic was truly SO SIMPLE! SO EASY to do. And, as a bonus it's all growing! So far so good!

We did it small scale, and it was easy where we were but there were also too many people including seriously trigger happy cops. Then we bought this place, at 3300 feet elevation, it gets 11 inches of rain a year and it all comes in about two weeks in the spring or as snow.
I am a certified permaculture designer, got certified for this land but that did not put money in the bank, that cost money. My husband still works full time and is nearing retirement age. The one piece of heavy equipment we bought - a little backhoe - just won't run. We have fixed it over and over, it runs for a couple days then something new gives out. We can't afford to buy another, we can't afford to do much of anything with it, truth be told. We are getting a house done, we have to put a septic in. That will require my husband working every overtime shift he can get for the next 2 months.
We are going indoor. The elements here won. The wind will beat down anything that dares to grow more than a few inches high, the grasshoppers literally ate everything in our yard to a nub last spring. EVERYTHING. My onions, the trees, shrubs, everything. The birds will take a nibble out of every cherry on the tree just as they ripen. The voles ate 100 fruit tree saplings we planted the first year, in about 10 days. I even used Sepp Holzer's bone sauce and they quit eating the trunk. They just dug under and ringed the tree just below the dirt.
Lol! I am on a rant it seems...
I don't think we are putting much effort into permaculture here, we are getting older and this place is just brutal. I am pretty tired of the fight. I want a nice greenhouse, a STURDY one. A big one, because I am not fighting the elements here for any more garden space. I surrender!๐Ÿณ

WOW ๐Ÿ’–๐ŸŒน๐Ÿ’– crazy town eh!!? Hoofta! Better start praying on that land! Seems Spirit is off kilter! Amazing the teachings & the obsticles!! I wonder what Bill Molenson's words of wisdom would be for you!!? Holly Hot Dog Girl.....

:)
I believe my lesson is "Admit when you made a mistake."
We still felt young when we bought this, and we planned on having a young person move in and help us as we aged. Well, the past ten years aged us more than the previous 40, we hurt a LOT more than we used to and we just can't do some things any more. No young person ever showed any interest in joining us, even with the offer of free land. They wanted to work for Joel Salatin, seriously. The idea of helping BUILD a permie place they considered too much work. And here is the thing, they are right. Unless you have a big group of friends who will work for you for free, and who can bring their heavy equipment in to sculpt the land for you, permaculture is a rich man's sport. I do not have the money, I will never have the money, to even do the very basic swaling needed to hold our precious water on site. And Bill Mollison is sort of an ass... he was all about getting rich, not helping people. He actually copyrighted the WORD "permaculture" to try to hold a monopoly on the concept. You still have to buy a $600 book from him to get certified. Geoff Lawton is a more genuinely humane permie.
How long have you been into this? I used to be a bubbly and excited too... Paul Wheaton is another one painting it like sunshine and roses... The people coming out of his "classes" say he is a dictator getting slave labor out of his fanbase.
Anyway, sorry, not trying to burst your bubble but... I am a truther. Permaculture is a great concept, but if you did not inherit a farm like Salatin, if you don't have free labor available like Wheaton, if you did not make a million dollars for your book like Mollison... you better have a rich uncle or a VERY small plot to work.

Good morning! I appreciate your straight up and honest approach. Your experience speaks volumes. Thank-you for sharing your wisdom. I did a Presearch for Joel Salatin. Watched a short clip on him. He was philosophic not discussing farming. Sometimes it helps to not know what you don't know! I have been meaning to get involved with the Permaculture groups in my area for years. An event is happening soon i'd like to finally jump in! But, i do not plan to stay near the city where I am. The country is calling. That's why I am helping my sister with her garden. Biting off small chunks at a time. Trying to be content with where I am at. But, all my studying has been via the internet and recorded classes. Nothing formal at all. I spent quite a bit of time understanding a few principles. It's paradigm shifting stuff! My experience started 5 years ago. With a tiny tiny balcony garden in a tiny apartment in the city. Then we moved to an acreage and started the garden mentioned above. My experience is so limited! I am surely naive. Though i did grow up on a farm so i do know that in these next few years of planning i need to grow relationships so that I am not alone in my endeavours going off grid. Community is huge! Knowing what I know --thinking i could do any of it on my own would be really dumb. My daughter may be interested. My son. No way! He's a techy and city bound --to start anyway. My parents have left a mostly abandoned piece of land 80 acres in Saskatchewan. It's a community that my family has been rooted in a long time. It's an option. Looking ahead. But, i still have about 5ish years to percolate a plan, to learn more and to gain relationships and figure out finances. Lots of things! I will be 45 by that time. Hopefully well prepared and it will be GO TIME! To get set-up over the next 5 years. Takes me to 50! God willing!!! Just need to get this healing body back up and running at full strength-- preferably even better than before. But, as you mentioned, time has it's ways of slowing us down! What an incredible journey to be on! Blessings Fishy to you and yours.

I have no regrets, I learned skills and built self confidence that cannot be undone. I CAN do a lot of things now, but it is time to REALLY focus on what I WANT to do. I am on the downhill side of the run, I need to thin down everything, including the workload and the list of hopes and dreams. It is a good thing, snake shedding a skin, caterpillar busting out of a cocoon. I AM blessed, by friends like you. Bless you too, precious lady!

You're an amazing person! And, such a good communicator. I really appreciate your gift to put words together! I've enjoyed your vibe since the very beginning! That's really neat. I sure hope you can enjoy a leaping boost of fortune! I think you're due!! I'd love to hear some fun stories of fortune boosting you and your sweet love up, up, up!! So you both feel so tickled! Giddy! Happy & boosted!! ....here's to hoping!

Gran Proyecto Totalmente HERMOSO Amiga Bella @yogajill Te Apoyo Al 100%, Saludos!

ยกMuchas gracias por su apoyo! Y, por tu dulce comentario!

Ah su orden Hermosura @yogajill

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