A Brief Overview
This garden project started in March of 2022. It consists of a front-yard garden, a back-yard garden, and of several raised beds. There are several frequently mentioned components, including the front-yard edible landscape, the front-yard native pollinator patch, the raised beds in the side-yard and in the back-yard, the back-yard terraces, and the various back-yard garden projects that have occurred over the years, which includes a greenhouse project.
Front Yard Transformation
Year 1 – 2022
Spring 2022 – April & May
Removed Bermuda Grass Lawn
Removed four sections of bermuda grass lawn. At first, I used a small tiller, but the blade cracked after hitting a rock. The remainder of the bermuda grass was removed by hand.ย
Building Raised Beds
We constructed and assembled four raised beds out of reclaimed wood and pallet wood. We weatherproofed the wood with boiled linseed oil before assembly.ย
Completed Raised Beds
All four beds were installed and planted with cold-tolerant crops. Each bed was 4′ x 8′. The two central beds were 12″ tall while the beds on each side were 8″ tall.ย
In-Ground Bed & Shade Cloth
Briefly experimented with a burlap shade cloth idea, but the fencing material it was attached to made it impossible to access the plants underneath.
Removed more lawn next to the porch to create an in-ground growing area. Planted sweet potato transplants that did not do well.ย
Another In-Ground Bed
Added an in-ground bed parallel to the four raised beds. Planted tomatoes and sunflowers.ย
Acquired & Installed Drip Irrigation
On May 14, I acquired used drip irrigation tubing and accessories from a seasoned gardener who was downsizing.ย
May 14 – 21, I hooked up a battery-powered timer, a filter, and a reducer to our outdoor faucet. I had to snake piping from the back of the house to the front yard to reach the raised beds. I then dug a trench and ran a pipe down the length of the beds and installed tubing for each bed. Each bed had a shutoff valve and four emitter tubes spaced 1′ apart.ย
May 28, The drip irrigation installation was complete and the trenches were filled. Vertical trellises were installed using tee-posts and welded fencing.ย
I added straw mulch in the space next to the porch.ย
Spring 2022 – June
Warm-Season Crops Are Growing
Corn, beans, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, luffa, cucumbers, melons, shallots, birdhouse gourd, okra, onions, oregano, basil, and alyssum. Most plants are 6-12″ tall.ย
Warm-Season Crops Doubled in Size
Plants have doubled in size, especially the corn, tomatoes, and cucurbits.ย
The area next to the porch has gotten weedy. There was a birdfeeder above that area that spread sorghum to that area. The pumpkin plants had big, green leaves.ย
Spring 2022 – July
Removed Bermuda Grass Lawn
Removed four sections of bermuda grass lawn. At first, I used a small tiller, but the blade cracked after hitting a rock. The remainder of the bermuda grass was removed by hand.ย
Building Raised Beds
We constructed and assembled four raised beds out of reclaimed wood and pallet wood. We weatherproofed the wood with boiled linseed oil before assembly.ย
Completed Raised Beds
All four beds were installed and planted with cold-tolerant crops. Each bed was 4′ x 8′. The two central beds were 12″ tall while the beds on each side were 8″ tall.ย
In-Ground Bed & Shade Cloth
Briefly experimented with a burlap shade cloth idea, but the fencing material it was attached to made it impossible to access the plants underneath.
Removed more lawn next to the porch to create an in-ground growing area. Planted sweet potato transplants that did not do well.ย
Another In-Ground Bed
Added an in-ground bed parallel to the four raised beds. Planted tomatoes and sunflowers.ย
Acquired & Installed Drip Irrigation
On May 14, I acquired used drip irrigation tubing and accessories from a seasoned gardener who was downsizing.ย
May 14 – 21, I hooked up a battery-powered timer, a filter, and a reducer to our outdoor faucet. I had to snake piping from the back of the house to the front yard to reach the raised beds. I then dug a trench and ran a pipe down the length of the beds and installed tubing for each bed. Each bed had a shutoff valve and four emitter tubes spaced 1′ apart.ย
May 28, The drip irrigation installation was complete and the trenches were filled. Vertical trellises were installed using tee-posts and welded fencing.ย
I added straw mulch in the space next to the porch.ย
Warm-Season Crops Are Growing
Corn, beans, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, luffa, cucumbers, melons, shallots, birdhouse gourd, okra, onions, oregano, basil, and alyssum. Most plants are 6-12″ tall.ย
Warm-Season Crops Doubled in Size
Plants have doubled in size, especially the corn, tomatoes, and cucurbits.ย
The area next to the porch has gotten weedy. There was a birdfeeder above that area that spread sorghum to that area. The pumpkin plants had big, green leaves.ย
Crops Are Reaching Trellises
The gourd plant exceeded the height of the trellis and wasn’t showing any sign of stopping. These vines can grow to be 20′ long!
The corn plants were 3-4′ tall and had tassels.ย
Cucumber harvests started.ย
The tomato plants were fruiting.
The weeds in the area next to the porch were over 1′ tall.ย
Crops Are Fruiting
The corn ears are developing.
We had our first zucchini fruit developing.ย
The birdhouse gourd fruits were 1″ long, fuzzy, and super cute!
We had some friends in the garden! Ring-neck snakes were a common friend.
This colorful friend is a red-banded leaf hopper. Some consider them to be pests. I consider them friends, because in resilient ecosystems, diversity is key.ย
Cattle Panel Archway Installed
Installed a cattle panel arch over the walkway so the birdhouse gourd vines could climb up it.ย
Weeded Area Next to Porch
Cleaned up the area next to the porch. I tried to salvage the pumpkin plants, but they didn’t last.ย
I used the harvested sorghum as a chop-and-drop mulch.ย
Before the chop-and-drop, the area was home to so many grasshopper-type friends. There were more than enough plants for everyone.
Transplants & Birdhouse Gourds
July 13: Started fall crop transplants indoors. I’ve learned so much about seed-starting over the years, but I had humble beginnings.ย
2nd round cucurbit transplants were 2″ tall.
Birdhouse gourd fruits were 8″
Zucchini, Sunflowers, & Melons
July 17: Harvested the first zucchini.ย
July 18: First sunflowers!
Noticed a melon fruit 6″ big.ย
These were my favorites.ย
Peak Cucumber Season
Cucumber harvest peak.
Cucumber leaves had powdery mildew, and I was deliberating on whether or not to pull them.ย
The garden friends were getting more diverse and numerous. This is the Obscure Bird Grasshopper.ย
Suzanne loved stalking the leaf hoppers.ย
Gourd Vines Covered Archway
Gourd vines fully covered the archway, and 1′ long fruits hung from the trellises.ย
First Red Tomatoes
Cucurbit vines outgrew the trellises, and we finally had red tomatoes!
Mid-Summer Harvest
Harvests were steady and productive this time of year.
Cucumbers Are Still Productive
Boy, was this a good year for cucumbers. I ended up saving a lot of the purple maize seeds.
I left some sorghum growing in the yard because I thought the colors were lovely. It attracted all sorts of critters, like praying mantises!
Harvesting Ripe Cucumbers
Bermuda grass pathways between the raised beds were down to bare earth from frequent walking.
I harvested all of the yellow mature cucumbers and removed the cucumber vines.
Chippy was visiting for a week and liked to pose for the pic.
I cooked up the ripe cucumbers into cucumber relish.ย
I added decomposing straw mulch to that bed.ย
Pruning Birdhouse Gourd Vines
The birdhouse gourd plants were cut back to allow the okra behind it to get more sunlight. The gourds were left on the vine to finish maturing.
Chippy poses in front of the okra plants.
White plastic sheeting was laid on top of the soil in an attempt to solarize the bermuda grass that was growing up through the sides of the raised beds. That was when I started thinking about removing more of the bermuda grass lawn.
Late Summer Rain
The rains were infrequent, so I was very grateful to have installed drip irrigation that year. When the rains did come, they produced beautiful clouds.
Birdhouse Gourd Harvest
It was finally time to harvest the birdhouse gourds. This is how the garden looked before the harvest.
This is how the garden looked after the harvest.
Harvesting the gourds was pure joy! Even though it wasn’t a food crop, it was one of my favorite crops to grow.ย
How could you not smile while holding a gourd?!
And speaking of harvests, here is everything I ended up harvesting that day. The gourds, sunflower seeds, thai basil, okra, rattlesnake pole beans, green and red tomatoes for salsa, and some sorghum, just for funsies.
They looked beautiful, but I will say, I learned the hard way that okra should only be consumed when it is young and soft, not when it’s mature and stringy.ย
Oh, yeah! We also saw some monarch butterflies! This was before I had a native plant patch, so I was delighted to see it.ย
Another garden butterfly I saw frequently was the gray hairstreak butterfly. Here it is visiting the okra plants.ย ย
In the evening, after harvesting tomatoes, I pruned back the heavy vines, leaving only the remaining green fruit to ripen, with just enough healthy leaves to sustain the growth.ย
Peppers, Okra, & Eggplants
The peppers were nearly ready to be harvested. That year I successfully grew a crop of cubanelle and jalapeno peppers.
I thought I was bad at growing eggplants that year, but they didn’t produce much because they were underneath the okra plants and didn’t receive enough light. Lesson learned. In subsequent years, I gave my plants sufficient light, and they did just fine.
Speaking of learning lessons, I was now cheerfully harvesting the young okra every day. I love having it with tomatoes in an omelette.ย
I don’t want to forget about the bright, yellow luffa flowers. The bees loved these!
Harvesting Tomatoes, Peppers, & Okra
The summer harvests were coming to an end. I was collecting the last of the tomatoes and peppers, and I also collected mature okra pods for their seeds.
I was anxiously waiting for the luffa gourds that I planted in April/May to mature. They looked ready enough, but I felt they needed more time. I knew they needed to be brown, and felt I planted them too late in the season.ย
Melons did wonderfully for me all year. I never had any issues with pests or diseases. I still had fruits ripening on the vine that late in the season.
I think every gardener will agree that beans are an easy, no-fuss crop to grow, even with limited space.ย
Final Fall Harvests
Roughly a week before first frost, I was preparing to harvest the remaining garden crops.ย
I was giving the luffa plants as much time on the vine as possible, so that they could mature enough for me to successfully dry them indoors.ย
Behind them were the in-ground tomato plants. You might be able to see the basket of green tomatoes peeking out from behind the wall of luffa vines.ย
I was so proud of my pepper plants. The cubanelle pepper plant had gotten so big. I also think the alyssum and oregano were excellent plants to have planted at the edges of the raised beds. I liked how they hung over the edge.ย
Even though the tomato plants were so sparse, they still had a lot of green tomatoes on them – enough for one more batch of salsa.ย
There were mature melons hanging on the trellis, and the okra plants were still producing, all the way up until frost.ย
I had gotten quite fond of the colors of the birdseed-sown sorghum. If anything, it generated more birdseed!
This was the second-to-last harvest of green tomatoes and peppers for the season.ย
Clearing Garden Plants
The day before first frost, I finally cleared the garden of any remaining plants.ย
The okra plants were taller than I was! The stalks were as thick as my arm by comparison. Yup, that is a glove tan.
More proof of my disappointment in myself for not have grown better eggplants. I redeem myself in later years.
These were the remaining peppers and tomatoes, as well as a rouge celeriac plant that I think I planted that spring.ย
This was how the garden looked with most of the plants removed. I took a gamble by leaving the luffa hanging on the trellis. I thought they would simply dry if I left them there for longer.ย
First Frost
Frost hit that night, so whatever foliage remained in the garden was melted by morning.ย
Even though they were frost-stricken, the marigolds still looked lovely and autumnal. Suzie’s presence only improved the spooky vibe.ย
The luffa plants suffered severe damage, but I decided to harvest the fruits and to not risk further frost damage to them.ย
Transitioning to Cold Season
October 18: The same day that I harvested the rest of my garden plants, I also made heavy-duty hoops so I could install frost covers over the raised beds.
At the time I was heavily influenced by Eliot Coleman, and was inspired to try winter gardening. This wasn’t my most successful project ever, but I did learn a lot about how NOT to do winter gardening as a result.ย
The hoops were made by bending 1/2 inch EMT conduit with help from a home-made jig. I made it by screwing heavy-duty screws into plywood, and attaching a 2×4 at the bottom to stabilize one end of the pipe. With the pipe stabilized, I was able to bend it into a curved shape, flipping it around to curve the other end, until voila, I had an arch.ย
I ended up bending 12 hoops, 3 per raised bed.ย
October 19:ย
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