Next Generation Suburban Farm

I got home today after five weeks of almost nonstop travel, and was agog at the progress our backyard has made. If you'll recall, the last time we checked in, the garden area was looking like this:

A view of the backyard in March 2013.

A view of the backyard in March 2013.

Fast forward two months and a LOT of hours of sweat and grime. And now, behold!

The long view from the back deck. I realized that I don't have any close-up photos of the long beds behind the garage -- a project for another day! (The dark spot at the top right is the patio umbrella that I'm standing under.)

The long view from the back deck. I realized that I don't have any close-up photos of the long beds behind the garage -- a project for another day! (The dark spot at the top right is the patio umbrella that I'm standing under.)

A view of the garden from the deck. Notice the lovely planters with herbs (basil and parsley) and marigolds. In the back, you can see our re-positioned vertical garden with nine new "pockets" for our kitchen herbs. The kids have decorated the rain barrel with hand prints.

A view of the garden from the deck. Notice the lovely planters with herbs (basil and parsley) and marigolds. In the back, you can see our re-positioned vertical garden with nine new "pockets" for our kitchen herbs. The kids have decorated the rain barrel with hand prints.

Another view of the front beds...notice that Bill spray-painted the watering can to match the planters! On the right, grape vines creep along the trellis, with snap peas and basil growing along the base.

Another view of the front beds...notice that Bill spray-painted the watering can to match the planters! On the right, grape vines creep along the trellis, with snap peas and basil growing along the base.

The garden gate is now painted, with the kiwi vines planted on either side. Four hanging baskets give a little color -- and they are hooked to our drip irrigation system so we never have to water them by hand!

The garden gate is now painted, with the kiwi vines planted on either side. Four hanging baskets give a little color -- and they are hooked to our drip irrigation system so we never have to water them by hand!

It is gorgeous -- an oasis of lush green herbs, a few pops of color from marigolds, salvia, and gardenias, and growing evidence of the crops that will soon be feeding us each day.

Of course, there is a ton of work left to do. We need to be out there weeding for about 20 minutes a day just to keep up. Hopefully, once we have a chance to get a couple truckloads of mulch we can keep the weeds out, but for right now its a life-or-death battle.

This week I'll try to get more photos of the long beds directly behind the gate. We have strawberries, corn, tomatoes, tomatillos, zucchini, yellow squash, acorn squash, raspberries, lingonberries, kiwis, red and white grapes, asparagus, beans, turnips, radishes, Swiss chard, rhubarb, spinach, watermelon, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, beets, bok choy, and more than a dozen kinds of herbs (in addition to the herbs in the planters and vertical garden). It's overwhelming. 

For those people still keeping track, here is our master backyard to-do list.

  • Fill in perimeter fence line -- Done!
  • Cut down walnut tree branches hanging over from the neighbor's yard -- Done!
  • Build new fence for garden area -- Done!
  • Paint new fence -- Done!
  • Build trellis for kiwi vine -- Done!
  • Move vertical garden -- Done!
  • Install vertical garden hanging planters - Done!
  • Build new planters -- Done!
  • Build strawberry beds -- Done! 
  • Mulch entire garden area
  • Fix mosquito problem
  • Remove old interior fence facing woodpile -- Done!
  • Build mulch beds along all fence lines and plant bushes -- Done!
  • Fix water pipe -- Done!
  • Run irrigation lines to new garden areas -- Done!
  • Install outdoor lights
  • Install pavers for walkway
  • Move fence line up to A/C unit on side of house
  • Level side yard and install pervious concrete
  • Modify deck with steps to concrete area
  • Build fire pit seating
  • Repaint (or replace) deck
  • Build hoop house (or other system?) for spring/fall crops
  • Install second water barrel?
  • Spray paint picnic table and chairs
  • Wash and replace hammock -- sew new pillows - Done!
  • Get new grill

    • Winter Scrabbling

    Bill had the kids outside this weekend, in bitter cold weather. And they couldn't have been happier.

    Notice that the gigantic pile of dirt has been neatly transferred to the raised beds. It took forever (for Bill to do it -- I wasn't involved) -- hurray! He also made big cages (in the background) to help tomatoes and tomatillos grow upright and strong.

    Notice that the gigantic pile of dirt has been neatly transferred to the raised beds. It took forever (for Bill to do it -- I wasn't involved) -- hurray! He also made big cages (in the background) to help tomatoes and tomatillos grow upright and strong.

    The big chore of the weekend was to move the two big planter barrels (whiskey barrels split in half and filled with dirt) from the backyard to the front yard. You are probably not surprised to discover that it takes a LONG time to empty those barrels using kid-sized trowels.

    After the barrels were finally emptied, they were rolled through the backyard and through the gate.

    After the barrels were finally emptied, they were rolled through the backyard and through the gate.

    And of course, no gardening adventure is complete without a kid losing their gloves at least twice.

    One of my earliest memories is making a snowman with my dad -- I must have been about four years old. As the base of the snowman rolled over and over, my glove came off and was embedded in the ball of snow. It went full circle several times before we could stop the momentum and retrieve it.

    I wonder is S will remember her glove spinning around on the whiskey barrel, and her dad stopping forward progress to get it all sorted out.

    Getting her gloves back on. For the third time.

    Getting her gloves back on. For the third time.

    How Does Your Garden Grow?

    Today, I'm sharing with your our patented, fool-proof way to start your garden from scratch.

    Who am I kidding? We're trying it out and seeing how it goes. If all else fails, we'll buy seedlings in May and plant them directly into the ground then.

    Step 1: Gather Your Materials

    You'll need water, seeds, dirt (preferably a seed starter mix), individual containers, and a large tray to hold everything in place. We also like to spread newspaper out on the table to keep the clean-up afterwards to a minimum.

    You'll need: water, seed, containers, dirt, and a tray.

    Rather than buying a bunch if individual seed containers (which come in hard plastic, compostable fibers, and other types -- all of which we've tried at various times), this year we opted to reuse what we already had on hand.

    You'll be amazed how much toilet paper you go through. But now you don't have to feel bad, since you are contributing to your garden every time you wipe!

    Yep -- those are toilet paper rolls. And paper towel rolls. I've been saving them for about six weeks (there is a whole bag of them left, so we'll have enough to continue on through several successive plantings. You can get about eight "cuts" from a paper towel holder, and about four from a toilet paper roll.

    I didn't have a specific plan in mind -- I just packed as many of them into the clear plastic tray as would fit. (The tray keeps the water from dripping all over.) And when the seedlings are ready to be transplanted, we can just pop the entire plant + roll into the ground -- the roll will decompose naturally in the soil, and our seedlings won't be jostled as much during the transplant process.

    Step 1: Save your toilet paper and paper towel rolls for several months. Then cut them up and use them as seed starter containers.

    Step 2: Lay Down a Layer of Dirt

    We opted to go with an organic seed starter. Bill shook a layer of dirt all around the tray until the rolls were just covered. Keep in mind that the dirt will compress a LOT when you add water and tamp it down, so don't skimp on this step.

    Don't skimp on the dirt -- it will compress when you add water and tamp it down!

    Step 3: Add Water and Gently Tamp Down

    Add water and tamp down the dirt before you add the seeds. This was counter intuitive to me, but the directions are specific!

    Step 4: Add Your Seeds

    Once you tamp down the dirt, you'll see the individual rolls again. This was a relief, since I momentarily freaked out that they were going to stay hidden and I'd just be guessing about the location of my seed placement. But disaster was averted when the edges peeped back up again!

    Always read the directions on the back of the seed packet. Just trust me on this one.

    The back of the seed packet provides directions on how deep to plant the seeds. In general, you want to cover the seeds with dirt equal to 2-4 times the seeds diameter.

    In general, you want one (or possibly two) sees per container. You're going for quality and not quantity -- and if you plant more than one seed per container you'll end up weeding the weaker ones out anyway. 

    I was pretty good at getting one seed per container, although some of those buggers were so tiny and slippery that I suspect I'll see some surprises when they begin to sprout.

    Step 5: Mark Your Work

    Don't forget to label your seeds! They will look shockingly similar to each other as seedlings. Don't assume you'll be able to tell your broccolini from your brussel sprouts.

    Step 6: Add Another Layer of Dirt, Then Water Again

    Sprinkle another layer of dirt over your seeds. Don't tamp this one down -- the water you add will do all the compressing that you need.

    Bill gently shook more dirt onto the tray while I rotated it. We weren't particular scrupulous about the amount -- we just tried to fill up the containers to the brim. Over the next few weeks, the dirt will continue to compress, so more dirt is better at this stage of the game.

    Once all the dirt is in place, you need to water it one more time. Because we didn't want to wash the seeds out with a big stream of water, we instead chose to use the spray nozzle on our sink. I turned it on really low (to keep the water pressure gentle) and Bill and I maneuvered the tray under the spray to get an even coating of water over all the containers.

    Step 7: Move the Tray to a Grow Room

    We're using the guest bedroom downstairs as our grow room. (It's also the foster puppy room, which works out nicely because both seedlings and 6-week puppies need a nice, warm, humid room.) Bill rigged up a grow light (from Walmart), and we set up a card table in the corner. Pretty, it's not. But let's hope it's effective!

    We chose a cheap grow light from Walmart. Fingers crossed!

    Step 8: Add A Dome

    Until the seeds germinate and pop their little heads above the dirt, we want to keep the air as moist and warm as possible. So we added a dome of clear plastic (another tray, turned upside down). We'll remove it as soon as half of the seedlings are up -- about 7-10 days from now.

    Keep the seedlings covered until they sprout!

    Step 9: Wait Patiently

    This is the hardest part! We should begin to see the first pops of green in about 5 days, with the rest creeping up by day 10. Around day 14 we'll prune the weak ones, leaving just one plant per container. They will grow here for about six weeks, then we'll begin putting them outside to harden off a few hours a day, ramping up until they are ready to be transplanted outside the first week in May.

    So...that's how we spent our Sunday night. In all, it took about 30 minutes to plant these four types of starter seeds (broccolini, brussel sprouts, cabbage, and bok choy). Next weekend, we'll do another batch of indoor seeds, as well as plant some other seeds directly into the ground outside. The spring season has begun!