Okay, it's not so much a Great Plan, as a Really Vague Idea.
A while ago I posted about DR fencing in our back yard to keep in the riff raff, you know the riff raff...my kids! Well, I'm finally posting pics of the finished project. Not so much because it's a great fence or anything but because it is going to play double duty. Keep in the riff raff and garden duty.
Here is what the perimeter of the yard fence looks like. Yes, I know those tall posts with holes in them look silly (the farmers around here keep threatening to cut them down) but trust me there is a reason for the too tall posts.
Quick view of my clothesline! Yay! I know, some town people think it's tacky but I'm not out to win a popularity or yard beauty contest. My clothesline saves me money...wind is free.
Okay back to the fence, we have a section between the fence and the road that is going to be our garden. It measures roughly 4 yards by 14 yards. Long, narrow and by what I'm used to, a really small space. DR has decided we need to wait til spring to till up the soil and work in our compost. Because the climate here is SW KS is so arid he is thinking of putting in a drip tape when we plant the garden. I'm not exactly sure how this will work but DR assures me he can get it done.
Every other garden I've had has had plenty of space for me to grow whatever my little ol' heart desired; popcorn, pumpkins, peas, beans, tomatoes, carrots....the list could go on and on. But...I can't grow everything in a little town garden. I have a small space!
That's where the tall posts with holes come in. The plan (i.e. vague idea) is to run a cable through all the holes, the 14 yds of the garden, and use it to create some sort of trellis for plants to climb up. I know this will work with peas but I'm really not sure what other types of vegetables climb well. I'm not even sure yet what plants/varieties/seeds I will or should be planting here.
I'd also like to hang sheperds hooks on the inside of the tall posts and hang buckets of tomatoes on them. I love tomatoes and am hoping to have a bucket on every post.
So, that's all I've got. That's the Great Garden Plan!
Help!! Any tips or hints for gardening in a small space? Plant varieties? Tools? Equipment? Books or magazines I should read? Any advice would be greatly apprecated!!
I look forward to seeing how your garden turns out.
ReplyDeleteI just showed your post to my husband because he just happened to mention bucket tomatoes. His suggestion is to make sure the tomatoes get enough sunshine because they'll be in the shade of those trellises at least part of the day.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that will be a problem since the fence runs east and west but thanks for the advice..I hadn't thought about that.
ReplyDeleteI've tried the vertical growing thing too, but I'm not too good at gardening yet :) The other types of plants I've found that will climb are:
ReplyDeleteCanteloupe
Pole Bean
Squash
Grape Tomato
Eggplant
Hope that helps! I also suppose it's possible that some of those that "climb" only did so because I had them up against the dog's pen and they had nowhere else to go!
google "straw bale gardening", I've heard it works really well when you have a small space. Not that I would know, we got exactly 3 tomatoes this year. I suck at gardening.
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to try gardening but we have a very limited space, too. I look forward to seeing how it goes. I like the vague idea, too. Practical and it looks pretty, too. =)
ReplyDeleteI have been bugging the hubs for a clothesline...I LOVE the way laundry smells dried outside...I have a post coming up about that!
ReplyDelete