Keys And Rain

This past Saturday, I received my keys to the garden lot. It was cold, very cold. And I didn't bring a jacket. It has been unseasonably warm this February and the one day I have a meeting outside, it is 34 decrees outside. Luckily, the meeting was short (mostly because of the cold) and I received my two plots. We were given the rules for the garden and informed of our responsibility for growing peas for Campus Kitchens. Below are pictures of my two plots and the plot where we will be growing peas.

Since receiving my keys, I have created map for my spring planting and ordered seeds and purchased plants. Despite this, I have not planted anything because it has been raining for the past two days and the ground is too wet. Now, I know you're thinking why not plant when the ground is wet. First, it is wet which means....it is muddy, and muddy means it makes planting messy, or messier. Second, since the ground is wet, it can become compacted around the seed or plant making it difficult for the plant to sprout. You also might be wondering why I am ordering seeds when I could just buy them from a store. Well, I decided since I am going to grow my own vegetables I wanted to grow varieties of them which are not available in the stores. These are known as heirloom vegetables. They are varieties which were available 80 years ago, but have fallen out favor for more travel and shelf friendly hybrids. So I will be planting a variety of watermelon known as Moon and Stars and two varieties of carrots, Parisienne and Atomic Red. But until the ground dries, I have to wait before I can plant anything.

All in One Square Foot

This week I received my packet about my community garden plots, which of course has set me to task on some preliminary planning. Besides the general rules for gardens, the packet included helpful information on planting in Texas and on square foot gardening (SFG). If you're not familiar with the concept, SFG is the practice of planting small intensively planned gardens. Instead of planting in rows, SFG divides a raised bed into sections, each measuring a 1 sq. ft. Each section receives one variety of plant and the number plants depends on their size. For example, one square foot could accommodate one pepper/cabbage/broccoli plant or 2 cucumber plants or four corn/lettuce/potato plants or eight bean/radish/spinach plants or 16 carrot/onion/garlic plants. In some cases, the plants are so big that they require more than one square foot, such as melons which require at least 2 sq. ft. for one plant or as in the case of summer squash, 9 sq. ft. The benefits of SFG are several: minimal land use, increased yields, and since the plants are in close proximity to each other, minimal weeding.

The packet says that each plot is roughly 6 sq. ft. and I am receiving 2 plots, totaling 12 sq. ft. As you might imagine, summer squash is not on the agenda, which is sad because I love summer squash. My plan, at the moment, is to plant lettuce, onions, garlic, potatoes, beans, corn, tomatoes, watermelon, broccoli, two varieties of peppers, and carrots. Of course, this is for spring planting. I still have summer and fall plantings. Who knows, I might plant some pumpkins for Halloween and Thanksgiving!

The Beginning of the Beginning

This is the beginning of the beginning of my year long commitment to a community garden. I grew up with gardens, but they were on a large scale or at least larger than most home gardens. My family owned two adjacent lots. The house set on one lot and the garden on the second lot. We would plant rows and rows of tomatoes, okra, green beans, squash, ect. It probably covered about 85% of the second lot. The fresh produce was consumed throughout the spring and fall and we would can certain items for the winter. This was gardening on large scale and it tends to be how I think about gardening because it is what I know. A community garden, on the other hand, is smaller. Often they are square or rectangle raised beds. The small size is new for me so I have been doing research on planting in raised beds. I've also been doing research about planting in my state, which is Texas. The weather is drier and hotter. Spring and fall are shorter, and one can argue that winter is non-existent. This means I've been reading about which varieties of vegetables are best suited for Texas. Luckily, the agricultural colleges in Texas have done a lot of research on this topic and it is readily available online. The question is whether I can find those varieties in a nursery store near me. I have several weeks before I officially receive my plots so I will continue to research until then.