Welcome to our Victory Garden's second year.
Last week, I began to ready our garden for the spring. You'll notice in the foreground our raised bed, a kit purchased online from Gardener's Supply. I love that it came with supports and this year have added a bean tower.
The front bed has a mix of items--garlic, herbs, a few carrots (though I don't think they'll make it). I've planted cucumber seeds that I'll trellis again. There's some zinnias, of course. (My grandfather always grew them with his veggies.)
There's a mix of seeds and transplants in both the front and back beds. As we move forward, we'll experiment more with seed starts and heirloom varieties, but personal and professional demands--plus a shortage of light sources for starting plants in our house--mean that I'm cutting corners again this year to get things going. (Note that although we refrain from using pesticides in the garden, we do occasionally resort to Amdro for the ants in the yard (not near plants!). This is why I say our garden is "almost organic.")
Long-time readers will note that the back bed is new. That's my no-dig bed, which I started back in the fall and let "cook" for a few months. It was quite a thrill to see the "steam" come up when I dug holes for seeds and seedlings in the new bed. It was definitely cookin'!
The back bed is more for my pollinators--plants that attract vital bees. We've got sunflowers, zinnias, and morning glories. We're also trying out some gourds this year. Oh, and the supports are from a tree that dies back in our lawn each year. Just one more way to recycle in the garden.
You can tell from the fact that I've put a variety of plants in a small area that I'm a bit haphazard and casual about garden design. That's my style. This year, I'm taking my own advice and jotting down varieties. Even sketched out a planting schematic, if that's what it's called. With it and some notes made during the season, we'll have an even firmer foundation for Year Three.
As mentioned last week, a long drought is a big concern here in Central Texas. You'll notice in the picture above that I've got a large black hose running through the garden. It's attached to a soaker hose. There are soaker hoses in each bed now, and plan to alternate running them at low flow for a few weeks for 30 minutes each morning. This will hopefully make watering both convenient and efficient.
So, now that I've shared a bit about our garden, will you please share a bit about yours (status, plans)? Links to your own blog posts are more than welcome. RW&G is, after all, a clearinghouse for folks who share enthusiasm for the Victory Garden revival's underpinning intentions.
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