Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Goin' All Out--a Trailer Park Homestead Update

This week, for the first time, I have no indoor pictures to show you of plants growing.  I finally put them all out!  I haven't had a chance to stick all of them in the ground yet, largely due to a lack of time and compost, but I'm working on it and even the ones still in the seedling cups and eggshells are permanently outside now!

A picture says a 1000 words, so let me just show you what I've been up to this week!  Can ya dig it?  I know I've been digging it a lot!  Don't mind the weeds though, since I've been focused on getting everything in before I clean everything up and make it pretty.  Here ya go:
Four beds dug back here, three to go!  In the meantime, the row of sunflowers/corn/vining stuff has all been planted, as has the corn between the tomatoes and leafy stuff.  The tomatoes are now in their buckets as well.
These cucumber plants will be climbing the garage wall in a few weeks.  Why?  Because I said so!
Proof I have the world's best husband.  He built me a potato condo!  This project was free, courtesy of using old fence boards and composted horse manure (with other composts joining it as we go)!
The rock lined bed on the left didn't exist 2 days ago.  Now it already contains a combination of vegetables and flowers, with more to come as I get more compost.  The ugly planter that was here when we moved in has been given new life by being completely taken apart and split into 4 mini planters, each of which contains a different vining plant: cantaloupe, zucchini, watermelon, and cucumber.  The berry bushes in the background are starting to take off and the mystery flowers in the brick beds are starting to look like they aren't going to die.
View from the street
Zucchini?
This bed is completely planted.  Cucumbers and tomatoes in the back row, with peas in containers behind it.  The middle squares contain broccoli, the ones on the right have green peppers.  The rest contain spinach and carrots.

8 comments:

  1. I love that you took the actual time to do the square foot garden correctly. I didn't and am kicking myself now as each new plant that pops up is a mystery. LMAO!

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  2. Forgot to add I love the potato condo!!

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  3. Just a thought- I see you have some cinderblocks in the last picture... I took old cinderblocks in the back of our yard and turned then into planters for herbs, and used them to border our garden bed. :D

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  4. I've thought about doing that with the cinder blocks, but there are only three of them right now, so I haven't decided where to put them. Until then, nothing is planted in them.

    At the last place we were at, the garden boxes were on a slope, so the blocks were supporting the front of the boxes (the back was wedged into the hill) to keep them level.

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  5. What an awesome project! I love how you took what you had and made it sustainable...so many people think because they don't live on an acreage or large property that they can't live a sustainable life...you definitely prove them wrong!

    Chris

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  6. Chris M.,

    I try! Please tell everyone you know about my blog so others can learn and be inspired by the possibilities!

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  7. I love reading what you've done. We started a 5*10 garden, and I wish it were bigger. I have loved the anticipation of watching everything grow. I'm happy to read about someone who shares that anticipation. How are you going to put up your produce? This year, I am embarking on the journey of water bath canning. On a whim I planted some bagged black beans, ok I planted a LOT of black beans. So, I'll be learning how to dry beans... Do you have any tips on drying beans? Have you done it before?

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  8. How I put up produce will depend largely on how much I get! In the past, I've frozen most everything, but I'm hoping to can more this year.

    I haven't planted beans for drying before, but I helped my mom dry beans before. If I remember right, they were to dry completely on the vine, then gathered up and put in a pillowcase. Bundle the ends of the pillowcase together and whack the HECK out of the beans to separate the bean from the shell. Of course, that's all from memory and it was several years ago. Beans are so cheap to buy and my space is so limited, I just haven't bothered to look into it more!

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