april 29, 2025 – Opening Outdoor Gardens
I use a collection of small gardens for planting vegetables. Each garden is named to avoid confusion.
Weather Garden: The “Weather Garden” is named so because I had my Ambient Weather Station there. I use this garden for bush beans, radishes and carrots Size: approx 100 square feet
- Maggies Farm: Area with a rail fence Size: 800 sq ft mainly vegetables
- Strawberry Patch: Self explanatory Size: 25 square feet. Strawberries
- Tomato Alley: Tomatoes, eggplants Size: 140 sq. ft.
- Vineland: A strip along the fence for cucumbers Size 60 sq. ft.
- Bunny Island: A patch between two entries into the driveway Size 400 sq. ft. Flowers
- Terrace Gardens: areas around parking area retaining walls Size 150 sq. ft. Flowers, vegetables
April 29, 2025 – Weather Garden
I plant a few different crops in the Weather Garden. i have grown tomatoes, eggplant and cucamelons in this area. Mostly I use this space for garden beans. This year I started carrots, radishes, lettuce and spinach in March. Today, I added a few rows of garden beans.
The lettuce harvest from the weather garden went well. The lettuce plants look to be thriving. Our radishes are doing well too. They will be ready to harvest shortly.
May 7, 2025 – Maggies Farm: Sowing Seeds
Maggie’s Farm is an 800 square-foot garden, enclosed by a rail fence with attached chicken wire fencing. Because it’s such a large area, I’ve decided to plant only half this year, which I think will make it easier to maintain. The plants I chose all need a lot of space: pumpkins, watermelons, zucchini, and summer squash.
May 8, 2025 -Tomato Alley: Garden Plot Preparation
We are reusing our “Tomato Alley” plot this year, but first, we have to clean it up and till the soil. We start by raking and removing the leaves and other loose debris. Next, we will use our electric roto-tiller to loosen and turn the soil. This will give us a good platform for our tomato plants. Then we will cover the areas with ground cloth attached with landscape staples to prevent weeds from growing. Finally, we will create paths between the plants with mulch or wood chips. The ground cloth and mulch will prevent weeds from growing between the tomato plants making the garden easier to maintain.
May 16, 2025 : Strawberry Patch
Strawberry fortress is a more accurate name for my strawberry patch. I like eating fresh-picked strawberries, because they are delicious and full of flavor. However, the animals in my neighborhood like them too. I have added new plants from the local nursery, and they are producing many flowers and some large strawberries. I wait until they are at peak color before picking. But most times the animals beat me to them. This year, I will use metal baskets to protect the harvest in addition to the fencing around and over my garden
The fencing on the top protects the garden from birds!