I decided about two months ago to build an organic vegetable garden because I wanted to have an endless supply of my own veges that were free from chemicals and pesticides etc. They would also be fresher that what I buy at the store and are basically free besides a bit of work.
A spot in the back yard is sought for the vegetable garden
I first decided on a shape, size and location. I wanted the location to be in a sunny spot in my yard but also close to the fence. I thought it would be good to keep the size to easily get to from both sides. With the size I have I can move around the gardens using minimal space and I could get to my plants for planting, weeding and watering etc.
A view of the back yard in it’s original condition. Lawns need mowing while the large weedy trees will be taken out and the vege garden will sit between the fence and the clothes line.
First I made an outline with string on the garden dimensions and then I dug this out with a spade and turned the soil on over. Every few days I would dig the soil over and aerate it.
After the weather, rain and sun and penetrated the soil which is very sandy I then put some lawn mowing clippings over it and dug that in.
I kept digging the soil over the next few weeks and then I used some half finished compost to get the sandy soil a bit loamy. I dug all the compost in and dug that over for the next few weeks.
About 6 weeks after started the garden I planted my first plants. There is a variety of plants from carrots, peas, artichokes to herbs like basil and parsley.
The garden now has plants growing and thriving. It just needs the frame wood to be drilled and nailed together. This chore got put on hold as I had a lot of other
things to do like build fence etc.
I decided to make use of some recently cut branches from some trees to use as posts for a fence. I dug holes for the posts and used compacted sand and a little soil to hold them in place. I then put wire mesh around the posts and tied it on with nails to the posts. I also placed a basic gate I can open to enable access to the garden. The fence should keep the dog from playing in the garden as well as neighbors cats and dogs when visiting plus you never know what else is crawling around your yard at night.
Update: 5th September/09
Ok now after a few months I have added two more rows for new gardens. I imported some organic topsoil froma local supply store.
With the first garden, the plants have grown well with plenty of waterings and weeding. I have also added lots of herbs and garlic along the edges to help with insects and pests.
Popularity: 3% [?]
