I seem to always have something in the works. From our school planning to family vacations there is always a plan being hatched. The current plan I’m mulling over in my mind is our garden. This is the space we have for it:
I know…that’s a lot of space *somewhere around 1300sqft*. Since its grass-less I’ll be relying heavily on container gardening, as well as decorative plants in the flowerbeds on the first floor of our property. While these pre-existing beds *which I will showcase later* would be great places for herbs; the previous owners had a dog which defecated in most of these flowerbeds *eww...doesn’t begin to describe it*. I refuse to plant anything that we would use for food in an area where someone’s animal eliminated. Once I have tackled the fecal issue in these beds *through layered burying of the substance in question using mulch and dirt*, I’ll tackle the issue of planting while keeping The Spouse’s bee allergy in mind.
To help with the planning of the actual garden I’m using Mother Earth News’ Garden Planner. It’s free for the first 30 days and then after that it’s 25$ a year *not a bad deal if you manage to produce most, if not, all the fruits and vegetables your family needs in one year!*. It appears fairly easy to use; I’m just getting started so as I move through the planning/planting process I will share more on it.
It gives you the option to set frost dates for your region *not an issue where we currently live*, and then you plug in the measurements for you planting area, at which point it produces a space for you to work with. From there you add in the various shapes of the beds/plots/containers you plan to use, as well as walkways, fountains/ponds (using their drawing/shape features), and just about anything else you could think of needing in your garden. After you have all that squared away you add in what you plan to plant. It gives you the option of crop rotating and planning ahead for the following year. You can also receive emails about frost dates and planting days.
This planner pretty much makes planting a breeze for a busy family like ours. I just plug in and go. If only it did all the planting and maintaining for me!
How is your garden planning going?
Copyright(c)2011 Rayven Holmes
June 21, 2011 at 7:50 PM
There's something so soothing and centering about gardens. Probably the new life and all that healthy oxygen :) Have fun with it, so many possibilities!