E2

Self Production: My Summer Garden

May 13th-15th, 2008 - Making the rows

Well, I’m finished with the hard part. I turned my grass-filled plot of land into a working space with 6 raised rows and walking lanes. I still need to put up some fencing and wires for some plants, but the seeds are in, and (hopefully) germinating.

I planted corn, 3 varieties of tomato, beets, peas, watermelon, summer squash, spaghetti squash, cucumber, 4 varieties of onion, mesclun, spinach, kale, chard, basil, cilantro, chives, rosemary, and thyme. I have no idea how much of that is going to work out and produce food, but my fingers are crossed. In the picture above, my plot is up to the jacket on the right. The land int he front is my landlords plot. The only other thing I plan on adding at this point are some berry bushes of some sort. One of the wonderful things about the garden is its proximity to a small brook which is how I water the garden as seen below. Next update will be with some sprouts I hope!

August 8th, 2008

So, I haven’t updated this as much as I would have liked. I will have to do a proper garden blog next year. Regardless though, I’d say the garden has been an incredible success so far. There have been countless problems, but still, it has given me the opportunity to spend hours and hours outside enjoying my first Vermont summer. One major lesson I’ll take away from this year is to thin out the plants really early. As a result of me waiting (way) too long, many of the plants are behind where they should be and will probably end up yielding much less than I had hoped for. Some plants never came up at all, and some I just don’t really know the best method. And then there is the weeds/grass.....next years I’m going to do a much better job tilling and cleaning out the area prior to planting and then stay on top of the grass. I went out of town for two weeks and I have never been able to get the grass in control since. I gave up cleaning the walkways weeks ago. Anyways, enjoy the photos.

Two months after putting the seeds in the ground, the corn is finally starting to produce. In the very back you can see the sugar snap peas which have deliciously nourished my hunger all summer while working in the garden. Next year I need a much higher fence for the peas. In the background are gorgeous Sumacs in full bloom.

The first of the broccoli begins to show up! In the corner, a little invasive pest that eats everything in sight.

The second round of salad greens come up and the tomatoes keep on trucking away. I planted too much salad too early, and didn’t plant enough as the summer proceeded, so now I’m waiting on the next round before not having to buy greens from the coop again.

A summer squash that was in my stomach 30 minutes after being picked from the plant. Corn finally beings to come in. And lastly, the grass shows me who’s boss.

Fresh swiss chard, kale, a tomato, and a plump summer squash sitting on my cutting board ready for my belly. 100% organic ultra local yumminess.

Onions, Chard, a Pumpkin, some squash, and tomatoes.

To most it would be considered a garden. As far as I’m concerned, its a small farm. Measuring in at a respectable 17’ X 25’, this is my first attempt at producing my own food on such a large scale. Over the Winter I grew herbs indoors, but this is a whole different animal. All organic, and a natural water source. It has 6 rows and I’m growing everything form watermelon to corn. I hope to grow enough food for the summer and in a best case scenario; to freeze and can at the end of the summer to reduce my reliance on store bought food during the winter. Much like my worm compost bin, I am new at this and have no idea what I’m doing. I’m sure I will run into a lot of problems, regardless, I hope to gain a lot of knowledge this summer through trial and error.

2008