Your garden looks great and your soil is to die for. I miss SO CAL, we just moved from there in February and gardening here in Tucson is much harder. Can I ask you how big your plot is? Our local community garden offers plots that are 3'x25' so we didn't get one. I'm just trying to utilize the space in my back yard. I ask how big your plot is because you are growing cantelope and pumpkin and you aren't trellising them and they still seem to be flourishing. I am going back and forth on whether or not to trellis mine because of it casting shade on my garden. I'll post pics in a bit.

I would not want to try to garden in Tucson! You can probably grow ocotillos and not much more! I'll be curious to see what methods you find to help out. The downside to raised beds is that they definitely do dry out around the edges. My beds are moist in the middle and like bricks near the edges, even though they are surrounded with 2" thick redwood. Still, lasagna gardening has been great.

Our plot is 10 by 20. The canteloupes have a space that is about 5 by 7. I have ten plants planted in about half that space, and the vines are crawling into the unplanted half. I am cheating with the pumpkins, as I am letting them mostly grow around the perimeter (outside the plot.) It is very possible that I will find the pumpkins pruned back by the plot manager, some day - and I will have to accept that. But as you know they take up a lot of room, so I am taking a gamble that the plot manager will not have the heart to cut them back, particularly since I am trying to keep them nestled up to my plot. Last year I grew pumpkins vertically, and would generally recommend that to save space. Plant them on the north side of wherever you are planting, and you should be okay - although with your heat and sunlight you might actually benefit by shading part of your garden with the trellised plants. This year I decided to let the pumpkins crawl.

I look forward to seeing your pictures -

Patty

p.s. Thanks, yes, I love my soil. :) :)

we do not have community gardens here in connecticut, what are the reasoning behind these? (i am intrigued by the idea but have never even seen one) i thought they were in vacant lots in cities for people who literally don't have a yard.... sarah

I think that's the main reason. Our back yard is small and doesn't get much direct light; also, my husband would rather have ornamental plants in it than "crops."

The community garden was just getting off the ground when I joined, and so I felt that it would (1) give me a chance to garden more than I can at home, and in a sunnier location (2) visit with kindred spirits - you gotta love gardeners - and (3) help get the whole thing off the ground.

There was a chance it would fold if it didn't have committed gardeners to get it going. The park and rec dept (who owns the land) had us on a short leash for a few years and wanted to see good use, and good results.

wow, i love the idea... i couldnt stand to be away from my garden though, i find myself strolling through probably at least 10 times a day... depends on how much i need my fix. if i had to drive there i would spend way too much time in my car. you are right though, you gotta love gardeners, i wish we had some sort of community thing that brought gardeners together in my area. i guess for now it is just me and my plants.... (and my hubby, two sons and three cats of course....) by the way your pictures were great!! good luck with your pumpkin, mine is doing the same thing, luckily i am the plot manager in my garden and i won't cut it back (yet), at least you know it is healthy and will probably give you a great yield (any baby pumpkins yet?). sarah

Is that screen surrounding your beds?

...and understand why you screened the beds.

Neat idea!

patty4150,

Looks fabulous. I have one suggestion. I see some of your basil is bolting (going to seed). You want to prevent this at all costs by pinching off the upper crown of leaves regularly, at least once sometimes twice a week. It will prolong the life of the plant. Don't be afraid. It will prevent the main stems from getting woody (from growing bark) and keep the leaves tender instead of thick and tough. It will also allow the plant to get much, much larger for plenty of pesto. When the plant starts producing seeds, it greatly slows down production of leaves.

*wink*

everything looks beautiful!! but, as you said of yourself, it's the soil that really turns me on!! i've gone from turning the soil over to just loosening with a broadfork to no tilling at all, just adding compost and mulch. now i'm becoming interested in lasagna gardening from everything i've read here. but i don't know if it's practical for me because my garden is so big. how would i ever get enough material to layer? it's already a challenge to get enough to build my compost pile all at once.

Thanks for the thumbs up, Violet :)

No worries on the basil, I cut it relentlessly and have given my community garden "neighbors" orders to do the same! In fact, we had pesto just tonite!

Basil definitely is quicker to bolt here, than it was in Wisconsin. It may look like it is bolting early ... but this is one of the peculiarities that I have gotten used to over the years here, and have learned to work with it. I find that if I do more than pinch, and actually cut them back hard to about two - three inches high, they'll give us usable growth through August.

Anney - Yep, that's quarter inch hardward cloth, stapled on to the sides of the bedframes. You can also see the bird netting coiled up on the top of one side of many of the beds. That gets rolled over the beds and stapled on as well, when the produce becomes tempting to the rodents. It works, although I hope that we won't have as many problems this year, since we have a hawk family living off the garden's pests. :)

Sarahlynn - I do have difficulty staying away. :) I'd love to putter all day in the garden. That's probably why I spend so much time playing with my compost bin at home, since I can't justify driving eight miles one way just to look at the garden. :)

I recently discovered how satisfying it is to sift compost - the stuff you get out is incredible! So every time I am at odd ends at home now, I go sift compost in the back yard. Heh. Hubby says I'm a cheap date.

I'm so glad a couple more people posted their pics - I have to go look at the most recently added thread now ----

I don't know how you would get enough material - how big is your garden? Last time around, I got the pine needles from the city, the coffee grounds from Starbucks, and the straw was donated to the garden. Jamba Juice will often give out their spent orange peels.

I would guess you could get newspapers enough, and loads of manures --- maybe? What sorts of free resources are available where you are?

It does seem that lasagna gardens tend to be done in "bed sized" increments. Maybe you could start beds at one end of the garden, and go from there?

I don't recall seeing you on the soil forum, have you been there? You could ask about it - I know that there are a couple new yorkers (at least one from LI) on the soil forum.... they might have some ideas.

What nice healthy green plants.....

Do you mind if I post an update? Hope not....

I took more photos today, so these represent about 12 days worth of growth from the photos in the original.

Here's the full plot. It measures ten feet wide by twenty feet long. You can see a few other plots that neighbor mine, on the left.

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The corn has tasseled and the pumpkins have wrapped all the way around the base of the corn bed.

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The corn is also putting out silks, and I have several ears per stalk :) :
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And the pumpkins are setting fruit:

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The canteloupe vines are at least 30% bigger than they were when I posted originally:

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Here is one of my pepper beds - we have eaten about 6 bells so far - These were started from seed and it was touch and go for a long time, I lost half the plants to some sort of fungal disease when they were small. I planted lots of peppers so the we could stuff lots of peppers - and because the squirrels leave the peppers alone.

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I didn't show you the zucchini or the eggplant last time,. The eggplant is being crowded by cucumbers and peppers, rapidly, but still holding its own. We'll see if it makes it. It is the healthiest eggplant plant that I have ever grown which I am happy about. The zucchini is threatening to become a behemoth - I may decide to execute it.

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Since this is a lasagna garden, some of the plants are tending to fall over and I am needing to add more materials to provide support at the base. I think it is a matter of rapid growth (top-heavy) plus loose footing.

Thank you for indulging me!

Great pictures!! I always enjoy looking at pictures of gardening, thank you so much for sharing.

This is awesome! I wish there was a community garden near my home, as I've been looking to be an apprentice to a wise gardener. How long have you been involved with the garden, and how many other people tend it?

I've had a plot for about five years, and in my zone (and maybe yours) you can garden year-round. So, when the summer crops come out, we'll put in beets and cabbages and peas and garlic and etc.

There are about 40 plots at our garden, though we are expanding and will have another 20 in a year or so. There are about 12 "old-timers" like me, and every year we get a flush of new gardeners, many of whom don't realize that productive gardening is work (rewarding work) and so many of the newcomers only stay one season. Each person tends their own plot, although we all help with community work (mulching paths etc) and everyone helps others when asked. We donate excess produce to the food bank.

I've never heard of a "wise gardener." We have a master gardener program here, is it similar to that?

WOW patty4150, what pepper plants! What variety? Everything looks wonderful. I'm always inspired when I see pics of everyone's garden. I can't wait until next year!

Big :) :D

Thank you.

They are a sweet bell pepper - I am not sure what variety beyond that. I bought a bunch of 10 cent seed packets last year, and they were all from American Seed company - so these peppers might be "California Wonder." The description fits with the plants' growth habits as described on the American Seed company website.

This has been a great year for peppers here. I am not sure why. I have not had this luck with them before - and so it is either just a good year, or my soil is finally built up enough to support good growth.

I have 6 anaheim chili peppers in my other pepper bed, and I noticed 9 peppers on one of those 6 plants today.... and more flowers coming along - so we will have more anaheims than we know what to do with! Although most will be made into chili rellenos.......

Are you in Utah, deedee? We have relatives in Utah. Although the seasons are a little more extreme than here in coastal southern california, I am sure you'll be able to grow a great garden there.

Pleasant gardening -

Patty

Hello!

Here is a good day's haul from the garden. The resolution isn't the best, but you get the idea. The pile of leaves on the right is basil.

I have some sort of pest starting in on the peppers. I think it is a slug or maggot or something gross like that. Anyway, I decided to harvest a bunch of them - Anaheims, poblanos, and bells. There was lots of other produce ready to harvest as well.

I picked one of the strawberry popcorn ears to see how the corn is developing. I am happy that the ears are full and look like they will give a good crop.

The eggplants are doing well. they are just starting to come in. I added them to the stuffing last night, for the stuffed peppers that we had for dinner.

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The garden looks great! You may have said in one of the posts and I may have missed it, but what kind of corn are you growing? Is it all the popcorn shown in your last post? Keep up the good work!

Very nice.....I love seeing pictures of everyones gardens...

thank you!

Yes - the corn is all strawberry popcorn. We have squirrels, and I thought they might be less tempted to eat popcorn than sweet corn. I have grown cutie pops popcorn in the past, but although it is tasty it doesn't pop easily. So I thought we would try strawberry popcorn this year and see how it compares.

I am captive in the kitchen today, processing tomatoes and zucchini..... and stuffing more peppers....

Beautiful!!!!!!
What strike me the most about your garden is the openness of the fields, this make it feel so enjoyable not only to human beings but also to the plants. Another thing is all your plants looks pest free. Did you use any chemicals? I think Southern California makes the differences, here in the East Coast, we are not that lucky. I don't mind to share some of my garden pictures if only I can put them on. These are in my backyard, lack the kind of openness like yours.