Going to Grow Some Food

Not that the yard renovation is anywhere near complete at our place.  But, things are taking shape in a way that allows me to back off a little and get distracted a little.  Since its still technically April we decided to take on a vegetable garden.  Actually, we are going to take one at least 2, maybe 3.

We will have a ‘kitchen garden’ just off the back patio where we intend to grow herbs.  Its a perfect spot where the sun hits it about 8 hours a day and the rocks keep the soil warm.  Its also 10 or 12 steps from the kitchen sink.

We will have a ‘produce garden’ a little ways up the hill.  Still visible from the patio, but a little more than 10 or 12 steps from the patio.  Its a much larger area that was cut into the slope once upon a time.  Its 3 tiers.  The top is the smallest and the bottom the largest as it fans out radially from a center point just behind the top tier.  We’ll put in peppers, tomatoes, and about 16 other staples we enjoy.  We’ll put 4 or 5 varieties of fruit near this garden as well.

We’ll have an ‘orchard’.  The North-most part of our property is on an awkwardly steep hill.  I can climb up and down it but its really too steep to do anything with.  So we’re going to plan fruit trees on it.  There is room to comfortably put 8 trees there, 10 if we really want it.  We’ll shoot for the dwarf variety so we don’t get overwhelmed with any one crop.  Also means more room for variety.

Finally we’ll have a ‘super sun’ garden.  This area probably has the longest daily exposure to the sun and is very visible from the street…its in the front yard!  Our house faces South, the solar exposure means there is no better location for a vegetable garden.  I’d like to discover some showy edibles for this space.  Anything that produces nice color will be some of my first picks for this area.  We’ll finish off the front yard with a citrus tree.

Big ambition.  I may fail at a good amount of it but I expect to learn something in the process.  Hopefully when my kids are old enough to help prepare food they will know right where to get the freshes ingredients and will be able to run out and grab them.