Thursday, April 22, 2010

Earth Day-Come See My New Garden!

my garden a
Happy Earth Day!!
That’s my flower box.  I know it should be on the outside, but I prefer it inside with me! ;)  Washing dishes is actually a delight when I am next to these beauties!

Gardening is very important to me.  I wont get into it as we all know the positive reasons for gardening.  However, every few years I move.  It’s just the way I roll.  I just moved into this home (well, in October anyway).  So, this garden had to be started from scratch.  It’s also a rental so I didn’t want to put more money into a garden I couldn’t take with me (been there, done that!). 
my garden b
My plan this year is my own garden boxes (following square foot gardening) and lots of LARGE pots.

I live in Arizona, so first I had to shovel rock (where else does everyone have rocks for yards?)  out of the way for my garden boxes.  That is hard work! 

Do you see the black line running along my house?  That is the only way I can make a garden grow.  It is my water line.  I’m adding drip lines on an automatic watering system.  We have to water every day here…it’s PHX!
my garden c
I went with Cedar Wood Fencing.  It was dirt cheap, and the only way I could afford the Cedar Wood that I wanted.  The fencing is 6 feet long and 4 inches wide.
my garden d
I cut my fencing in half, so that I could make 3ftX3ft garden boxes.  I also cut a 2X2 into 12 inch pieces.
 my garden e
I stapled and screwed 3 fence boards to my 2X2 pieces of wood.
 my garden f
These are my sides all stapled and screwed and ready to be made into a box!  I love using power tools and building things with wood.  Like, I have a problem because I enjoy it sooo much! ;)
 my garden g
I just placed my boxes into place (where I dug out the rocks).  Leveling your garden box frames takes a little finessing.  I have a wonderful side yard for a garden.  It is actual empty space, plus it will get afternoon shade, which is imperative here!
 my garden h
I laid down cardboard boxes in the bottom (hopefully for a weed barrier) and then added my soil.  I used The Square Foot Gardeners own secret blend of soil.  I found it premixed at Home Depot.  My daughter and I hauled all 14 bags ourselves, thank you very much!
 my garden i
I started most of my plants from seed, back in January.  I think I left some of them too long before planting them in the ground though and they are not as far along as they should be.  I added store bought flowers (pest control).
 my garden j
I also bought 3 LARGE pots to plant our first citrus trees.  My Mom and Dad have tons of citrus trees and are sweet enough to share.  However, my kids and I have been dying to grow some of our own.  I’ll show you pictures of the fruit…in 3 years when we get some! ;)  We got an orange, lemon, and lime tree.  Each of my kids “owns” one and is in charge of keeping it alive  taking care of it.
 my garden k
You already saw my new strawberry barrel with my post on my butterfly mobile.  We’re already eating fruit out of it and I’m so excited about it.  We’ve had the worst luck with strawberries, in the past!
 my garden l
Here is a shot with 2 of my garden boxes, my large pot with my blueberry plant in it (another trial I’ve been dying to do), my strawberry barrel, and my two large wine barrels that I’ve always wanted!   One wine barrel is for herbs and the other one is salad greens. 
Here’s a list of all the plants we’re growing this year:
zuchini, yellow squash, tomatoes (lots of varieties), cucumbers, cantaloupe, varied lettuces, spinach, broccoli, sunflowers, marigolds, strawberries, carrots, green onions, white onions, basil, lavender, thyme, rosemary, parsley, sage, peas, beans, watermellon, green peppers, hot peppers, and a few other I can’t think of right now.  I planted the most of tomatoes and zuchini.  I shred and freeze my zuchini to use all year round.  This year I hope to can my tomatoes (in jars, not actual cans as I’m trying not to have my food in cans anymore).
My little sister Erika got her garden in earlier than I did and hers is just flourishing!  She added some fun ones that I would like to try next year: celery, asparagus, cauliflower, and radishes.  Don't those sound fun!?

So, what are you growing this year?

Rebecca

21 comments:

Crystal said...

What a great garden. I love your flowers inside as well.

inadvertent farmer said...

What an awesome new garden! Great job letting your kids have their own trees...did they name them...mine always do, lol!

Thanks for linking up this week...you are soooo far ahead of us up here in Washington where it is still raining. Kim

Unknown said...

You are amazing! This would be perfect for our Bring Spring Linky party over at Scraps N' Strings. Again, I'm in awe :D

Unknown said...

Wonderful garden!
Blessings,
Catherine :)

LollyChops said...

When are you going to come to my house and help me with my raised box/bed??????? (not kidding)

We are growing: basil, sage, lavender, jalapenos, tomatoes, and possibly sweet potatoes (but I have to get them in the ground this weekend if we are gonna make it in time).

HUGS girls!

RootsAndWingsCo said...

Thanks so much for your sweet comments! Sometimes I get longwinded about gardening and so I wasn't even sure anyone would want to see this post. But I am proud of my garden. This year's garden is full of the things I've always wanted (citrus trees, raised garden boxes, a strawberry barrel, and the fantastic wine barrels!)! Best part? My kids and I did it ourselves! Something about making things yourself that makes me feel so good!
Rebecca

Kenzie said...

I love it! We don't really have a place for a garden at the house, or at least not one that's out of the way of the kids, I might have to garden in pots!

RootsAndWingsCo said...

Kenzie, that is what is hardest for me with gardening. I move often and in every new place there are new "things" to deal with. One place has no shade, another is all rocks, another I'm not allowed to garden. Pots and garden boxes are the way to go for me! I hear pots also keep the vermin out...however I don't have to deal with any vermin other than birds!
Rebecca

Anne-Marie said...

Wow. Gorgeous. Unfortunately, I was not born with green thumb but would love to have a garden some day. I just need a little practice!

Happy Earth Day and thanks for the inspiration!

SharonLarkin said...

Such a fab garden ~ and I just LOVE Square Foot Gardening!! I'm planning on setting out my garden following Mel's advice :-) Probably won't be until the autumn now as we have so much clearing and sorting to do first but I'm looking forward to when we can get started!

extreme personal measures said...

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Christy said...

Following now from Trendy Treehouse Friday Followers. I've been clicking around your blog, and I love the holiday post, and look forward to following. I'm also impressed by the number of power tools used in your post. I think I can learn a thing or 2....or 2,134 from these post. :O)

Anonymous said...

I am totally inspired by your garden boxes mad out of fencing as well as your use of the big tubs! Everything looks so great sitting on the pebbles, too. We have just removed a bunch of dead cedar shrubs and I know exactly how i am going to fill the space!

Loved the shot of your mobile in the strawberries! I like the idea of displaying them this way. I am making more!

Jennifer said...

This is so awesome! I wish I could grow things, but I'm lucky my kids and dogs are still alive!

Newest follower from the FF!

Fawnda@Fireflies and Jellybeans said...

I am super impessed with your power tool skills! great garden! :)

Unknown said...

Your flower garden looks exactly like mine!!! (I posted mine in Feb-ish if you wanted to peak) What do you know. You've got to have some spring flowers here in Az right??? And I've got you on the renting thing...

Marie said...

I love you garden. Thanks for sharing. I have question for you. Where did you get the vine barrels? I am in Mesa so I am curious as to where I could buy these. Thanks

RootsAndWingsCo said...

Marie, those wine barrels are at Home Depot. I have wanted them for so many years! Then, I up and bough one small and 2 large ones, all this year! Why did I wait so long? Well, they are expensive...

amandablair said...

Square Foot Gardening is the most productive, efficient, and easy way to garden. Not only does it use just 20% of the space a traditional row garden, it saves water, and time spent digging and weeding. For more information on Square Foot Gardening please visit our web site http://www.squarefootgardening.com/ Happy Gardening Everyone! PS check out the new forums on the website, SFG certified teachers and master gardeners, as well as many gardening enthusiasts, are online quite often to answer posts and questions on all topics.

etsy - i want it. i need it. said...

Looking good! We're growing everything under the sun this year- cucs, pumpkins, sunflowers, brussel sprouts, radishes, carrots, herbs... the list goes on and on! I am so excited about my garden this year I can't even stand it! Thanks for sharing :)

Its A Blog Party said...

Such a great garden!
Thanks for linkingu p!
~Liz