Garden 2015...The Adventure Begins

Raise your hand if you understood my nod to the movie "Remo Williams...The Adventure Begins"!

No, huh? OK, I guess it's just me.

Anywho, while Matt was out we got our straw bales for this year's garden - 40 bales again this year! I will not ask for a show of hands regarding who thinks we may be a bit more than slightly insane. In preparation, we have been clearing out last year's bales. Much of the bales broke down during the gardening season - after all, that's what makes this work...you create your own soil as the bales break down. But there was lots left, and most of that has been relegated to one of two compost piles. We still have some to clear out, but we'll get there!


 What is left from our main tomato bales. We'll plant tomatoes and basil here again this year - with marigolds in the side of the bales.


These bales didn't break down nearly as much as some of the others. We may save out some of this straw for growing potatoes in buckets or mulching our trees. We'll see.
Last year this area brought us squash, beets and chard. Thinking of a repeat of that, with perhaps a little variation.

These bales (well, the three that form a U) are placed on the footprint left from last years. In most other areas, we are making changes. We have started placing the bales and have a pretty good handle on it. We put newspaper underneath - 4-6 sheets per layer - to help keep weeds from growing up into the bales.


 This leg heading towards the sidewalk is new. Gotta keep it fresh :)
 We have a few bales left to place!

 Tomatoes and basil waiting to be planted.

We picked up some pansies and chocolate mint for this pot. We always grow mint in pots because it spreads so much. I love pansies, but it gets too hot here to have them very long into the summer. I figured I'd put them in with the mint. By the time they are done, the mint will appreciate the extra room.


We grow most of our tomatoes in bales, but I wanted to try getting this one in the soil immediately. I added basil and marigolds to keep it company. Oh yeah, the basil also makes the tomatoes taste better and the marigolds help keep bugs at bay.


Our back bales are in the same basic place, but we decided to go with 2 rows instead of the U we used last year. It got a bit crowded by the fence. This part of the yard faces west and gets very hot. We are planning several types of chili peppers for this section. Behind the bales on the left you can barely see our new fig tree. See the little ID tape on the trunk?


And look! Leaves!!!


Our new berry patch :) OK, there's really nothing to see now, but trust me - they are there! We have blackberries, which came as live plants, and raspberries, which came bare-root. No growth on the raspberries yet, but we are keeping our fingers crossed. The pots are ready to cover the blackberries if the temps drop too much.

We still have a lot of work to do, but it is nice to get started :)

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