Welcome to the Spring DIY & Craft Round-Up party hosted by Barbara of French Ethereal. I can remember the exact moment I first thought an edible kitchen garden would be a good idea. It was in a dark movie theater while watching Nancy Meyer’s It’s Complicated. At the time I was living in the land of eternal plant death. (Sorry, not sorry, Arizona.) So the idea fizzled in my mind like a flower in August. Creating arable land came into my mind last week when I was once again standing in a fairly empty grocery store. It was time to create A Victory Garden for Blackthumbs.
A Victory Garden for Blackthumbs
If you are coming over from Botanic Bleu let me say “Welcome!”
Now I am going to let you in on a secret, behind the scenes, glimpse of my 22-year marriage.
Me: I have this GREAT idea (insert idea)!
Mr. Decor: It’s never gonna work.
Me: Well, I’m going to do it anyway.
Six months later…
Mr. Decor: This was a GREAT idea!
Add in a few…
Me: The Girl Scout in me needs to be prepared for a possible food shortage.
Mr. Decor: But you are a notorious plant killer.
Me: In our backyard of 16 fully grown oak trees I think this is a good area to plant.
Mr. Decor: There’s no sprinkler system there and you will forget to water.
At the time I was wearing PAJAMA PANTS and Mr. Decor was wearing suspenders to hold up his two sizes too big jeans he refuses to throw out and a cap so faded you can barely eke out the word CANADA.
But in my mind I’m sure we still looked like this.
Beautiful Edible Garden Landscapes
Now there is no shortage of ideas of beautiful edible garden landscapes on Pinterest.
You basically need:
- A charming fenced-in area.
- A raised bed of some sort.
- Neat pathways.
- Wooden trellises.
- Various produce laid out in neat rows of complementary colors.
We can pretend that our big backyard is one giant fenced-in area.
I do have a flagstone walkway and a brick path.
There are a few beds separated from the grass by metal edging.
But they never see the FULL SUNLIGHT of day needed to grow veg.
Still in a month or two this shaded area will be an English Garden look (AKA UNTIDY mess) of wildflowers that the pollinators love.
This left just one option to plant in this very large central bed.
Since I want to keep the garden as organic as possible I pulled all the weeds out by hand.
It was a mess.
Six hours later…
There is also a small area next to the brick wall that we lost several hedges. Although shady perhaps the wall will retain enough heat that I maybe can get beans to grow.
I transplanted all my various blooms in potted containers to other areas.
Because there will also be some micro container gardening.
Grub Hub
This will not be an easy task.
I already know of two foes that I will have to fight.
The mole. NO, he is NOT cute!
As well as mole candy…grubs. GROSS!
While weeding my gardening assistant got rid of several grubs for me.
She has also brought prizes of moles to our doorstep as well.
You know her as Gracie.
Dachshunds are long and skinny because they were bred to hunt underground foes such as badgers, gophers, moles, voles and more. She is never so happy than when she is digging in the yard.
My List Of Plants
- carrots
- green beans
- lettuce
- onions
- peppers
- swiss chard
- tomatoes
- zucchini
All of the various containers are lined up next to the water source.
SOMETHING has to grow.
Mr. Decor has been hanging drywall to repair our bathroom. Hopefully when he’s done he’ll be giving me lots of side-eye but completing my request to build three wooden tomato trellises.
I’ve already decided I will be VICTORIOUS at my attempts for a Victory Garden. But don’t worry I’ll share the successes and failures that I encounter on this rocky garden path.
Please, share ALL your gardening tips in the comment section below.
Laura
Please be sure to visit all of the lovely ladies participating. Up next is Follow The Yellow Brick Home.
Too funny, Laura! I’ll need to pull up this movie and watch it. Looks cute! 🙂 I hope your Victory Garden does grow well and it should in pots. I know about those voracious moles and the squirrels got ALL of my tomatoes last summer just as they were really ripening… all of them! I’m putting hardware cloth around the whole container this year…. ;)’ Glad your hubby was able to fix the busted water pipe!
Thanks for joining in today! Yes, moles are cute but chomping monsters. 😉
Barb 🙂
p.s. May I borrow your gardening assistant to remove said moles?? 😉 Yoda just sniffs around their holes… Lol!
Very inspiring! I recently planted some sprouting potatoes in a big pot of organic potting soil. From the little research I did, it probably won’t work since they are just from the grocery store. But I figured it was throw them away or give it a try. Fingers crossed.
Hi Eilis,
Your potatoes will grow! I’ve grown them successfully for years here in Texas and in California. Just put the cut up pieces with eyes in a mounded soil row. Later in a couple of months, dig your fingers into the mounded pile and pull potatoes off the roots. That’s it! Any baby potatoes just leave in the ground. Water around the mound.
Hope that helps with your planting,
Barb 🙂
http://www.frenchethereal.net
Y’all are much cuter than Baldwin and Streep any day! I bet your garden will be gorgeous. Feel free to come over and work in my beds any time you get bored. I’ll stay 6 feet away when I’m taking photos and I’ can throw a sandwich your way too. Stay healthy friend!
I love how you told this. I am no good with plants. The ones that survive do so in spite of me. I wish you all the best!
Thanks for the laughs, Laura! I really think you will surprise yourself and have a very successful garden!
Here in Colorado, due to our short growing season, I will be lucky to plant some cherry tomatoes in pots!
Take good care of yourselves,
carol
That’s a mole? Ick! I’ve never seen one before. Oh Laura, ick!
Most anything I grow to eat is in a container because mostly everything dies. I’m holding out hope for my strawberries this year. But who can say. I didn’t buy seeds before I went into hiding and our little store where Rick shops for me doesn’t carry them. Maybe I can find some of last year’s and cross my fingers. It won’t be promising, since I don’t plan to leave the house till June. But we’ll see. I think the Gunn family will be eating well, because I am an optimist and I have faith in you!
Laura, unfortunately, nothing will grow under oak trees. But a raised bed area would work, even close to the trees.
I don’t know much about gardening in your climate, but I just planted carrots, pea pods, and radishes. The later are up and I love their cute little green leaves. There is a lot of gardening advice on the web; I’d try and find something specific to your growing zone. Good luck! Eating what you’ve grown is pure luxury!
Laura,
I’m rooting for you to get your victory garden to grow and to produce yummy veggies. I’ll be following along to see your progress. I don’t think heat for your plants will be the problem getting them to grow. The blistering summers here provide lots of heat.
Stay safe, dear friend.
Judith
Good luck with your garden! I’ don’t have a green thumb either, but my husband plants a big garden every year. A lot of it is trial & error. Some years things do well, and then other times not so good. We’ll be enjoying some fresh green spinach in a few days!
Beautiful idea!!! And perfect timing for a Victory garden! LOL! I’ll be growing all kinds of things in pots and outdoor containers this year! My thumb is not very green either. Blessing to your, Laura!
Laura I am also in the process of creating a French potager, right now however I am relying on container gardens. I do have a green thumb with plants, especially herbs but this is my first year branching out into the world of trying to grow enough produce to actually supply food for our family. So far things are coming along and I am hopeful. We even harvested our first salad greens tonight. Woo-hoo!
I enjoyed the humor in your post too!
Happy gardening!