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Here We Grow Again

April 22nd, 2014

I’ve spent a lot of time this past week expanding the little potager behind the house.
back potager
back potager (1)
Last fall I laid down cardboard around the permitter and topped it with compost. I’m working on smothering ridding the garden of it’s couch grass infestation. One of the ways to do that is to keep the grass mown short around the garden. The problem is, two sides of the garden are difficult to mow because they are so steep.
potager expansion 1
potager expansion 2
I’m planning on digging the soil back a bit and building a rock wall to level the garden and keep the soil in place. It’s a BIG task, but I’m up for the challenge. Before all this can be completed I’m trying to keep the majority of the couch grass that’s in this location. In the are that the grass was smothered, I’m digging up buckets and buckets of rhizomes. In the area that is still in sod, I’m turning it over and the chickens are scratching it up exposing the roots.
expanding the potager 1
As a result I’m adding roughly 400 more square feet of gardening space. Most of this will be take up with rock walls and hedges. One of the reasons for expansion is to plant a few low windbreak hedges to protect the plants within the garden.
expanding the potager 2
In the next few weeks I’m hoping to get Mr Chiots in there with his tractor to dig down for the base of the rock walls. I may have a strong back, but that’s not something I want to do with my shovel.

Any garden expansion happening outside your window?

9 Comments to “Here We Grow Again”
  1. daisy on April 22, 2014 at 5:51 am

    Wow, that’s a big job. Is this where you will grow the majority of your crops, or is it only for certain plants? It looks lovely in the circle pattern.

    Alas, we are presently downsizing our garden in anticipation of our move further north. Looking for property so that maybe by mid-summer, we will be settled enough to plant something.

    Happy Earth Day!

    Reply to daisy's comment

    • Susy on April 22, 2014 at 6:07 am

      This is where lots of the smaller crops are grown, lettuce, chard, herbs, etc. I have a large 2 or 3 thousand sq foot main garden where staple crops are grown.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  2. Nebraska Dave on April 22, 2014 at 8:49 am

    Susy, each day is a wonderful work in the garden day now. Spring gardening weather has now definitely arrived. Today is hunt for a new lawn mower day. My 30 year old Honda lawn mower given to me a couple years ago just gave up the ghost and literally fell apart. First the starter rope broke, then a new blade was required, then the whole blade clutch assembly disintegrated and dropped the blade right on the ground. There sat the mower purring away nice as could be with no blade. I gave it two days but the repair was just not to be. Now it’s time to move on.

    As far as expansion of the garden I did expand Terra Nova Garden another 60X30 feet to plant sweet corn for the wild life population. It may keep the animals from challenging my garden fence too much or it may attract every critter for miles around once the word gets out. We will just have to see what happens. This expansion is all guerrilla gardening on the derelict property next to mine.

    Have a great garden expansion day.

    Reply to Nebraska Dave's comment

  3. Misti on April 22, 2014 at 10:19 am

    yep! we’re expanding our veg garden with some herb/perennial veg beds! Hope to have them completed and planted by the end of the month.

    Reply to Misti's comment

  4. DebbieB on April 22, 2014 at 11:23 am

    It looks terrific! I just love the layout, so pretty. Our garden is twice the size of last year’s, plus we’ve added a lot of containers to our patio.

    Reply to DebbieB's comment

  5. Laura @ Raise Your Garden on April 22, 2014 at 11:34 am

    Greetings from Buffalo, NY!

    I also use cardboard to push down all the weeds so it was fun to see someone else do the same. And it gets rid of all those Amazon boxes laying around.

    I used to use newspapers and still do, but when I really want to chomp down on the weeds, I use cardboard. Get funny looks from neighbors who think I’m weird, but that’s ok.

    You’re garden looks wonderful =) Cool design. Love it.

    Reply to Laura @ Raise Your Garden's comment

  6. Caroline on April 22, 2014 at 6:27 pm

    Last fall I dug up a section of the yard to build a brand new garden bed. The original garden didn’t get enough sun thanks to a large tree at the edge. The new garden will get lots of morning sun and some afternoon shade.

    There are 6 smaller gardens within the area (with a leaf covered path to walk between them) and I calculated the growing area to be roughly 170 square feet. It’s big, and yet I feel like I need more. Gardening sure is an addiction!

    If the link works, this is what it’s looking like with only onions planted so far! I spent all of yesterday filling the back of my van with compost (onto a tarp!) and then hauling it in a wheelbarrow out to the garden.

    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=803681600411&set=a.803677403821.1073741839.194001453&type=1&permPage=1

    Someday I hope my garden will be as pretty as yours! We’ll see how this year goes first ;)

    Reply to Caroline's comment

  7. Anna on April 22, 2014 at 8:38 pm

    We are doubling the size of our raised beds from 500 to 1,000 square feet of growing space, and I’m so excited. I see pole beans and tons of winter squash in our future…and a bed solely for fennel! Can’t wait to get planting. I need an intervention.

    Reply to Anna's comment

    • Justin on April 25, 2014 at 12:14 am

      I can relate to the feeling of needing an intervention. When I look out at my garden early in the morning sunlight, I feel the dopamine surge through my body like it is Christmas morning where everything you asked for is under the tree.

      Reply to Justin's comment

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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