The Garden
Part 1
Hello and welcome to the first post for The Garden!
Let’s go back in time for a moment, where my love for gardening began. I wanted to be a chef before anything (that is a story on its own). My grandmother would always have a tiny stool ready for me to sit on in the corner of the kitchen so I could watch, sometimes help, and always taste her food. She had confidence in her cooking, I loved that. Everything she made was so yummy. She would always make my siblings and me these classic sandwiches, nothing special: bread, lettuce, meat, mustard, salt and pepper, and freshly sliced tomatoes from her small practical garden. If I close my eyes I can still remember eating them like it was yesterday.
The other influence I had in cooking was my stepdad. My favorite moments with him are preparing meals and sharing food with family and friends. Being a Fire Chief, he learned a lot of his culinary skills from cooking for the entire station. He enjoys trying new foods and anyone that has ever eaten at my home growing up loved his meals. One year, building a garden was on the top of my to-do list because I had the skills to cook but I wanted the skills to grow food to cook with. This was my first garden. I had no idea what to do so my stepdad helped till the soil, add new soil, and plant the seeds. (I’m honestly not sure how into gardening my stepdad was, I might have to ask - I'm curious now.) It was nothing special just a 6’ x 2’ area(guessing) but it was my garden. Over time watering, watching everything grow, and most importantly cooking with the food grown are the core memories that sparked my love.
On to my current garden, wow I’ve come a long way. Having a space like this has been on my mind for a long time. So I’m going to enjoy every moment I get to spend in it! I didn’t have a set plan for the garden layout. By happenstance, I had one growing season in this garden before planning what I wanted the layout to look like.
These are some things I learned:
what the weather was like
where the sun always shines or where it doesn’t
what animals will affect my garden(darn squirrels)
time to imagine where I would want everything
The garden will forever be changing and evolving. Here is what I have so far, enjoy!
Ground
This yard had a garden previously and renting a tiller helped to move and mix the soil. This is not a necessary step in building a garden so you can skip if your soil is good and ready to grow in.
It was very easy to use after the first couple of passes and only needed it for about two hours or so.
Beds
Beds can be designed however you see fit for your garden size and style. For my garden, I used:
Twelve concrete blocks
Eleven - 8’ boards. (Three boards cut at the store for the middle pieces that are 3’ across).
Last year, I bought these concrete blocks to hold the wood boards but I ended up getting the other two smaller beds at the bottom of the photo. Since there was no need to add the raised beds for the arches, I wanted to get more above-ground dirt for the produce to grow.
The combination of blocks and wood boards are super easy to use and can be a way better deal if you want a raised bed that goes into the ground. Pavers can also be stacked higher if you want a taller bed.
Arches
The arches were something I did not know I needed but am so ecstatic that it happened.
The arches are made from:
Four cattle panels (16’ x 50”)
Sixteen T-posts (6’ tall)
The video I followed only used 1 T-post per side but I wanted 2 so they are very stable.
I cannot wait for all the veggies to cover the arches and to be able to walk through, it’s going to be amazing! I’m also going to purchase some string solar lights to put on the tunnel so they will light up at night.
Special thanks to Lilly for sending me the arch video! You are the best!
Thank you for reading my first garden post and hope you check back for the next ones. I will post the supply links below for anyone wanting to create this garden arch. Also check out the video Lilly sent it was very helpful and fun to watch. Comment below what you think about the post or if you have any questions!
Talk to you soon!
