First Steps

We'll, it's that time of year again...time to start working on the vegetable garden.

I love my little house and I love the beautiful neighborhood in which I live, but I have to admit if there were one thing I could change it would be to a larger plot of land. When I say I am limited in gardening space I mean really limited. My front yard garden measures about 5-feet by 15-feet...I'm guessing. (Take note of the beautiful herbs in the foreground that come back every year.)


The back yard garden is about the same square footage just differently shaped, maybe 10ft by 10ft. (The grapevine is already out of control.)

And no, the below picture is not upside down...the tomato plant is. Because of my limited space, the last couple years I've been experimenting with container gardening, and this is the latest gimmick...the plants are suspended in bags and hung upside down. Supposedly it works (at least this is what I've been told). If it does, I have an image in my head of the entire side of my house next year hung with vegetable plants.

Anyhow, even with such a small space(s) to work with I am able to grow more produce by mid/late summer than I can consume. I personally find it way more interesting (and fun) to grow vegetables than cut grass. I really hope more people hop on the Food Not Lawns bandwagon and tear up their front (and rear) lawns and plant vegetables. But I have to admit planting and harvesting the vegetables is the fun part...weeding them is an entirely different matter. At any rate, this is what I've managed to squeeze into my teeny little piece of earth this year (and I'm not done yet):

5 varieties of Tomatoes
4 varieties of Peppers
Zucchini
Eggplant
Japanese Eggplant
Corn
Butternut Squash
Cucumbers
Red Cabbage
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Swiss Chard
Leeks
Onions
Chives
Garlic
Black Eyed Peas
Okra
Oregano
2 varieties Basil
Sage
Dill
Mint
1 Sunflower
2 types of Grapes