I’m trying my hand at in-ground gardening this year.

A bit of earth

When shopping for my new home here I got it almost right. I found a place with a decent little fenced in yard. A bit of earth. What I failed to consider is that the yard is acutely between two two-story buildings, and behind a 6 foot privacy fence. As such, it gets direct sun only in perfect peak summer conditions- not ideal for productive gardening.

So, I got in a waiting list for a nearby community garden, and a few weeks ago I picked my plots!

Pre-season prep

Now I’m in planning mode. How shall I maximize my tiny farming empire? I’ve been scouting supplies, doing online research, and setting up diagrams. I have seeds. I have an idea what I want to grow.

Infrastructure

So, I know it’s only March, but I wanna get started! So I’ve sourced my trellis materials, brought them home, and spray painted them to provide some modest corrosion protection.

In my enthusiastic haste I failed to cover my feet and I now have green toenails. Is that like a green thumb? Festive for St Patrick’s day? We’ll call it luck.

I’ve also installed a corner fence to discourage corner-cutters, and add some personality. I trash-picked this old bed frame a while ago with plans to incorporate into a garden, and I’m happy to finally have it out of my living room.

Next steps

This weekend we have our first mandatory work day (we have them once a month during the season). We will each get a few loads of compost, and I’ll get to meet some of my garden neighbors! I’ll also start some seeds for my longer growers in my indoor nursery. I started some herbs and test squash already. The herbs are slower growing and probably staying in my window garden, but the squash will likely be sacrificed and replaced with new seedlings that haven’t been stunted in small pots. Still, their big green cheerful leaves have been nice to have around.