Simple Gardening ~ 4 Methods to Get You Growing

I enjoy gardening.  I used to say I loved it, but if I'm honest, I love the idea of gorgeous gardens filled with flowers, fruits, vegetables, and herbs all growing with exuberance in neatly weeded garden beds connected by intertwining pathways, gates and rose covered arbors.  Lovely thought, but for someone who lives in an area with crazy weather patterns (drought or floods) and scorching summers ... someone with limited time and energy, and who also lives in a church parsonage- this beautiful, bountiful garden dream is simply that, a dream.  "Someday", I tell myself ... but honestly, I'm not certain I would invest the time and energy required to create my 'dream garden' even if all the other factors were in my favor.  Simple gardens are more my style and much more practical for my life.

 Below are my recommendations for methods for simple gardens that can be used in a variety of situations:

• Square Foot Gardening- Mel Bartholomew's famous square foot gardening method works well for people like me who are overwhelmed with large areas of tilled soil and need small manageable garden spaces.  I prefer the 4x4 beds.  They are large enough for growing an assortment of plants, but small enough not to be confusing to plant and maintain.

• Sheet Mulching- This is a good no-dig method for starting a garden.  I like combining small raised 4x4 square foot beds with sheet mulching to create fertile, easy to maintain garden beds.  Sheet mulching can be less expensive than filling beds with the soil mixture recommended in the square foot method, and if you collect kitchen waste, leaves and other compostables, it is quite frugal.  

• Ruth Stout Method- I love the idea of Ruth's No Work Gardening method, but I haven't fully implemented it in a garden, yet.  I do use a thick mulch around my plants when they are established which helps greatly with water conservation and weed control. If I ever plant another large 'in the ground' garden, I will do it Ruth's way!

• Container Gardens- You can grow almost anything in a container, even fruits and vegetables that you would normally consider needing more space will thrive in the right container.  I have citrus trees in pots and grow a variety of vegetables and herbs in various pots on the back porch.  I love the portability of container gardens.  If something is getting too little (or in my area, too much) sun, a container can be moved to a sunnier or shadier spot easily.  This is my all-time favorite way to garden.  Simple, portable, and doable in almost any situation.  Find a container, fill it with soil, put in a plant or a few seeds, water, and wait for it to grow! 

I hope these methods encourage you to plant a garden of your own.  There are few things as satisfying as snipping flowers and herbs or gathering the makings of a meal from your very own garden, be it a large in-ground plot or a variety of containers on the back patio.  I think I do love gardening; I just have to do it my way- the simple way!  

How do you garden?
Do you have a favorite method or way of growing things?
What is your favorite simple gardening tip?

Love,

Catherine Ann
 

Winter Gardening

Nature has undoubtedly mastered the art of winter gardening and even the most experienced gardener can learn from the unrestrained beauty around them.  ~Vincent A. Simeone


  
Winter gardening, how I love it (of course I love any gardening!).  Stealing outside on a warm winter's day to plant a few seeds for cold hardy greens, or water the perennial herbs that put on a brave face and continue to grow through the winter, scattering wildflower seeds, or just taking a walk and planning for spring planting ... winter weather is gardening weather, too!

Happy Spring!

Today begins a new season.
I am most ready for the promise of new life that each spring brings.
I've been hibernating in a sense myself, mostly due to work, bad weather, and then a string of minor family illnesses.  But the warm weather and sunshine has prompted me to wake up and start fresh in some areas, this blog for instance.  I'll be doing some work here in the coming days, changing a few things and posting more regularly.
The beginning of spring ushers in one of my favorite yearly activities- planting the spring greens!
We've already tucked in seeds and a few seedlings and have been plotting and planning, in order to grow all we can in our little rented patch of earth. 
Today is the perfect day for a picnic at the community garden, wandering along the creek, and giving thanks for the beauty of a new season.
How do you mark the changing of seasons?

To everything there is a season ... Ecclesiastes 3:1

Sowing Seeds

 

Passionflower blooming in the community garden

 

 

Now that the summer harvest is over and we are moving into a new season, I am thinking about seeds ... sowing veggie, herb, and flower seeds in the garden in expectation of a harvest in the coming days.

 

Today I tucked a few seeds into the garden-

cucumber

zucchini

yellow squash

white scallop squash

 

Tomorrow I hope to plant more in pots for transplanting a bit later-

chard

kale

lettuce

 

I expect to harvest some tasty vegetables in the coming days.

 

 

Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders.
- Henry David Thoreau

 

 

 

I'm also thinking about the other seeds I plant each day- in word, thought, or deed. 

Am I planting good things- hope, kindness, joy, love?

 

Or am I sowing seeds that will be like the bindweed I do daily battle with in the garden, a weed that will wrap itself around the good plants and slowly choke the life right out of them if it isn't dealt with quickly?  For I will reap what I sow. 

 

 

My oldest daughter, who spent the last weeks of summer vacation on crutches, taking time to read a book to her little cousin.  Good seeds being sown, and also a wonderful harvest after the many, many hours I've spent reading to her over the years.  Now she asks to be the reader during read aloud time each day and is seldom seen without a book.  These past few weeks I've heard so often, "Please get my book, I can't carry it with these crutches."  Thankfully, the crutches won't be needed much longer, her wounded ankle is healing nicely, and she'll soon be able to swim and dance and do all those things she's been missing so much of late; but she will still take time to share a good book with the little ones. 

Sow good seeds in abundance!

 

Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.

- Robert Louis Stevenson

 

 

 

 

 

End of Summer Sweetness & Planning for Fall

Today I'm oven drying the last of this season's tomatoes. 

I sliced them lengthwise, placed them on a baking pan, sprinkled on a bit of sea salt, drizzled them with olive oil, and popped them into a 250 degree oven.  In a few hours they will be ready to use in a recipe or put in the freezer for another day. 

Now that the summer garden is behind me, I'm plotting and planning for the fall/winter season.  I'm thinking broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, beets, chard, spinach, leeks, garlic ... and herbs, can't forget those- parsley, cilantro, salad burnet, pot marigold.  And then there are the flowers- viola, pansy, snapdragon, mums ... I do love fall gardening! 

What do you grow in the fall garden? 

Summer Day Blessings

"Dirty hands, iced tea, garden fragrances thick in the air and a blanket of color before me, who could ask for more?"               ~ Bev Adams, Mountain Gardening

Scents of summer here- basil, dill, lemon verbena ... delightful.

Summer Thought ...

Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world. ~Ada Louise Huxtable

June Garden Favorites

Yard-Long Bean Blossom

We planted these in our church garden to grow over a wire tunnel.  The vines are just about ready to "meet in the middle" of the tunnel, and hopefully they will grow right down the other side to make a shady crawl space for the kiddos.  They have very pretty purple blossoms, and the beans are quite tasty (I had to taste test them, of course!).   Though I haven't tried them yet, the young leaves are said to make a nice potherb, as well.  I love the fact that they supposedly thrive in the heat, as most beans wither away when the Texas heat sets in.  If they do survive the next few weeks, these beans will be on my list of favorite summer veggies!  Even if they don't, I'll plant them again and just move them to the spring favorites list.  I purchased seed from Bountiful Gardens, click here . 

 

Lemon Verbena (please ignore those weeds ... they are groundcover ok? I'm waiting oh so patiently for mulch.)

The Lemon Verbena is thriving thus far, which makes me very, very happy.  There is nothing like a cup of Lemon Verbena tea, or a glass of sun tea infused with some of that lemony goodness.  Every time I go to the garden I pluck a few leaves and bring them home for my evening tea.  Soon I'll be drying them for using in the winter teapot, too. 

OK, those are my current garden favorites ... what is your favorite thing in the garden right now?

May Day Fun

Happy May Day!

The photos are of a little gift I created for someone last spring from simple things around the house- a canning jar, a bit of wire, and an assortment of herbs and flowers growing outside like mint, rosemary, sweet marjoram, yarrow, lemon balm, runner bean blossoms, and Mexican petunia.  With a bit of ribbon and a little dressing up, it would make a lovely May Day gift.  I think I'll make one or more today for some sweet friends ... maybe I'll send the girls next door to leave one for my neighbor as a May Day Surprise!  

 

Sowing Seeds

We'll be in the gardens today, sowing seeds and pulling weeds.  The first item I enjoy ... and honestly, I don't mind weeding.  There is something very meditative about plopping down on the garden path and spending a few minutes tidying up a section of the garden.  And usually I find a few precious moments alone while weeding.   Because at least around here, weeding isn't really all that much fun to the children!  They prefer to pick dandelions and turn cartwheels, while I "work".  I've found what one person considers work, to another it is play ... it all depends on your frame of mind. 

I will have help with the planting, because to my children that is play. 

Here's a short list of what I hope to get planted today:

purple bush beans
tri-color pole beans
cucumbers
squash- 4 varieties
strawberry popcorn
sunflowers
cosmos
cornflowers
basil
dill
cilantro
chives
luffa gourds
birdhouse gourds

I have seedlings to plant as well:
tomatoes
tomatillo
pepino melon
pineapple tomatillo
bell peppers
hot peppers- jalapeno, serrano, poblano
lettuce
salad burnet
dill
sweet marjoram
thyme

I think that should keep us busy for today ... and probably tomorrow ... and the next day :) ! 

It Is Springtime

To whom it may concern: It is springtime. It is late afternoon.
~Kurt Vonnegut

I would just like to add, "I'm in the garden."  to this quote, and then it would be perfect! 

Actually, this would be more fitting:

To whom it may concern:
It is springtime.
I am in the garden.

Now wouldn't that be fun little sign to post by the front door?  ... No time at present, I have to get back to the garden.  Oh, I do have a cutesy little chalkboard that I could hang up in a snap. 
Spring Fever, this manic behavior is certainly caused by Spring Fever!

Seed Sowing and the Colors of Spring

... pink and green, my favorites!
 
Sage, Thyme, Dianthus, and Zinnias from years past, also some of my favorites. 

I'll be growing them all again this season and next, and the next...

I plant sage because it grows like crazy, is pretty, useful for hair rinses and essential for holiday cornbread dressing.

I plant thyme because it is simply lovely and so handy in the kitchen.

Dianthus is planted because it makes me happy with such cheerful flowers.

And I must plant zinnias because they remind me of Grandma who grew zinnias in her flower gardens every year without fail, a tradition I gladly carry on.

What do you plant season after season?

Why?

I'm planting seeds indoors today, and pondering this post about sowing seeds of an entirely different, though more weighty, kind. 

What have I sown that I, or those I love, will someday reap?

What do I plan to sow in the days to come?

How do I tend those seeds that are just beginning to sprout to insure they reach maturity and produce the desired harvest?

How about you?

Many questions today ... I'm sure it is Spring Fever!

Spring Fever

It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so! ~Mark Twain

Spring Fever, I've got it! I'm ready to sow seeds, pot plants, and dig in the earth. I love the first days of spring, though they do make me feel a bit odd sometimes ... it's the fever, I do believe!

Anyone else feeling spring feverish these days?

You'll find me treating the fever with some planting and plotting at the community garden this afternoon, and tomorrow we're off on a day trip to a few of my favorite plant places:

The Natural Gardener

Barton Springs Nursery

It's About Thyme

If time allows, I hope to stop by Whole Foods and Wheatsville Co-op, and stock up on a few healthy goodies, too.

These things ought to help my spring fever, or maybe feed it even more.

Weekend Blessings and Bliss to you!

New Garden Spot & A Birthday Celebration

The girls and I went to meet the Garden Director this morning to sign up for a spot in the community garden. It was cold and very, very muddy at the garden; but we slogged through the mud anyway and decided on a garden spot. There were only a few available and 2 of them were a bit waterlogged at the moment. He said we normally don't get enough rain for it to be a big problem, but I didn't want to take a chance on this being the year that it stays wet all season! Of the other 2 plots, one had some very large trees that will cause quite a bit of shade, so I opted for the last plot, which should be just fine for us. I was hoping to get 2 spots, but since this is our first year with the garden, we could only get one. The plots are supposed to be 25X30, though they really don't look that big to me. Of course, I'm not the best judge of distance, so who knows!

I'm excited about getting started in the garden and planting some of the many seeds I have sitting by my desk; but we've had rain this week, so I'll have to wait at least a week or two (sigh) before I get started planting. Oh well, at least now I can really get busy with my planning ...

though I've got to get busy cleaning and cooking for a birthday party tomorrow right at the moment. Miss Hannah will be turning 9 on Monday, and we'll be celebrating with cake and punch (and lots of food) with our family and friends tomorrow afternoon. Which means we have to make this very lived in place look a "bit" more presentable ... just so it can get really messed up again tomorrow. Oh the joy of HOMEmaking!

Off to wash dishes and cook, and wash more dishes and cook, ... and well you know how that circle keeps on turning! :)

Cloak of Winter

Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle ... a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to the light, a bud straining to unfurl. And the anticipation nurtures our dream.
~ Barbara Winkler

Anticipating the miracles of spring today!

Growing Challenge

I just signed up for this challenge at One Green Generation. Excellent site for those seeking the green lifestyle :) . Anyone else up for the challenge to grow a new organic crop and save a few seeds? Check out the website for details on The Growing Challenge and lots of other helpful ideas, as well.

Bees in the Basil

Bees love the Basil in my front herb bed. I spent quite some time attempting to get a decent photo of the cute little buzzers. They were so happily visiting each and every little white blossom. I'm not so great at this photography thing, but the first photo actually does have a bee in it.....look closely! The second one...well, I know he's in there somewhere....or was.

I made a mental note (which is certain to fade away) to plant more basil in the veggie garden next spring. I'm making a note here, which hopefully will remain (if I don't accidentally delete my blog again).

basil=bees=pollination=fruit

That's my kind of "equation". I'm no better at math than I am at photography, though at least I enjoy attempting photography...math is not my thing.