I fertilized again on 6/4 or 6/5.
I picked 2 ambassador squash, 1 zucchini and massive herbs on 6/11.
Getting lots of compliments! Worried about overcrowding and may ask to take over space #34. Squash is growing really well and getting excited about the cucumber and the pumpkin(s).
On 6/13 I picked another 3 ambassador squash and 2 zucchini.
Woohoo! Making vegetables!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Planting Log: Journal Entry 6/2/2010
Mulched, weeded, moved the unknown herb. Looking awesome.
Removed the 3 mint plants and put them in a container. (No holes in the bottom, so it can't creep.)
Large blossom on zucchini. Noticed first green squash & crookneck squash, but no more flowers.
herbs are out of control happy happy
trimmed a ton of oregano and marjoram
Ate another strawberry.
noticed a black beetle and potato bug.
hadn't watered since last week and had some wilting but think it will recover.
Beans are flowering.
all tomatoes are flowering and babies are growing fast!
1 sunflower is doing significantly better than the other one.
cucumbers seem to be lagging
I trimmed some of the chamomile off the ground. I had found a slug under there a while ago.
Go Garden Go! You're kicking bootie!
Meet Norman
Norman is my Garden Ga-nome. (WICKED reference.) He's keeping things locked down for me. I'm a big fan of Norman, he's doing a kick ass job. Other people may have big fancy decorations in their garden, but I have stealthy Norman. He stays low to the ground so he can see all the little things scurry about, and direct them to their appropriate places. I credit him for making sure the bees do the right dance to pollinate everything. Thanks Norman for being such a rock star!
Planting Log: Journal Entry 5/17/2010 & Asking an Angel!
There was more light rain. I installed the three small trellises on the cucumbers and 2 squash plants.
--
There was a blog post on the Aptos Garden website about an offer of advice from a gardening expert. I decided it probably couldn't hurt to have her come and review things for me. At the worst, she would help me stop my problems before they got bad, and hopefully instead she would quiet my anxiety about being a new gardener. I emailed her and we set up a time to meet at the garden one morning, and it was fantastic. Pam came and was awesome. She helped me figure out that I was pretty much on the right path, and answered a few lingering questions I had. I was pretty sure I was headed in the right direction, but was also certain that I'd be pretty pissed at myself in 3 months if there were things that could have been easily done or remedied. She confirmed what some friends had said, the mint plants had to go. She also confirmed I was pushing it a bit with my spacing, but was probably going to do okay.
All in all, it was a great visit, and mostly just made me continue my excitement about the "community" aspect of things. My mantra of "I'm not in this alone" persists. I am super appreciative that Pam took time out of her schedule to help me feel better, and she certainly helped keep the momentum going. Thanks Pam!
Are you a fellow Aptos Gardener? Do you need help from Pam? Contact her below:
GoddessOfOrganization.com
Organizational Solutions for Home and Office
www.goddessoforganization.com
(831) 840-5870
QUESTION:
What is some of the best gardening advice you have ever received?
--
There was a blog post on the Aptos Garden website about an offer of advice from a gardening expert. I decided it probably couldn't hurt to have her come and review things for me. At the worst, she would help me stop my problems before they got bad, and hopefully instead she would quiet my anxiety about being a new gardener. I emailed her and we set up a time to meet at the garden one morning, and it was fantastic. Pam came and was awesome. She helped me figure out that I was pretty much on the right path, and answered a few lingering questions I had. I was pretty sure I was headed in the right direction, but was also certain that I'd be pretty pissed at myself in 3 months if there were things that could have been easily done or remedied. She confirmed what some friends had said, the mint plants had to go. She also confirmed I was pushing it a bit with my spacing, but was probably going to do okay.
All in all, it was a great visit, and mostly just made me continue my excitement about the "community" aspect of things. My mantra of "I'm not in this alone" persists. I am super appreciative that Pam took time out of her schedule to help me feel better, and she certainly helped keep the momentum going. Thanks Pam!
Are you a fellow Aptos Gardener? Do you need help from Pam? Contact her below:
GoddessOfOrganization.com
Organizational Solutions for Home and Office
www.goddessoforganization.com
(831) 840-5870
QUESTION:
What is some of the best gardening advice you have ever received?
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Inspiration...Another plot in our garden.
4/22/2010 - I fell in love with the garden then...
6/9/2010 - But wow...did it grow up to be even more amazing!
Thank you fellow gardener! You are an inspiration!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Life Cycle of a Strawberry in Pictures
5/4/2010
Mid May 2010
5/24 - I ate my first strawberry.
6/10/2010
Unfortunately, no strawberry flowers came after this. I've heard possibly the ground isn't warm enough or something. It's growing, just not flowering. Maybe it's just done for the year?
Planting Log: Journal Entry 5/13/2010
On 5/8 I trimmed some herbs and waters, and on 5/9 and 5/10 we had some more light rain.
Something is eating my sage, sunflowers, and 1 of the strawberry leaves. I tried to research and they say it could be caterpillars, slugs or ants. There are definitely ants in my garden and there may be more pests. Today I saw a spider but I didn't know if it was a good or a bad thing.
Something is eating my sage, sunflowers, and 1 of the strawberry leaves. I tried to research and they say it could be caterpillars, slugs or ants. There are definitely ants in my garden and there may be more pests. Today I saw a spider but I didn't know if it was a good or a bad thing.
Planting Log: Journal Entry 5/4/2010
I fertilized on 4/29, 1 handful per plant and then watered, and then watered again after work on 5/3.
On 5/4, I laid down the Naturescapes wood mulch on the lower 1/2 of the plants. (1 bag.) While there was a definite improvement over the water drainage, I am not sure this is the mulch I want to use, and didn't use the second bag. After watering again, I realized I probably should have used a different mulch, but who knows at this stage. (I just don't like the colored dye in the chips.)
Looks like the fertilizer, sun and water definitely are kicking in! Today I saw a tomato on the stupice and a little berry on one of the strawberries. The basil starts are lagging, but the thyme are starting to take shape. Not a ton of growth on the tomato starts either.
The petunias are NOT happy. I don't know what to do for them. They are the same as the ones that are thriving on my porch. It's too soon to say how the Alyssum is doing.
This is such a great after work release. I like the sun and the people. In some ways I get really intimidated by other gardeners and gardens, but also am pretty sure I am not worse than most of the pack, as I probably surrounded by others learning too. Plus, I even got a few compliments on my garden. It may look good, but I just hope it doesn't go to hell with pests and disease and etc. I will just remind myself now - Don't be afraid to just rip a section our and try again. This is just THIS YEAR and for you and this space.
I noticed significant more weeds today after fertilizing this week, but I also got a lavender flower.
Are the yellow squash leaves a sign of bad drainage or just yellow squash leaves are yellow?
I will water again on Friday.
Planting Log: Journal Entry 4/28/2010
10 days in, I've tried to visit ever few days. Everything looks like it has made it past the initial stages, though the petunias looked a little sad on Monday when I visited. Noticed a few ants today. Definitely want to keep an eye on the slant effecting the way the plants water in any way in the future. Mulching may help that. Plan to go back tomorrow and fertilize. Saw a teeny bit of growth on some things. I think this is good patience practice. It makes me really happy to have this garden.
In the margins:
What do I do about the ants? Does it matter?
When do I put out the ginger to prevent the slugs?
Look up how to use herbs!
Big Questions:
When do I water?
When do I weed/mulch?
How regular do I fertilize?
Do I do anything besides weed, water and train to keep them going?
Have I totally messed up already?
In the margins:
What do I do about the ants? Does it matter?
When do I put out the ginger to prevent the slugs?
Look up how to use herbs!
Big Questions:
When do I water?
When do I weed/mulch?
How regular do I fertilize?
Do I do anything besides weed, water and train to keep them going?
Have I totally messed up already?
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
The Aptos Community Garden Grows...in pictures.
4/21/2010 - Mine is the 3rd down
5/5/2010
End of May 2010
6/2/2010
6/9/2010
A few words about the first days of planting my vegetable garden.
I can't believe what a blur that Sunday is. I definitely underestimated how long it would take me to assemble all those gopher cages, dig the holes and then put the plants in. I don't know if it was foolish or smart to power through that day and doing it without any planning or serious research. I just knew I was ready to start, and so I started. I knew the rain was coming, I knew my schedule was packed and I also knew myself and jumping in was the best way to start the momentum rolling and push the anxiety back. Families came and went, and I stayed solid and solo with my shovel and supplies until the sun came down. I don't really regret how it happened, I just know I will do that much better next year when I'm more prepared.
One of my favorite things about planting on opening day was the community sharing of plants. If someone had a leftover they didn't have room for, they passed it along to another garden. This is how I ended up with 2 sunflowers from a fantastic little girl. (Hers are FEET higher than mine right now, but I figure she waters less than me, because I also have vegetables.) I also really appreciated the numerous organic starts that the Surf City Growers donated to our cause, and have enjoyed the eclectic variety they provide for my garden. I would have never planted a green bean, but now love watching it chug along, and wish I had planted more of them!
It was neat to see it all in the ground, and how much space it already took up. I had no idea the squash plants were going to get so big, and I wasn't really sure anything was going to grow at all, I just knew I wanted to try a lot of things.
I was really proud for doing it all myself. I left with scratched arms, scorched skin and filthy clothes, but I knew that I had accomplished something really awesome. I still had no idea how hooked I would become.
Garden Day 1 - 4/18/2010:
Garden after more planting - 4/23/2010:
One of my favorite things about planting on opening day was the community sharing of plants. If someone had a leftover they didn't have room for, they passed it along to another garden. This is how I ended up with 2 sunflowers from a fantastic little girl. (Hers are FEET higher than mine right now, but I figure she waters less than me, because I also have vegetables.) I also really appreciated the numerous organic starts that the Surf City Growers donated to our cause, and have enjoyed the eclectic variety they provide for my garden. I would have never planted a green bean, but now love watching it chug along, and wish I had planted more of them!
It was neat to see it all in the ground, and how much space it already took up. I had no idea the squash plants were going to get so big, and I wasn't really sure anything was going to grow at all, I just knew I wanted to try a lot of things.
I was really proud for doing it all myself. I left with scratched arms, scorched skin and filthy clothes, but I knew that I had accomplished something really awesome. I still had no idea how hooked I would become.
Garden Day 1 - 4/18/2010:
Garden after more planting - 4/23/2010:
What did I plant in my garden?
Herbs
From Kawahara Nursery Brand:
Spearmint
Peppermint
Chocolate Mint
Golden Sage
Marjoram x 2
Italian Oregano
German Chamomile x 2
Siam Queen Basil
Sweet Basil
Chives
From Surf City Growers:
2 basil starts
1 chamomile start
1 thyme start
From bonnieplants.com brand:
Onion Chives
Rosemary
German Thyme
Lemon Thyme
Variegated Lemon Thyme
Tomatoes - From Kawahara except where noted
Green Zebra Heirloom
Red Brandywine Heirloom
Yellow Brandywine Heirloom
Stupice Heirloom
Sweet 100 Cherry
Big Beef Tomato (brand unknown)
2 Brandywine Tomato Starts (SCG)
Other Edibles - From Kawahara except where noted
Lolita Summer Squash Zucchini
Ambassador Green Squash
Crookneck Yellow Summer Squash
Long Japanese Cucumbers
Armenian Cucumbers
Funny Face Orange Pumpkin
1 Cucumber Starts (SCG)
1 green bean start (SCG)
Sequoia Strawberries (unknown)
Flowers:
Alyssum
Petunias
2 Sunflower Starts
2 Provence Lavender
Question:
What did you plant this year? What do you wish you had room to plant or grow?
From Kawahara Nursery Brand:
Spearmint
Peppermint
Chocolate Mint
Golden Sage
Marjoram x 2
Italian Oregano
German Chamomile x 2
Siam Queen Basil
Sweet Basil
Chives
From Surf City Growers:
2 basil starts
1 chamomile start
1 thyme start
From bonnieplants.com brand:
Onion Chives
Rosemary
German Thyme
Lemon Thyme
Variegated Lemon Thyme
Tomatoes - From Kawahara except where noted
Green Zebra Heirloom
Red Brandywine Heirloom
Yellow Brandywine Heirloom
Stupice Heirloom
Sweet 100 Cherry
Big Beef Tomato (brand unknown)
2 Brandywine Tomato Starts (SCG)
Other Edibles - From Kawahara except where noted
Lolita Summer Squash Zucchini
Ambassador Green Squash
Crookneck Yellow Summer Squash
Long Japanese Cucumbers
Armenian Cucumbers
Funny Face Orange Pumpkin
1 Cucumber Starts (SCG)
1 green bean start (SCG)
Sequoia Strawberries (unknown)
Flowers:
Alyssum
Petunias
2 Sunflower Starts
2 Provence Lavender
Question:
What did you plant this year? What do you wish you had room to plant or grow?
What did it cost me to start my garden?
On April 18, 2010 I started with a dirt area covering a slightly sloping 72 square feet in the Aptos Community Garden. The space cost me $75 for the year.
I arrived on the scene with a small hand trowel, and a lot of energy, but not much else. Surf City Growers were kind enough to donate plentiful organic starts for the new gardeners, so I grabbed a few different varieties, but found myself wanting something a little more established and definitely more substantial with my large emptiness. I knew that there was an Orchard Supply Warehouse (OSH) a few exits down the freeway in Watsonville, and had been browsing their garden section for a couple of weeks window shopping for my potential planting. Plus, OSH was where it was recommended I could easily find the RootGuard expandable gopher cages, so off I went.
My first round of purchases came in at $120. I walked out with:
One Round Point Shovel
Five 54" Tomato Cages and One 33" Tomato Cage
Nine packs of Small Root Guard Gopher Cages (Two per pack - To be assembled)
Five 4" herb plants
Six 4" vegetable plants
Four Quart vegetable plants
One #1 vegetable plant
One six-pack of strawberries
That afternoon after planting, I went back to OSH on my way home and bought another $70 in things:
A Heavy Duty Hose
A Pistol Nozzle
Four annual flower plants
A package of Garden-tone Fertilizer for Organic Vegetable Gardens
A package of Miracle Grow Tomato Food
Seven 4" herb plants
Two bags of Naturalscapes wooden mulch.
I also went to Home Depot a few days later, and picked up another $30 in plants:
Six 5" plants (a mix of herbs, and I think Lavender was in here.)
A 4" plant
A 1/2 flat of Alyssums
By the end of the next week, I was hooked and went back to OSH to get more stuff, and walked out with $50 less and:
A wood handled weeder & A wood handled cultivator
Cushion gripped Pruners
Gardening Gloves
A kneel pad
An organizer to go in my 5 gallon bucket (instead of buying a garden bag.)
I made my last big supply run and spent $45 on:
Two 30x48" Trellises, and One 3'x3' Trellis
8 pack of Tomato Ties
1 jumbo vegetable plant
I've also since bought a large quantity of mulch/compost. I had thought I bought twice as much as I needed, but now that I have a larger space, I'm certain to put it to use. I got this at Home Depot and think it was about $25. I also recently picked up some Sluggo to have on hand, which was about $15, and grabbed some powdered ginger as a potential organic option as well, and that was about $5.
Total cost after first 6 weeks: Slightly over $400.
I will be tracking how much my garden produces to see what the investment vs. return is. (On top of the obvious intangible enjoyment of gardening itself!)
Questions:
I've done some reading about using things like old ladders for trellising. What are some ways you save money in gardening? Where do you prefer to buy your plants? What are some places you don't cut cost corners for your garden? Are there things you splurge on? Is there certain "gear" that you just have to have? What am I missing that you recommend?
I arrived on the scene with a small hand trowel, and a lot of energy, but not much else. Surf City Growers were kind enough to donate plentiful organic starts for the new gardeners, so I grabbed a few different varieties, but found myself wanting something a little more established and definitely more substantial with my large emptiness. I knew that there was an Orchard Supply Warehouse (OSH) a few exits down the freeway in Watsonville, and had been browsing their garden section for a couple of weeks window shopping for my potential planting. Plus, OSH was where it was recommended I could easily find the RootGuard expandable gopher cages, so off I went.
My first round of purchases came in at $120. I walked out with:
One Round Point Shovel
Five 54" Tomato Cages and One 33" Tomato Cage
Nine packs of Small Root Guard Gopher Cages (Two per pack - To be assembled)
Five 4" herb plants
Six 4" vegetable plants
Four Quart vegetable plants
One #1 vegetable plant
One six-pack of strawberries
That afternoon after planting, I went back to OSH on my way home and bought another $70 in things:
A Heavy Duty Hose
A Pistol Nozzle
Four annual flower plants
A package of Garden-tone Fertilizer for Organic Vegetable Gardens
A package of Miracle Grow Tomato Food
Seven 4" herb plants
Two bags of Naturalscapes wooden mulch.
I also went to Home Depot a few days later, and picked up another $30 in plants:
Six 5" plants (a mix of herbs, and I think Lavender was in here.)
A 4" plant
A 1/2 flat of Alyssums
By the end of the next week, I was hooked and went back to OSH to get more stuff, and walked out with $50 less and:
A wood handled weeder & A wood handled cultivator
Cushion gripped Pruners
Gardening Gloves
A kneel pad
An organizer to go in my 5 gallon bucket (instead of buying a garden bag.)
I made my last big supply run and spent $45 on:
Two 30x48" Trellises, and One 3'x3' Trellis
8 pack of Tomato Ties
1 jumbo vegetable plant
I've also since bought a large quantity of mulch/compost. I had thought I bought twice as much as I needed, but now that I have a larger space, I'm certain to put it to use. I got this at Home Depot and think it was about $25. I also recently picked up some Sluggo to have on hand, which was about $15, and grabbed some powdered ginger as a potential organic option as well, and that was about $5.
Total cost after first 6 weeks: Slightly over $400.
I will be tracking how much my garden produces to see what the investment vs. return is. (On top of the obvious intangible enjoyment of gardening itself!)
Questions:
I've done some reading about using things like old ladders for trellising. What are some ways you save money in gardening? Where do you prefer to buy your plants? What are some places you don't cut cost corners for your garden? Are there things you splurge on? Is there certain "gear" that you just have to have? What am I missing that you recommend?
Monday, June 14, 2010
Welcome to my Garden blog!
Hi There! What's up? I have my very first vegetable and flower gardens this year and I've been keeping a paper journal, but this seems easier. Plus, not only does it let me share things and connect my pictures, it allows me to ask questions and have discussions. One fact about me is that I really enjoy data and tracking things, and so that makes documenting and analyzing all parts of this growing things process absolute heaven for my personality type. That means a lot of this blog will be a lot about learning, and may be filled with documenting lots of mistakes. I can only hope that I have a few successes and not so much defeat that I get discouraged.
6 months ago, I had grown a tomato plant on my deck and made a few seeds flower in pots. This year, I decided I wanted more, and I've already shown that I think there will be anything but defeat. Let's see what happens!
Introduction
The first few entries here are going to be a combination of my journal notes and reflections on those notes and experiences to quickly get everything down and up to date.
I want to start off by expressing a deep appreciation for the space and chance to do this. I can’t believe how this landed in my lap. Weeks after wishing there was a space in a local community garden, here I was faxing in my letter begging for one in a new project. The Santa Cruz Sentinel had run an article on the opening of the Aptos Community Garden, and I knew it was a perfect fit. I had a lot of fun with my out of control tomato and flower seedling experiments, but I was definitely ready to step up to something new, but even after exploring many options, still hadn’t found a suitable one.
I was accepted into the garden and received a few calls where I asked some short questions, but overall showed up on opening day pretty clueless.
Grand Opening
I’m not the most social person, and I was nervous about what to bring to the potluck and how many people might be there. It’s also part of a church community giveback project, and I am not a member of the church, so I was worried if I would fit in. I also hadn’t picked out my plot yet, and wasn’t sure how that was going to go. There was a ton of initial anxiety! That was gone when I walked through the fence. My fear turned into pure excitement right after I handed over my check, and walked into the crowds buzzing about.
Still just a dusty, dirty field of sub-divided sections, some people ate snacks, while others jumped into planting or looked for advice from the Master Gardener’s there for the day. I elected to do all of the above! There were young couples and families starting their first gardens, and super friendly pros willing to answer questions with smiles, and I knew I wasn’t in this alone. I put my homemade lemonade on the table, mingled my way around, and eventually found myself the proud tender of plot #33. On my application, I had originally said that I only wanted about 50 square feet of space, because that seemed like so much. Plot #33 was about 72 sq. ft. and that seemed perfect, (though I realized how quickly I was going to fill it and need more!)
Gophers!
When the initial announcements were made, the largest red flag thrown up about GOPHERS with a general "ask someone" warning. I read the literature they had on the table, and asked a couple of people standing next to me, but was still feeling skeptical and scared about making any decisions before locking this down. I knew that there was no way I could kill anything, or dispose of a dead something, and I wasn’t sure about the weird devices to keep them away, or having to dig up my whole plot to put rolls of wire down. I did know that there were some gardeners on the other side of everything happily setting about doing something that looked knowledgeable. I shyly walked over and asked what they had decided on, and they pointed me in the direction of single plant gopher cages, and I observed how they assembled and planted them in the ground and that seemed cheap and easy enough to protect what was looking to be some hard work. I would be so sad to lose stuff, so I wanted to make sure I was starting off preventative.
Initial Planning & Planting
I had done a fair amount of reading before I arrived the day of the Grand Opening, but I certainly didn’t have any of that handy, or clear enough in my head to apply it. I really wanted to get planting though, and I didn’t want to just put in my few little starters, I wanted to dive in and to even plant those, I needed gopher deterrents. (The starters were generously donated by Surf City Growers.) So I decided that there was an Orchard Supply a few minutes down the freeway by my work, and set out to go get some basic supplies. While I’m going to document what I bought to prepare in another post, I’ll just share here that I came back with a garden in my trunk – including a ton of gopher cages to protect it all. I was definitely excited.
I spent the next several hours getting started digging holes, cutting my arms assembling wire contraptions and sticking things in the ground with a hope and a prayer. In some ways I’m regretful there wasn’t more planning that went into that first day, since I’ve learned so much in the last two months, but overall I’m pleased that I took the initiative and just dove in, and I think that is what has kept my momentum so high.
Top of Garden Day 1
Keeping track of things.
I decided immediately to keep all of the tags that came with my plants and keep the notes on things I learned and compiled from all of my books in one place so I could easily track the progress and issues on a plant by plant basis. Also in my journal, I drew a chart of my garden so I could remember what I planted where…but quickly found that either I was just so attached and paying a lot of attention, or things just grew quick enough, but didn’t really need the chart, though it is still nice to have.
I had to make some rules for myself and I have to revisit them frequently. It’s only a dirt square in a field. Things are going to go wrong. There are going to be casualties and possible sacrifices. This is my first time and there will be a learning curve. The worst case scenario was I tear the whole thing down, or tear everything up and start over. (There was a quick step up from worst case “I’m going to do so bad, I ruin it for everyone” because I realized the first day there were as many people who knew as little as me or less. There was no way I was going to mess up THAT bad, and the recurring theme was that I wasn’t in it alone.)
I realized quickly that learning was on a rolling cycle, and there would as be an ever growing list of “things I’ll do different next time.” My first example came the week before I got the garden. I planted Rosemary and Basil in the same herb pot at my boyfriend’s house, but weeks later when I went to plant my own garden, I knew that was a bad call and kept them separated. After reading this great wikipedia article about companion planting, I also ended up moving my Sage away from the Basil after going home after the first day. (Sadly, the Rosemary in the boyfriend's pots withered while the Basil thrived.)
This is going to be an adventure. I must have patience with myself and with the process. I think this is going to be a really amazing thing in my life. I hope that you enjoy reading along with my adventures, and I look forward to learning and passing on the information as I go.
Thanks for reading! Are you a gardener? Have you always wanted to garden? Do you have any hot gardening tips? Please feel free to comment and share. I'm a gardening information sponge right now, and I'm looking forward to soaking up all this experience has to offer. One of the most appealing things about all of this was the community aspect, and it's stayed the course as one of the driving forces to my frequent visits to the garden. Share your thoughts and experiences please!
6 months ago, I had grown a tomato plant on my deck and made a few seeds flower in pots. This year, I decided I wanted more, and I've already shown that I think there will be anything but defeat. Let's see what happens!
Introduction
The first few entries here are going to be a combination of my journal notes and reflections on those notes and experiences to quickly get everything down and up to date.
I want to start off by expressing a deep appreciation for the space and chance to do this. I can’t believe how this landed in my lap. Weeks after wishing there was a space in a local community garden, here I was faxing in my letter begging for one in a new project. The Santa Cruz Sentinel had run an article on the opening of the Aptos Community Garden, and I knew it was a perfect fit. I had a lot of fun with my out of control tomato and flower seedling experiments, but I was definitely ready to step up to something new, but even after exploring many options, still hadn’t found a suitable one.
I was accepted into the garden and received a few calls where I asked some short questions, but overall showed up on opening day pretty clueless.
Grand Opening
I’m not the most social person, and I was nervous about what to bring to the potluck and how many people might be there. It’s also part of a church community giveback project, and I am not a member of the church, so I was worried if I would fit in. I also hadn’t picked out my plot yet, and wasn’t sure how that was going to go. There was a ton of initial anxiety! That was gone when I walked through the fence. My fear turned into pure excitement right after I handed over my check, and walked into the crowds buzzing about.
Still just a dusty, dirty field of sub-divided sections, some people ate snacks, while others jumped into planting or looked for advice from the Master Gardener’s there for the day. I elected to do all of the above! There were young couples and families starting their first gardens, and super friendly pros willing to answer questions with smiles, and I knew I wasn’t in this alone. I put my homemade lemonade on the table, mingled my way around, and eventually found myself the proud tender of plot #33. On my application, I had originally said that I only wanted about 50 square feet of space, because that seemed like so much. Plot #33 was about 72 sq. ft. and that seemed perfect, (though I realized how quickly I was going to fill it and need more!)
Gophers!
When the initial announcements were made, the largest red flag thrown up about GOPHERS with a general "ask someone" warning. I read the literature they had on the table, and asked a couple of people standing next to me, but was still feeling skeptical and scared about making any decisions before locking this down. I knew that there was no way I could kill anything, or dispose of a dead something, and I wasn’t sure about the weird devices to keep them away, or having to dig up my whole plot to put rolls of wire down. I did know that there were some gardeners on the other side of everything happily setting about doing something that looked knowledgeable. I shyly walked over and asked what they had decided on, and they pointed me in the direction of single plant gopher cages, and I observed how they assembled and planted them in the ground and that seemed cheap and easy enough to protect what was looking to be some hard work. I would be so sad to lose stuff, so I wanted to make sure I was starting off preventative.
Initial Planning & Planting
I had done a fair amount of reading before I arrived the day of the Grand Opening, but I certainly didn’t have any of that handy, or clear enough in my head to apply it. I really wanted to get planting though, and I didn’t want to just put in my few little starters, I wanted to dive in and to even plant those, I needed gopher deterrents. (The starters were generously donated by Surf City Growers.) So I decided that there was an Orchard Supply a few minutes down the freeway by my work, and set out to go get some basic supplies. While I’m going to document what I bought to prepare in another post, I’ll just share here that I came back with a garden in my trunk – including a ton of gopher cages to protect it all. I was definitely excited.
I spent the next several hours getting started digging holes, cutting my arms assembling wire contraptions and sticking things in the ground with a hope and a prayer. In some ways I’m regretful there wasn’t more planning that went into that first day, since I’ve learned so much in the last two months, but overall I’m pleased that I took the initiative and just dove in, and I think that is what has kept my momentum so high.
Top of Garden Day 1
Keeping track of things.
I decided immediately to keep all of the tags that came with my plants and keep the notes on things I learned and compiled from all of my books in one place so I could easily track the progress and issues on a plant by plant basis. Also in my journal, I drew a chart of my garden so I could remember what I planted where…but quickly found that either I was just so attached and paying a lot of attention, or things just grew quick enough, but didn’t really need the chart, though it is still nice to have.
I had to make some rules for myself and I have to revisit them frequently. It’s only a dirt square in a field. Things are going to go wrong. There are going to be casualties and possible sacrifices. This is my first time and there will be a learning curve. The worst case scenario was I tear the whole thing down, or tear everything up and start over. (There was a quick step up from worst case “I’m going to do so bad, I ruin it for everyone” because I realized the first day there were as many people who knew as little as me or less. There was no way I was going to mess up THAT bad, and the recurring theme was that I wasn’t in it alone.)
I realized quickly that learning was on a rolling cycle, and there would as be an ever growing list of “things I’ll do different next time.” My first example came the week before I got the garden. I planted Rosemary and Basil in the same herb pot at my boyfriend’s house, but weeks later when I went to plant my own garden, I knew that was a bad call and kept them separated. After reading this great wikipedia article about companion planting, I also ended up moving my Sage away from the Basil after going home after the first day. (Sadly, the Rosemary in the boyfriend's pots withered while the Basil thrived.)
This is going to be an adventure. I must have patience with myself and with the process. I think this is going to be a really amazing thing in my life. I hope that you enjoy reading along with my adventures, and I look forward to learning and passing on the information as I go.
Thanks for reading! Are you a gardener? Have you always wanted to garden? Do you have any hot gardening tips? Please feel free to comment and share. I'm a gardening information sponge right now, and I'm looking forward to soaking up all this experience has to offer. One of the most appealing things about all of this was the community aspect, and it's stayed the course as one of the driving forces to my frequent visits to the garden. Share your thoughts and experiences please!
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