Nikki's Projects

I have a couple of acres that I'd like to convert to a food forest, but for now, I'm focusing on 1/6 acre garden. I'm in South Carolina, along the border of zones 7/8.

In 2009, my husband tilled the garden spot to reduce our grocery bills. I had never gardened before, so I followed his lead. He had learned from his father and grandfather who followed conventional methods of frequent tilling, monocrop rows, and chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

We moved away for a couple of years after finding extensive mold damage in our home. My health problems from the mold meant the garden was rather neglected for a few years. I planted some things willy nilly as I received free plants from friends or at swaps, and I sowed annual veggies when I had moments of energy.

The benefit of not having the physical energy to garden meant much of my time was spent reading and watching gardening videos. So my garden has been organic since the 2nd year, and I've slowly been adding more permaculture and polyculture principles.

Other limitations have been my lack of funds and access to supplies. One effect of those unhealthy years was severe anxiety and panic attacks, to the point that I have agoraphobia. I can't simply go out to get what I need without panicking, and I'm unemployed because my job was making my mental and physical problems worse. (I'm getting better, but it's been a slow recovery with various setbacks.)

So this thread is for me to document what's going on with my garden this year, as I try to neglect it less, have a modicum of control over the weeds, and stick to a teensy tiny budget.

I finished putting up a piecemeal fence last month from free supplies. For 10 years, I shared the space with deer (planting extra for them), but they got aggressive and greedy last year and decimated nearly my entire garden. I've planted a plot for them a distance away, so hopefully that plus the fence means I will get some produce this year.

The photos are of one entrance, where I've done the most work this year. The arch was part of an old art project from my college days, and cucuzzi squash is planted at the base. There's also borage, soapwort, red clover, arugula, spinach, strawberries, yarrow, plantain, and salvia around there, along with a line of "weeds" at the fence line. A few yards past the entrance is a grouping with rose of Sharon, horehound, lamb's ear, white clover, bee balm, radishes and feverfew.

Love the arch! I'm also an artist and sculptor, and I appreciate art in the garden.

Good luck with your deer. We have black tailed deer here and they'll eat anything and everything. I don't suppose I blame them, since all those yummy veggies are, well, yummy, but I'm with you: I'd like some too. We went for a fence too, and so far, so good.

Hey Nikki!  I liked hearing about your projects and seeing the pictures.  I really liked that wooden arch. I think a lot of those annual plants are winter hardy in your zone,
I'm near the SC border in NC (union county) in Zone 7b,

You know, I totally understand not being able to do certain things because of similar limitations.  I really felt like you were saying that it takes more than what one or two people can handle. Have you ever thought about www.workaway.com or wwoof USA?
You can host other permaculture enthusiasts who will work for you.  
I have an affinity for community living and see a lot of benefits... in that it is the epitome of permaculture.  I think it's the answer to all societies ills ( of course, I'm an idealist)
But if I could... I'd come down there and help you 😊💕
Instagram Rana.Moore
storehouseherbs@gmail.com

proverb 15
"Better is a dinner of bitter herbs where love is
Than a feast of stalled ox with strife and hatred"

L Allen wrote:Love the arch! I'm also an artist and sculptor, and I appreciate art in the garden.

Good luck with your deer. We have black tailed deer here and they'll eat anything and everything. I don't suppose I blame them, since all those yummy veggies are, well, yummy, but I'm with you: I'd like some too. We went for a fence too, and so far, so good.

What kind of sculpture do you do? I do mostly 2D and am amazed by what people create in 3D.

I hope your fence continues to work! I don't know what kind of deer are here, but "anything and everything" is an apt description of their diet. I laugh at the lists of fruits/veggies that deer supposedly won't eat.

Rana Moore wrote:
You know, I totally understand not being able to do certain things because of similar limitations.  I really felt like you were saying that it takes more than what one or two people can handle. Have you ever thought about www.workaway.com or wwoof USA?
You can host other permaculture enthusiasts who will work for you.  
I have an affinity for community living and see a lot of benefits... in that it is the epitome of permaculture.  I think it's the answer to all societies ills ( of course, I'm an idealist)
But if I could... I'd come down there and help you 😊💕
Instagram Rana.Moore
storehouseherbs@gmail.com

proverb 15
"Better is a dinner of bitter herbs where love is
Than a feast of stalled ox with strife and hatred"

For awhile, I had panic attacks at the idea of having people over, so inviting helpers didn't cross my mind. I may need to consider it now, thanks! I love the concept of community living, of us really helping each other. I agree, it could solve so many issues. I'm embarrassed to say that I don't know many of my neighbors and am looking for ways to fix that.

The temperatures have been amazing lately! I've been harvesting radishes, asparagus, greens, sugar snap peas, rosemary, and thyme, and I'll pick red clover and elder flowers when there's a break in the rain.
I baked wood sorrel sugar cookies. They were good, but I think I'll add some lemon next time to brighten the flavor more.

A cold snap came through followed by lots of rain and wind. Many of the plants are a little yellow and slow growing, and a young pawpaw tree was blown over. The rains caused the fire ants to seek higher ground, so they've infiltrated my potato mounds and have killed a few of those plants.

The photo of lemon balm is shortly after the cold snap. It's on the edge of a small hugel bed, and the plant and hugel bed have been there for 5+ years. It's interesting that you can distinctly see the line of where the hugel ends. The part of the lemon balm on the hugel bed is taller and a darker green. The part off of the bed is yellow-green.

I planted the blueberry years ago, before I knew anything about soil pH or growing conditions. It's doing well, considering it was randomly plopped there and is rarely watered during droughts. It's shortly past the entrance posted above and is surrounded by plantain, red clover, strawberries, thyme, peppermint, and volunteer radishes.

My husband came home today with a truckload of free wood chips and said "happy anniversary." Best gift he could have gotten me!

I forgot about this thread! 2 weeks after my last post, I found out I was pregnant. Fatigue and all-day nausea hit shorty after that, and I wasn't handling the summer heat well. Postpartum recovery was also longer and harder than expected, so I gardened very little for a couple of years, mostly just venturing in to harvest asparagus and a few berries and herbs. A blueberry bush died after stress from a late frost and drought, and the strawberries died, maybe from a fungal infection. Other perennials appear to be holding on.

I'm ready to try again this year!

A new project! I'm doing a few things to deter deer from the garden, and one of those things is having an area planted for the deer. There is a nearly bare area under a few oak trees that has been consistently mowed down when anything tries to grow. I've asked my husband to avoid mowing it so I can work on it.

I'm leaving greenbrier and blackberries. So far, I've transplanted sedum and daylilies, both of which the deer regularly eat from my garden. I have plans to also transplant hosta. I've planted clover seeds and will plant other cover crops to improve the soil.

The deer frequently come through this area on their way to my garden, so I'm naming it "Deer Detour."

My husband thinks it's hilarious and says my approach with the sign is like "When all else fails, just try talking to the deer." I see the sign more as a reminder to him not to mow, but the name of the area also makes me smile.