Our little site ... messy but fun...

Hey there! I just wanted to share a few pictures of our little site. It's now spring, and I am just starting to get some planting done. I hope this post is in the right place. I am pretty new here.  For context, we live on a 3/4 acre in a forest. I did post a long post last year and received so many great replies, so I wanted to share an update from last year.  I s

Here goes: (I hope my image uploads work here. These are my first upload to this forum.)

Note: I tried uploading a few images, but it said my comment was too large. I wonder what the image limits are for uploading? I am trying again with two images and will see if that works.

Progress, what are the plans?

Shari it looks great.  The raised beds are awesome. I've never seen any like them. Are they metal?  Thanks for sharing.

John C Daley wrote:Progress, what are the plans?

John, right now, I am trying to find as many places to plant in the yard as possible, and it feels like we have far too many plants compared to yard space. We have three large hugel mounds (two of them shown in the first picture) and I want get those planted up. I am still trying to figure out what to plant where exactly. We have a similar hugel mound in the back of the house, too.

I don't have "plans" as much as just trying it and hoping it all works out. I have 21 tomatoes planted out and need to find room for about ten more. We did a hugelkulture-style filling of the red raised beds by putting logs on the bottom layers, then a layer of branches, and then leaves and soil on top, with compost dug in. We are planning on filling the other side with the same and then planting cucumbers, peas, and squash in those. I want to figure out a way to put a trellis in between the two sets of raised beds. The cattle paneling is very expensive, and so want to figure out a different way of doing it. We have a lot of poplar trees cut down (they grow like weeds), and I used them to make the arch on the first picture. I am wondering if my husband can make some trellises with the branches that are more sturdy than the arches I made on the first picture.

I have planted radishes, carrots and onions but haven't seen results yet from the carrots and radishes. Lots of weeds everywhere!

I want to plant potatoes in cardboard boxes in the back of the yard (with dirt and wood chips) and try to fill in a lot of our swampy area with cut-down weeds, leaves, and wood chips we have left from last year. We got a load of wood chips last year and need to find another source for it this year.

I also have about 12 eggplants, maybe eight pepper plants, and about four trays of brassicas I need to find room for, too. I am also trying to find space to plant some perennial flowers so that I can stop relying on annual flowers. I am thinking I will try planting some cosmos flowers that have been growing inside among the weeds in the side yard and hoping they can overtake the weeds. The deck is now loaded with plants that I need to find room for.

Jen Fulkerson wrote:Shari it looks great.  The raised beds are awesome. I've never seen any like them. Are they metal?  Thanks for sharing.

Thanks so much, Jen! It's definitely a work in progress. We repurposed the beds and I painted them red with non-toxic spray paint. They are filled hugelkulture-style and are plastic material.

If you like the cattle panel arches, I think you could use a less expensive wire fencing, especially if you used the wood you have as the frame.  I always liked the teepee style trellis, they always look great with veggie, and or flowers growing on them.   If you want an arch you could still do it teepee style only have one piece of wood in one bed, and the other in the one across, and connect them in the center. I bet that would look neat. My first trellis were a t post on each side and two pieces of 3' fencing wired together. They didn't cost me anything because it was just stuff we had, and work great. I still have one, and only replaced them because I saw the cattle panel trellis on YouTube, and said I wanted to do that someday. My son got me two for my birthday that year.  I also watched the YouTube video I will attempt to share with you. I think you could modify what he makes with your own wood. It would be easy to add the twine to the top, and I think it would be fine as long as you use it for peas, or bean. Probably not strong enough for squash.  
Can't wait to see what you come up with. Have fun.
https://youtu.be/Elbuo3bAi5w

Jen, thanks so much! I actually took your idea of the teepee design and we started building the trellises today. Cattle panels here are at least $80 or more, and I loved your idea of using what we have. So, here are some pictures of the garden and trellises with today's updates. They are not secured at the top yet but they will be with twine, so they will be a lot more straight.  

I hope it's okay to use this thread to update the garden and projects as I go. Today, I got in eight celery plants (bought from the local garden centre, eight more tomatoes in a hugel mound, six cabbages and some more marigolds.

Shari your trellis is already looking great. I hope you keep posting your pictures, it will be fun to see it covered.  It's more special than cattle panels because it came from your property.
80$ wow that's way too much!  I felt they were more than I could justify at I can't remember but it was around 30$. The only reason I got the ones I have is because my son bought them for me for my birthday.  
I enjoy your post happy gardening

Jen Fulkerson wrote:Shari your trellis is already looking great. I hope you keep posting your pictures, it will be fun to see it covered.  It's more special than cattle panels because it came from your property.
80$ wow that's way too much!  I felt they were more than I could justify at I can't remember but it was around 30$. The only reason I got the ones I have is because my son bought them for me for my birthday.  
I enjoy your post happy gardening

Your son must know you well! What a lovely birthday present and practical, too.

Some more pictures from the garden tonight. I hope it's okay to use this thread to document the garden's growth. I didn't realize too late that the project thread is where these types of posts are supposed to go.

This week, I have put some more plants out and just tried to clean up the whole yard. We now have a whole trailer-full of garbage for a dump run. Some things have been growing steadily, like the tomatoes, while others haven't been faring as well, like the brassicas. I am trying to spend a bit of time in the morning before work and some time after work. I still have quite a few plants to find places for but they seem to be surviving on the deck for now waiting patiently for their new homes.

A few more pictures. (Sorry to have so many posts but the site won't let me post very many pictures on one post. I guess my images are too large?

Oh goodness, now I see. When you said in the forest ...you meant IN the forest.

Probably dealing with a significant root mat too.

good progress though considering.

Don't work to hard.

Will Wit wrote:Oh goodness, now I see. When you said in the forest ...you meant IN the forest.

Probably dealing with a significant root mat too.

good progress though considering.

Don't work to hard.

Thanks, Wilt! Yes, we are in a literal forest. I am not familiar with the term, root mat, but I looked it up. I don't know if we have that or not. It has been a challenge but just taking small steps to improve and work on it.

Shari Clark wrote:I am not familiar with the term, root mat, but I looked it up. I don't know if we have that or not. It has been a challenge but just taking small steps to improve and work on it.

More commonly referred to as the "root zone"
It's all the roots right below the surface, over time all the roots from all the plants trees everything form a "mat".  It can be anywhere from less than an inch to 5-6-7+ inches thick Depends on the variety of all plant life in the area and can vary across any given area depending on the soil density and nutrient layer and the plant or trees ability to penetrate the soil. Normally tress and plants  roots only travel however far they need to satisfy the water and available nutrients they need to thrive. If there is competition their roots will have to go farther and deeper for nutrients and water to "thrive" if they can at all. Some die some live, sunlight plays a role... many factors in an ecosystem from below ground to the top of the trees (canopy).

If your husband is digging and he gets beneath the "root mat" it will stop him from picking the shovel straight up to get "a good scoop". and if one side of the "root mat" breaks it will fold over to one side as he pulls the scoop up. It's a pain to dig through. Usually there will be a clear defining layer of the "root mat", below it will usually be fairly free of roots.

The answer to your question," if you have it."
Oh yes, you have it. It's most likely part of the challenge. Another way to understand "root mat".. More commonly referred to as the "Root Zone" If there's grass, weeds or any form of vegetation life there will be a root mat, thick or thin, weak or strong, from few to "oh so many roots" ---- Root Mat aka. Root Zone but with a ton of roots =)

Will Wit wrote:
More commonly referred to as the "root zone"

It's all the roots right below the surface, over time all the roots from all the plants trees everything form a "mat".  It can be anywhere from less than an inch to 5-6-7+ inches thick Depends on the variety of all plant life in the area and can vary across any given area depending on the soil density and nutrient layer and the plant or trees ability to penetrate the soil. Normally tress and plants  roots only travel however far they need to satisfy the water and available nutrients they need to thrive. If there is competition their roots will have to go farther and deeper for nutrients and water to "thrive" if they can at all. Some die some live, sunlight plays a role... many factors in an ecosystem from below ground to the top of the trees (canopy).

The answer to your question," if you have it."

Oh yes, you have it. It's most likely part of the challenge. Another way to understand "root mat".. More commonly referred to as the "Root Zone" If there's grass, weeds or any form of vegetation life there will be a root mat, thick or thin, weak or strong, from few to "oh so many roots" ---- Root Mat aka. Root Zone but with a ton of roots =)

Thanks so much, Will. That was extremely helpful. After you had shared that, I dug out an area around a stump to make a flower bed about 12 inches out,  and noticed that the top three inches or so seemed to be like sod. I am assuming that must the "root mat" of which you speak. I removed that soil, threw into the woods behind the garden and the dirt under it was weed-free, at least so far. I think that explains a lot about why we haven't been able to get rid of the weeds, even around and in the hugel mounds.

I wanted to post a bit more progress from the last couple of weeks. This is my "project thread," even though it's not in the project section.

Today, I pruned back some of the trees which are at the edge of the area designated as garden. These tree branches were blocking access to the path we put around the hugel mound put up in the fall and were a complete mess. This was my first "tree pruning" and it felt good to learn how to do it! My husband borrowed a pruner from work (he works in public works), and I watched some "how-to" videos on Youtube on how to prune trees. It probably sounds so simplistic to someone who's experienced in landcare but for this long-time city-girl who's getting back to her rural roots, it was so exciting to take care of our trees and try to make room for everyone.

Last week, I put in a flower garden of Zinnias and Cosmos from inside under grow lights. I want this to be the visual centerpiece of the garden in the back, with woodchips in between. To make room for the flowers around the stump, I removed the "root mat," a term I learned from @Walt Wit.

The tomatoes are getting tall and I have just been using whatever trellis materials I have on hand from previous years, including bamboo sticks and dry branches from felled saplings.

I have experimented a bit, too, planting celery with hostas in one hugel mound in the front yard, and with the giant marigolds in the hugel mounds in the back. We have tons of bees and other insects. I am also considering keeping an area of the property exclusively for nettles, being inspired by the people who say they grow nettles "on purpose."

Next to do: I still need to find a spot to put the boxes to grow potatoes and plant them, to plant my winter sowing plants out (veges and flowers) mostly on the deck, in Rubbermaid containers, and get a few more flowers on clearance once they all go on sale. We also need to desperately clean up the deck, paint it, and find a place on the deck to erect the greenhouse that we bought from Amazon. We also need to find one more woodchip dump to make paths in between the different beds.

Here is the celery with hostas. They seem to be doing okay in the shade, even though they are not supposed to be shade plants. I've never grown celery before, so I am having fun just experimenting.

Looking great Shari, thanks for sharing.

It's been a month since I shared our little place and I just wanted to give some photo updates.

The growth has been absolutely incredible, and I love looking at it every morning. I have never been a gardener, and it's one big glorious experiment. Quite honestly, In my twenties, I killed all my houseplants from neglect, so it is with pure wonder that I observe so many things flourishing. I am keenly aware that there is always room for improvement, but I thought when we first moved here that you couldn't grow a vegetable garden in the forest. To me, this was a place to shoot beautiful photographs, not produce food. Please excuse my waxing poetic, but I am so emotionally moved by this experience.  

My first foray into gardening here five years ago was three tomato plants on the deck, which never produced anything but flowers. The whole backyard was a wasteland of huge, scary weeds that grew up to six feet tall. We are in the middle of a forest and I was completely intimidated and gardening seemed like a far-off fantasy. We tried planting directly in the ground three years ago, and gave up because we couldn't tell the weeds from the vegetables.

A neighbour, who has been my gardening mentor first suggested hugelkulture and I haven't looked back. It has been the hugel mounds that made all the difference in creating a place for planting. In a forest, there is an abundance of extra trees and we now have six mounds. Three are used for flowers, and three are for veges. The vegetable mounds are long and skinny, so to speak, but that's what seemed to work in the space. For next year, I would like to have at least one more hugel mound, if not more. We will make them in the fall for the following spring. We also were able to source four huge containers (I think they are 5 feet by 4 feet and 4 feet high) which has helped tremendously. We filled them up hugel-style, too.

Last year, I wrote my first post to permies and was overwhelmed by the wisdom received. That first post, with the accompanying advice, taught me so much and have me hope to keep going when it felt impossible.  I have also learned so much this year, from posting so many questions and receiving so many good answers and encouragement. I attribute much of my growth as a gardener to this permies place. Thank you to each person that has helped this neophyte out! This year, we have 28 tomato plants, cucumbers, eggplants, zucchini, summer squash, carrots, onions, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, peppers, celery, thyme, dill, oregano and stevia. (plus all the stinging nettle, plantain and other various "weeds.)

My first post was here: first post


Here we go...The photos are in random order.

Sheri everything looks amazing you must be so happy with your results.
As far as improving your trellis, did you connect them horizontally?  If you are growing bines then you are fine to leave it with only vertical poles because a bine twists around and around. If you are growing vines,( the ones with the little curly cues that grab on) they need horizontal  as well. You can bind branches, or use some kind of twine. It doesn't have to be complicated, or expensive to be very effective.
Thanks for the update, everything looks beautiful.

Jen Fulkerson wrote:Sheri everything looks amazing you must be so happy with your results.

As far as improving your trellis, did you connect them horizontally?  If you are growing bines then you are fine to leave it with only vertical poles because a bine twists around and around. If you are growing vines,( the ones with the little curly cues that grab on) they need horizontal  as well. You can bind branches, or use some kind of twine. It doesn't have to be complicated, or expensive to be very effective.
Thanks for the update, everything looks beautiful.

Thank you so much, Jen! I am so excited about it because it's all new to me. I appreciate your encouragement so much. Regarding the trellis, yes, I did do horizontal with twine and it is working okay.  The issue for these trellises is that they are not big enough for what I am planting there, especially the cucumbers. It needs to be bigger across, considering the size of the plants. So, I need to either make the trellis bigger or plant less there to climb it. The issue with the trellis being bigger (wider) is that it doesn't leave room to get in there to do the watering, etc. So, I am not sure how I will solve that but I still really like these trellises and love the idea (from you) of using sticks from around the property.

I just wanted to post some updated few pictures from my garden this year. It's been a very wet year, and half of my paths are underwater right now. Things are still growing but we are in need of lots of sun. This is our backyard, which is located right in a forest.