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Planning a garden

03/29/05 | by [mail] | Categories: family/personal
Sara and I are planning to plant a garden this spring. We borrowed my parents' copy of Square Foot Gardening and I've been looking over it. The first chapter talks about how common it is for people to get excited about a garden in the spring and then not really follow through. Maybe that's the case with us. Maybe I'm just responding to the warm weather in the same way my ascestors always have. But, I think we'll give it a try anyway. The square foot method looks like a good place to start.
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6 comments

If you want tomato or pepper plants, I’ll give you a couple.


heath [Visitor] • http://heath.brendoman.com• 03/29/05 @ 14:02

I might take you up on that once we get set up. I know you’re a master gardener, so I would love to hear any ideas or opinions you have for us. I might have some questions once we get started. You should also know that reading What Are People For? has made me much more interested in planting a garden. The chapter about food is especially good.


[Member]   • http://www.brendoman.com/• 03/29/05 @ 14:57

Not to be discouraging, but I have to testify to the potential for waning excitement over gardening. Though I don’t love tilling, I love planting and get a strange joy from watching the seedlings emerge from the ground. The first few fruits and vegetables are also exciting, and there is a great satisfaction in eating something you grew yourself. But I must admit that every year in August I tend to get sick of watering and weeding and removing bugs. Friends and neighbors get sick of me pawning off zucchini on them, and walk the other way when they see me coming…

I think you might have better luck than me if all three of you work on the garden. Maybe if one of you did the bulk of the work in the beginning of the season, the other of you could pick up the slack later in the summer when the first person starts wanting a break.

Either way, I wish you good luck and hope we can trade gardening advice. Since I’m only on my third try this year, I still have a lot to learn. I will say that I have always had good luck with zucchini, tomatoes, and basil. Basil especially tends to grow quickly and very easily, so it’s really satisfying for a new gardener…

I am curious about the “square foot” idea. How does that work?

–Erika :)


Erika [Visitor]• 03/29/05 @ 16:52

I meant to include this link with my post, but I guess I forgot: The author’s site has a pretty good description of what his method is. Basically you use squares instead of rows and you do it all in boxes that you build. It’s supposed to make it easier to manage and prevent you from planting too much (zucchini, anyone?). I want to start out small. Perhaps one 4′ x 4′ box with 16 different crops. That might make it easier to manage.


[Member]   • http://www.brendoman.com/• 03/29/05 @ 21:06

I tried that book. Got some nice peas, but the dog kept eating them off the vine. I still have in my mind that I might enjoy gardening one day. That’s why I keep the compost going. But right now I’m sticking to those crops that basically grow themselves with little help from me - perenial and annual flowers, strawberries and hops. Really, what else do you need?


[Member]   • 03/30/05 @ 09:02

our garden is flourishing. we’re thinking of expanding into livestock this season, it’s going so well.

what am i saying? there’s no spare soil in LA.


peter [Visitor]• 04/01/05 @ 13:31


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