Hey, I’m so glad to see you’re back again. I made it back from my trek across Central America and if you really want to read about it, you can go to my personal blog.
It’s time to grab a cup of coffee sit back and let me take you on a tour of the Urban Backyard Garden Bio-intensive Vertical Raised Bed Growing Experiment. These pictures were all last fall when the warm weather of November was wafting across the land, and life was good. It did abruptly end when the subzero weather of December hit. Ah but that’s just a story to tell the Grandkids about some day.
So here’s my Urban ranch. Over on the left you can see Old Syc the Sycamore tree. He’s kind of the nuisance of the neighbor hood. He has big hand sized leaves that dribble off all fall and Winter. Because of the big leaves the slightest breeze will blow them all over the neighborhood which is good for me but everyone knows where they came from ’cause old Syc is the only Sycamore tree for miles around. On the right with only one branch showing is Elmer the Elm Tree. He’s always very nice and quiet and at the mention of frost he does a total leaf drop overnight. The Cedar Tree by the car goes by the name of CC short for Cecelia. She’s been trying to take over the drive way for years and I’ve had to keep her in check with an annual shearing. Let’s walk over to the left passed old Syc to the West side of the house. Watch your step now those leaves are a little slippery and lawn has some hidden holes.
There you can see the Iris are just about done for this year. There’s a good look at my wonderful rabbit sieve chain link fence. I just can’t believe that they can get through that fence without even breaking stride. On the left is my neighbor’s bush that blooms positively magnificent in the spring. Way in the back you will notice the neighbor’s wild Mulberry trees trying to climb over my fence and invade my yard. A branch lopping session every Spring keeps them in check. Mulberry trees grow just about where ever a bird poops in Nebraska. That’s about it for here, so let’s open the gate and walk around the corner and go into the back yard.
Here we have a view of the back sliding door steps. The left front we have what used to be a bird feeder pole but now only holds a rain gauge. A little farther down you will notice the patio which has become the staging area for all the projects in progress. On the right are the full sized Hostas. Way in the back by the fence is a bush of some sort that has the most glorious white little flowers with a wonderfull aroma in the spring. To the left of that is the beginning of the raised bed growing experiment area. On the right is a big 8-foot horse tank that will become a water feature someday. Oh yeah, and up the hill on the left by the fence is the composting area.
Here’s a little closer look at the expansion of the raised beds. The one on the right will be entirely Yukon Gold potatoes this year. I love potatoes and eat them almost every day.
I enjoyed the warm November weather and getting the beds hammered together. This bed that I’m working on will be the tomatoes and cucumbers. I took a neighborhood poll and discovered that most everyone liked tomatoes and cucumbers. The support will be the vertical part of the growing experiment.
All right it’s time to get everything squared up so the braces can be screwed on the support structure. One cordless screw driver (the best thing ever invented), a few screws, and 2-by-2s cut to dimension and by golly it ends up being a solid structure. Well, pretty solid. Would you believe a little bit solid? The next one I think I’ll use 2-by-4s and maybe try to make it portable.
So here’s the end product for this year. The bed over on the far left will contain the bell pepper plants and onions. Onions are one of my main ingredients in all that I cook. I think I see a lot of salsa on the horizon this fall. I can always find a community mission kitchen that loves to receive fresh vegetables when I can’t give any more away and get tired of canning.
There you have it, the Urban Backyard Garden Bio-intensive Vertical Raised Bed Growing Experiment in the nut shell. It’s definitely a work in progress and will get expanded again next year. I hope you all enjoyed your tour. See ya all next time, and be sure to leave a comment about what you think.