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Summer Garden Time

We are thinking about a change, now that the weather is getting warmer.

This is what our back yard looks like now, sort of!
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The passionfruit used to be a vertical garden, but was initially a trial. Still acts like a wind break.
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This is for the dogs
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The fire pit has been replaced with an aluminium beer barrel that has become a fire place. It doesn't look much but it definitely puts out some heat.

We also have a gas patio heater, but will only get used when absolutely necessary.

The shaded area is at the rear of the house and covers a triangular area of 5m x 5m x 5m. Hence the white post you see.

There's not much else we can do as the easement for all the neighboring properties run inside our boundary, so we can't have anything permanent installed.
 
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Yeah, it's getting warm there now...I always forget that.

What grows up around your way? Or should I say....down your way?
 
You can get pretty much anything to grow as long as you pre-plan for it. The soil around our area is mostly clay based, so unless you pot the plants, or grow vegies in a raised plot, you have to go through the process of improving the quality of the soil so as to grow things. The more north you go, the more 'tropical' things will grow, but as we are in an area similar to Adelaide, we tend to stick with what we know will grow.
 
Never tried it but yeah, it's legit. I know some people at work who do it. I don't buy the 'no weeds' part. Anyone who has every tried to use hay or straw to mulch knows that they are FULL of weed seeds, so I'm skeptical about that aspect.
 
Right on, I think what weeds you do get could be tolerated. Especially with no tilling and whatever else ground work that's USUALLY done.
 
Def wanna try it, need to figure a detterent for the mooses though. Hate to have to kill one for stealing my tomatoes and peppers.
 
I think more people use hay bales for building houses rather than using them for gardens. We much prefer old tyres, both as a garden and retainer wall.
 
Tires huh, not a bad idea, if ya can get them cheap that is. I'm gonna grow something next yr even if it's only a few plants. Was thinking about a couple chickens too since we consume a lot of eggs.
 
The beauty of hay bales is that a) they are biodegradeable, b) they retain moisture if you live in an area that has periods of drought or gets very warm in the summer, and c) they drain so you don't end up with too much moisture in the soil (as could be a problem with something like tires). They are also very lightweight and easy to put in place. Just my 2 cents.
 
Nah Boone I'm leaning heavily towards that setup next spring. Hell I like the fact there's no digging, I don't own a tiller anyways. Just gotta figure out what's compatable with the hay vegetable wise.

Tomatoes & peppers top my list. Always wanted to have my own banana peppers, or even create a mutant pepper!
 
Megan and I put an offer in on this house. I low balled them, but it's been on the market for a while because of a few things we can fix. Anyway, this is the side yard. If we end up here, I envision fixing up and using these beds for some veggies.

Yard.jpeg
 
Been watching some DIY on greenhouses and do believe I've found one that suits. Pretty basic set up with pvc & minimal wood. Gonna go with hay bales in rows.

Is it weird to get excited for gardening?

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Nope. I've ordered all my seeds. I want to start plants now, but forcing myself to wait another 3-4 weeks.
 
You grow them in the house to get them started?
 
I do for tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, herbs


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Boone said:
The beauty of hay bales is that a) they are biodegradeable, b) they retain moisture if you live in an area that has periods of drought or gets very warm in the summer, and c) they drain so you don't end up with too much moisture in the soil (as could be a problem with something like tires). They are also very lightweight and easy to put in place. Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...

We live in an area that has a lot of uneven ground, and also just above flooding height, so the tyres help stabilise the ground. You can backfill them, creating a layered effect, and/or you can fill the tyres themselves and grow potatoes or any of the 'hidden' vegetables. Carrots are good to grow in them as well but you need the tyres at least two high. If you are not a fan of the colour black, you can paint what you see to match your existing grass, or whatever colour takes your fancy.
 
Win4us said:
Been watching some DIY on greenhouses and do believe I've found one that suits. Pretty basic set up with pvc & minimal wood. Gonna go with hay bales in rows.

Is it weird to get excited for gardening?

View attachment 3046
Click to expand...

We have two green houses, although they are of the generic kind that you buy from any gardening store, or in our case, ebay.

We substituted the outside plastic with shadecloth, and as we re-pot a lot of plants, we keep them in the greenhouse until they have settled in their new 'home', then carry them out (or use the trolley!) to their final resting place.

We have split our backyard in to two predominant spaces. One is grassed, for the dogs (and the original low spot; dig deep enough and you'll hit tyres!) whereas the human area is where the plants go, and we have put down stones so as to keep the grass to a minimum. Both areas are defined by a vertical garden, which at the moment is being utilised by a passionfruit vine, which also acts as a windbreak.

We also have that area decked out with concrete seats, around a firepit (an empty 9 gallon keg made in to an incinerator) as well as a gas powered heater. Works for us.
 
Boone said:
Nope. I've ordered all my seeds. I want to start plants now, but forcing myself to wait another 3-4 weeks.
Click to expand...

We got so used to veggies last year that we built an indoor garden this year. We have a large wire rack in our middle daughter's room (because she has a window with lots of light), and added a special light bulb from Amazon. We've been growing lettuce, Cilantro, Basil, Cucumbers, Melons and Rosemary.

It's been great. We should have started a little earlier in the Fall to minimize the gap between when our Farmer's Market ended and when our first crop was ready, but we'll get the timing down better this year.
 
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