the garden

THE GARDEN
i have to have one i said
to my wife she as we were thinking about moving

i have to have a garden

its well
deep down in my soul
it must be genetic somehow
i can feel it oozing around deep inside

now my
country n garden
i had it after all those years
right where i wanted it

the soil was so rich that i could garden
just using my hands
i usually didnt use any garden tools when i planted things

this year
my spring garden planted as much for show as for produce
since
i knew we were going to sell the country n

we grew potatoes long eaten before we moved
we grew onions
the 1015 sweet yellow onions
that i have been known to eat like an appple
we grew garlic
we grew tomatoes and peppers
all producing well just as we were leaving
we gave most of it away

prime time that garden was

alas we left it though

i found this new spot
looks pretty dang barren doesnt it
its my job to inflict some improvement to the soil

the soil here at the garden is sandy clay like
rich with nutrition
its a dry climate drier than in the austin area
getting only half the rainfall the country n did

i chose this garden
this community garden
besides the fact my granddaughter will be attending a
nearby preschool
all gardening there has to be done organically
it also provides a site farther away from the coast
so it tends to be warmer and sunnier
it also provides free mulch and compost
paid for by doing volunteer work related to the garden
cleaning up
turning compost
volunteering with youth groups as they come through the garden
in fact their centrally located beds are adjacent to mine

excess produce from your garden and the central garden
is donated to food kitchens etc

so
this place has a real good feel to it
a vibe
that i like

ive never really gardened where i could interact
with other like minded souls
so far i have found it very refreshing
to speak their same language
like when my rainwater brother and i get together

i was reading something my mom had written about
her childhood
and
realized that gardening was an important part of her life
and
of course my dad always had a large garden
that we used to provide food for our large family

so that was what i was thinking this last week
as i started getting my 20 ft x 10 ft bed ready to plant

i spent time looking around at what was planted in others beds
talked with some gardeners
talked with folks at an organic seed place nearby
to find out sort of what needs to be planted now

it seems the basics of gardening is the same no matter
where you live
its when and what to plant that is different

compost
water
organic fertilzer is the lifeblood of all gardening
so
thats what i applied to my garden

choosing to not plant seeds since i would be in and out of
the area this summer
but
choosing plants
squash tomatoes peppers basil egg plant kale swiss chard
things that should do well to start

each plant planted into its own well which holds water

the soil is drier here
it more mediterranean like
so
water will be gradually added to increase the moisture in the soil
so
i dug trenches around my bed
dug one down the middle of my bed
filled it with mulch
i plan to use the first run shower water in these trenches
to increase the moisture overall in the bed
a method i used at the country n

here is my planted bed
ill add a lot more over time
so that all the garden space will be utilized

a new adventure
a new learning curve
has begun

the organicgreen doctor