Remember that gorgeous garden we expanded and improved upon for three and a half years at our first home? Yeah, we hope the new owner loves it.

When we sold our first house we left all but four of the raised beds, our rain barrels and large storage tanks, and the chicken coop/run. So long remaining six raised beds (the nicest ones) and fully developed native plant/pollination garden. *Sigh* BUT on to bigger and better things, right?

We mapped out a rough idea of where we wanted the new garden to go: a space that has full sun for most of the day, is relatively level, and isn’t too great a distance from the house. We situated our water storage tanks and four raised beds after laying cardboard down to help with weed and grass control. Matt constructed compost bins from discarded cedar fencing he found on Craigslist so we could compost our food waste.

Since I was used to having so much more space, it was hard to narrow down the items I would plant for our first garden at the new house. I chose those that we eat the most: tomatoes, yellow and zucchini squash, green beans, and cucumbers.

I tried my hand at planting onions and leeks during the 2017 cool season (starting around February), along with kale and broccoli, which I planned to let flower in the Spring for the honeybees and other pollinators (they go crazy for the broccoli and kale flowers). I was pleasantly surprised with the onions and leeks and plan on growing them starting in February again next year.

We spent most of the winter of 2016-2017 planning our course of action for expanding the garden to its final size, which is approximately 50’x50′ (along the fence line). We covered the space with black plastic all winter to kill the grass (haha-I still pull grass runners…) and Matt borrowed a friend’s tiller to till up any remaining grass so we could pull it by hand. We also decided to install a prefabricated fence around the perimeter to keep pets out when we are working.

I won’t lie – there were moments that I thought we had lost our minds. The space seemed so big and there was so much prep work that I had blocked from my memory from starting our old garden that I lost motivation several times. I considered only completing half this season and expanding again next year and questioned how we would ever fill it up. Thankfully, Matt kept his eye on the prize and wouldn’t let me give up. (I believe his response to the suggestion of only doing half consisted of an eye roll, head shake, and “psshhhh….” as he turned to continue tilling.)

I finally committed to a design for the rows and center space after spending hours browsing Pinterest. (I will discuss my love/hate relationship with the beautiful things I am inspired by on Pinterest at a later date.) We decided to lay pavers as a center walkway from the front gate to the raised beds with a square raised bed in the center where we planted pollinator favorites like basil and Gregg’s mist flower. Matt added a small fountain to the center to complete the centerpiece. It adds ambiance and a water source for butterflies and bees. He did a great job placing the pavers and creating the center planter and was super patient with me when I changed my mind a million times.

I laid landscape cloth down all of the walkways and around the fence perimeter to decrease weeds and grass and we covered it with mulch. We added compost and garden soil to the soil that was tilled in the rows to build it up a bit for planting. Then, it was finally time to plant!

We decided to dedicate one of the raised beds to plant asparagus since it needs a permanent location. We can’t harvest until next year, but it has been growing/ferning nicely thus far. I cannot wait to harvest fresh asparagus in the backyard!  Our summer garden did really well until around mid- to late-June/early July – when Texas summers are too scorch-y for me to want to do anything in the yard and all the plants start to shrivel up. Happily, some of the crops, like the jalapenos and some tomatoes are still producing even now. I have already torn out most of the summer plants and all the crazy weeds that popped up, and re-planted our winter veggies.

 

It has taken a lot of work to get to this point, but I am so pleased that we stuck with it and finished all of the work (we still need to add two more fence panels and build one more raised bed to even out the layout, but these are minor items/extras, so I consider it finished). 🙂

Since we moved in we switched the three square storage tanks for one large 500 gallon cistern. It looks nicer and we drop a pump into it to pump rainwater for watering the garden. The same pump is used to pump collected rainwater from the various 55 gallon rain barrels we have around the house once they fill. This system has been a lifesaver because it really cuts down the time it takes us to water. We were also able to use our own compost this fall to amend the beds, which was a first for us. We didn’t have great luck composting in a closed bin at the old house (soldier fly larva makes both of us gag and they seemed to LOVE our old bin), but it has worked much better in the open system we are using here.

What has been the hardest part of starting your gardens and/or staying motivated? Do you have any tips or tricks that make your gardening easier or more efficient?