Amy ([info]amyrtw) wrote,
@ 2009-02-09 16:33:00
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Current location:Blue couch
Current mood: chipper
Entry tags:garden

Everything's coming up jalapenos
So, it's summer (35C today... whew!) and I've been learning about gardens.  I'm a novice, but I feel that I'm learning pretty quickly.  I took a stroll home from town yesterday (2.5km or 1mile) and wandered through the Community Garden down the street.  It's a garden that is open to the community to either take part in or donate to and take away fruit, veggies and plants as they are available.  (Do we have this in the States?)  As I wandered, it occurred to me that in the last three years I've learned what just about every single plant they have in the garden is.  Apple trees, plums, lemons, silverbeet, spinach, carrot, broccoli, tomatoes, raspberries, strawberries, various lettuces, figs, herbs.  you name it there was heaps! 

Our garden is 100% ornamental, which doesn't suit either of us.  i.e.: we have 10+ rosebushes.  I'm in the process of re-landscaping our garden.  I've decided to get a professional in to help with the design since I'm aiming for an organic garden and he can help with companion planting.  Some people said it's money wasted since I could do this myself, but the way we look at it is: it's fast-tracking our garden to get it where we want it.  I can and will learn all this stuff, but I'm getting a leg up.  We're even considering chooks! (chickens)

I'm excited.  Since we moved I kept just a few of the plants I started at my old garden: tomatoes, habaneros, jalapenos, bell pepper, some herbs and a sad strawberry plant (which was THRIVING before moved.)  I've bought an old window to make a greenhouse from.  I've started a cold compost and have the worm bins going full steam!  It's coming along. 

My first jalapeno is just a week away.  I can taste the success already!


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[info]kvarko
2009-02-09 06:23 am UTC (link)
My mom grows a number of things behind her house, from tomatoes to horseradish. This month, they're renovating the landscape outside of the house -- they have always had water problems, and they recently discovered that there was a missing segment of pipe between the house and the street, which helps explain all the mold around the walls! -- so they're putting gravel and stone around the house, but they're putting in raised beds where my mom will plant all her stuff. She posted photos on Facebook and it looks really nice. The lemon tree is still there, don't worry :)

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[info]amyrtw
2009-02-09 07:45 pm UTC (link)
glad to hear the obligatory lemon tree is still there. That's interesting about the pipe. I suspect we might have similar problems here. It's an old house and the drain isn't connected on one side. Lots of things we need to look into.

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A Plethora
[info]snaxxx
2009-02-28 08:05 am UTC (link)
Yes, community gardens are pretty common, there's over a dozen right here in Austin, 2 that are quite old. Sunshine Community Gardens celebrates 30 years in 2009. There are also several CSAs in Central Texas, with my favorite being http://www.johnsonsbackyardgarden.com. I buy from their stand at the Triangle on Wednesdays sometimes, but more so from the Sunset Valley Farmers Market on Saturdays.

A great resource is http://www.edibleaustin.com, and they partnered with local restaurants and brewers (including our beer co-op) for events to raise money for http://www.youthlaunch.org/programs/urbanroots.php, a fabulous youth program teaching East Austin youth sustainable agriculture and healthy diets. I love their tomatoes when they are available at Wheatsville Co-op.

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