Garden Spot

Spent today putting in a garden. We decided to put it in the dog run, which the dogs never use but which has some great attributes for a garden spot. It has a yard that is enclosed by chain link fence, and a concrete slab for a potting station and container gardening. The whole thing can be closed, preventing my crazy vegetable loving dogs from eating all the produce!

Here's the blank canvas!




We noticed, however, that water stands in the dog run yard for days after a good rain. So we added three bags of sand and six bags of rose soil (dirt, crap and humus). Cary bought a tiller extension for our gas powered Ryobi weed eater, and he tilled everything up to mix everything up. I'm not sure it went deep enough, but I read that it's better if it doesn't so you don't chop up all the worms. I also read, after we had finished, that ideally in Houston you use a raised bed. Ooops! So this year will be an experiment and if necessary we can make it raised bed next year. It will be pretty easy, because the fence is sunk in concrete all the way around and we can just plop the railroad ties on top of it and dump in a load of dirt.


This is the potting station, complete with a chair for one tired woman. We'll have containers of strawberries (Ashley's), a tomato and a pepper, and I'm hoping to add a Rubbermaid storage cabinet to hold my tools, gloves, plant food, etc.

I planted beans along the chain link so they can climb, and some sugar snap peas in the shady spot, although since I have read that they are really a cool weather crop. Next year I think I'll read up on everything BEFORE I do it! I have tomatoes, cucumber, bell peppers, an eggplant, a row of okra, and I've planted rows of lettuce, bib lettuce and spinach from seed. Also a row of green onions from seed. I think we'll have quite the crop of weeds too!



Between the dog run and the fence is a spot where I'm going to plant summer squash.

If it's like everything else in our yard, our garden will grow like wild!