A dream-garden sprouts

I never had any other desire so strong,
and so like to covetousness,
as that one which I have had always,
that I might be master at last of a small house and a large Garden. 
Abraham Cowley,
The Garden







Among the few "must haves" that drove our quest for a mountain retreat was our desire for garden space. I think we're both frustrated farmers -- my husband because he actually grew up on a farm and even inherited one (that unfortunately he sold), and me because my father grew up on a farm and never really shed his love of country living.  My father imparted that love to me.

It should come as no surprise, then, that one of our first labors, even before the furniture got moved or the boxes got unpacked, was to draw-up our plans, gather our materials, and build our gardens. Even before closing, we were studying Mel Bartholomew's All New Square Foot Gardening and planting seeds in our dreams.  

I'm happy to report that after just two weeks, those dream seeds have sprouted and we have our garden underway: seven 4x4 raised beds for vegetables and flowers. 

Here's what it took to go from dream to reality:

• One copy of Bartholomew's All New Square Foot Gardening
• One 4x6 utility trailer
• Something like 100 trips to the Lowe's in Forest City
• Lumber, ground cloth, hardware, and power tools
• 20+ cubic feet of peat moss, 28 large bags of smelly compost, 20+ cubic feet of vermiculite
• a tarp, a shovel, a hoe
• formerly unused muscles
• several gallons of water to make up for several gallons of sweat
• tylenol
• aspercreme
• a good sense of humor  

In square foot gardening (SFG) the absolute hardest part is the DIRT!  Called "Mel's Mix" for obvious reasons, this dirt is handmade from peat moss, vermiculite, and compost in equal measure and is NOT dirt cheap. And when you're creating 7 4x4 gardens, it's not unweighty either. We did aplenty of lifting and toting those bales. Dumping the ingredients together. Mixing with hoe and shovel. Tossing back and forth in a big tarp. We were hot, tired, dirty, and grumpy.

A cool shower felt really good. Tylenol, aspercreme, and Wild Turkey cured the rest!


But when the weekend was over, we'd planted tomatoes, sweet peas, cucumbers, yellow squash, zucchini, string beans, red bell peppers, corn, onion, and marigolds.  Next weekend, we'll put in okra, greens, and some zinnias for color and cutting. If all goes well, we may master both the small house and the big garden.