I read about Mel Bartholomew’s Square Foot Gardening many years ago and thought the planting process was interesting so of course I had to give it a try. Quite a few of the planting principles were ones I had picked up on my own Mel’s process was just more involved and planned out. I particularly liked growing squash and tomatoes vertical, as this is what took up most of my space.

My first gardens were very successful although it took a bit of practice to plan the succession planting or using garden space several times during a growing season.  I also liked growing in raised bed gardens. The gardens were easier to mow around. I had fewer problems with rabbits and could cover any garden area easily with a shade cloth, net or plastic it the temperatures dropped. Water and weeding the garden was also easier.

Below is a you tube on Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. If you haven’t tried this form of gardening I recommend it.

I use Mel’s methods and a form of straw bale gardening. It’s just a process that works for me and cuts down on time spent working in the garden. It also saves on gardening space, a big plus for those with limited gardening room. And its perfect for apartments and urban gardening. I like to garden but I also enjoy sitting and enjoying the gardens beauty!

Technorati Tags: organic gardening, raised bed gardening, Square Foot Gardening

My house sits in a hill and has a very unique and challenging front yard with rolling slopes. It’s beautiful when its mowed and the gardens are flowering.
photo credit: bobrpics

Another challenge is added where the house sits into the hill and I have to try to create easier landscaping and mowing.

What I did on the north side of the house was to dig more of the hill away and put in a rock wall and a tiered garden above that. I no longer have an extremely steep slope to mow and my garden area is close to the house.

The wall had to be put in properly so that it would handle frost and the ground expanding in the winter. I also have a drain out into the wall to prevent water drainage problems. On the very bottom of the rock wall I put in a rockwall planter, which I also wrapped around the foundation of the corner of the house. This added section linked the gardens with the house and created a larger looking and very inviting garden area.

A rockwall planter will add a lot of character to your yard and property. It’s easy to build and can be put in over a weekend if you have your materials ready to go. You can purchase the rocks or collect your own rocks to cut down on the cost of the project.

Building a Rockwall Planter.

First decide how you want your rockwall planter to be laid out. I use a garden hose to outline any new informal garden area I work with. A garden hose gives you the chance to lie out a shape and see if it’s visually pleasing and easy to work with.

Any garden or landscaping I add to the house is put in with the idea of being easy to maintain. Try various outlines for the rockwall and decided where you want to position the planter. After the decision has been made use lime or flour and sprinkle heavily where the house is to mark you pattern. 
photo credit: bartlomiej.malysz

Smooth the area where you are going to build the planter and tamp the soil into place. You will want to work about 12 inches into the outline. This is a very important step so take you time. This is the base of your planter and it need to be even and stable to hold rock firmly in place.

I used basketball-sized rocks for my wall. I was lucky and harvested them all from the creek in my back yard. If you don’t have many rocks you may need to purchase them. You can usually get them from your local hardware store or try a construction site. They may deliver them for free. If you have rocks brought to you have them unload them as close to you project as possible.

Separate the rock into three piles of small, medium and large rocks. To save strain on your back, stack the largest rocks closest to the planter. They will be the fist size you will be using. I also used a wheel barrel.

Start you wall by laying out the largest stones evenly along the line. Make sure the rocks are touching as you build your first row of the wall. It takes a little practice to get the rocks fit together tightly and to be stable. You may have to rearrange the rocks a few times to get the results you want.Work your way to the medium rocks then follow by using the small rocks. Make sure the wall does not exceed 18 inches high and feel secure and does not wobble.

Next attach a landscape fabric to the backside of the rockwall planter. This will prevent weeds from growing out of the planter. A black plastic tarp is best and you can find them in the gardening section at your hardware store. I put a drainage tile in the bottom of the planter by the section I had by my foundation wall. I wanted to make sure I had no water problems near my house.

Fill the bottom of the planter with rocks to aide in drainage and take up space so you don’t have to use so much soil. I used about nine inches of rock and topped with eight inches of soil. I watered the planted and let the soil settle. I added a little compost to the top of the planter and put in my plants.

I have had no problems with my planter and many comments. It just adds to the comfort of my back yard and solved some of my more difficult landscaping tasks.

Technorati Tags: creative gardening, landscaping, raised bed gardening, small space garden

One year I heard about planting in rectangular hay bales and of course I had to give it a try!

The reasoning for planting in hay was that it was like a raised garden and you could plant earlier with less work and no digging. The No Dig method is considered to be better for soil structure.
photo credit: JBColorado

I read that you needed to start with transplants. They suggested wetting the bale down very well a couple of times a day for several days. When you were ready to plant your transplants you would dig a hole in the bale and put in rich potting soil or compost.

So I decided to add a hay bale wall to my garden area and started dragging in hay bales. Of course the neighborhood was watching and wondering what the eccentric gardener was up to this time. I wet the bales down as suggested and added fish emulsion to the areas I knew I would be planting in.

I planted peppers, tomatoes, flowers and beans in the hay bales in different arrangements that were pleasing to the eye. Several bales I stacked creatively and planted ornamental gourds in those in such a way they would trail down the bales. This made a garden art piece that I could add accent pieces to for fun in the garden.

My accent pieces were old farm pieces, crocks and pottery pieces and later: mums and pumpkins.

My garden plants grew well. I think I had one of the larger tomato crops that year. And the gourds looked great cascading down the bales.

At the end of the year the bales were breaking down and I threw them in the compost pile.

I have used bales since, particularly for gourds, I just like the look and focal growing spot I can make using bales.

Another unique ideas I have heard of for hay bale planting is making a moss planter for plants (It’s a great look!) and a growing flowering plant wall.

One suggestion you may want to consider. Hay brings in more weeds. You will wanter older bales that have brokern down a little or go with straw bales. The straw bales do not have seeds.

Technorati Tags: creative gardening, gardening methods, hay bale gardening, raised bed gardening, straw bale gardening