Outdoor Square Foot Garden

I have been seriously gardening since last July.  At that point, I began bringing huge amounts of kitchen scraps home from a health food store deli, where I was a Chef. When I say huge, I mean it; Big black trash bags full of lettuce leaves, 3 gallon buckets of kitchen scraps, ALL ORGANIC!  Twas heaven!  I just threw the bags in the sun for a day or two, then poured the glop into the raised beds, along with organic dirt, some topsoil, perlite, peat moss, compost, coffee grounds.  Then I planted sweet potatoes and peppers.  The sweet potatoes didn’t do well, but when I put then in 1/2 barrels, they took off. 

Before going into the compost, I culled seeds, these pepper plants were the first thing to get planted.

Then I installed an outdoor solar shower, a compost bin, two rain barrels.  The wood all came from a friend who has a lawn business, all pallets or fencing I used as is, or taken apart.  Then I put up row covers.  Now it doesn’t require much work on a day to day basis. Except for hauling buckets of water from the rain barrels, and hauling it from inside to water trees and flowers.  Sigh!  I wish my landlord would let me set up a grey water system.  I tried.  Maybe it’s better for me to have to haul it. I am acutely reminded with every drop that I conserve that it is precious. We are all stewards of our earth.  It is inevitable that we all have to conserve.  To take on the challenge to commit to this degree seemed daunting, but I have found so much joy and satisfaction in it.  Isn’t it that way at anything you have to truly work at, develop discipline for? 

The funny thing is that as much as I love digging in the dirt, composting, gardening in general..  I have found that the hydro stuff inside is feeding me the most, it just thrives.  The tomatoes, planted at the same time, are three times as big and already producing inside in the grow box and in the deep water culture set up.  The water farm I turned into a hybrid set up grows my one strawberry plant. I need about three plants to feed me strawberries.   I’m getting one a week now…..