The Reveal....

Peace!

My surprise is….. I’m starting a veggie garden. A big one. And in my front yard!

I have through the years gone back and forth with gardening. I have planted here and there. I know enough to get a little something from the little something I plant. But I never had the perfect place to put in a REAL garden. And I still don’t. I have decided to screw perfect and work with the here and now.

The property I live on has no real backyard. It’s mostly side yards and front. The backyard has NO grass at all. And there are so many pine trees that the straw is all that’s back there. I don’t go back there. There is no reason to. I was thinking about getting some chickens and keeping them back there. I am allowed to keep 4 chickens. But that still requires some more thought. Keeping chickens will effectively keep me form going on vacation. Who will want to sit them?
This is my backyard.

But the front yard is full and gets lots of sun. I mean a lot. That is saying something because I swear I live in a jungle. When we moved there last year, I was looking for a place last winter. I had no idea when those trees fleshed out I’d feel like I was living in the bush…. Only my front yard gets a consistent 8 hours of sunlight daily. I did my homework and found that it was perfectly legal to put a veggie garden in the front yard in my neighborhood. I think it’s shady that folks can’t do what they want with the property they pay and are responsible for. But you must get along with your neighbors…..
This is the front yard, where the garden will be.


And this is the side yard. I must get the God to rake BEFORE I get planting.

So here is my line up….
1. Cucumbers: 2 kinds, lemon and regular green (I forget the name)
2. Peppers: Hot fish (this is a traditional African American variety from Baltimore)
Chocolate Sweet bell
3. Corn: some hybrid. I never grew corn before. I’m not going crazy over a crop that might not make it. If I get it right, next year I will grow non GMO. At least this year’s will be organic
4. Beans: Kentucky wonders I wanted purple velour variety, but I forgot to order it and wasn’t going to incur fresh s&h for them so I got the KW’s. My grandmother and aunt used to grow these.
5. Black Eyes Peas: self explanatory
6. Squash: I forget the variety. But it’s a small fruit because I’m employing the “3 sisters” planting method and I don’t want big ole squash fruits. Besides, I don’t like squash
7. Zucchini: I don’t like the taste of zucchini but I use it in a lot of recipes. Maybe I can use the squash too
8. Tomatoes: Black Cherry cherry tomatoes and Purple Cherokee
9. Bib lettuce: my absolute favorite
10. Brussel Sprouts: never grew these before. Recently found that I liked them. The pack was on sale so I was like… why not?
11. Peanuts.
12 Maybe some asparagus. It is so expensive in the store. Why not grow it

That’s a lot isn’t it? I’m being super ambitions, I know. It has been my experience that you gotta sometimes just throw yourself into thick of things and figure it out as you go. Most of those things I have grown before, so I feel comfortable. But it’s the scale in which I’m growing that I am iffy about.

More to come…..!


Peace