Gardening for anal retentive personalities

I hate yard work! I really hated gardens. We had one for a few years and though it was nice to grow our own produce, the work was always a pain. I never had the right tools, enough time, or knowledge to do it right. Thank God Kathi is smarter then me and did the thinking. I was the mule. Digging, digging, and more digging. Our soil is all clay so it is very hard to grow anything in it. We had to haul in top soil and compost all the time. By the time we got the garden ready, I did not want to look at it anymore.

Well, lately Kathi and I have discussed options to live more basic and appreciate the simple things in life. Some of this comes from the water shortage/cost of gas and realizing how much we waste. It may also come from discussions at church. Whatever the reason, it has made us realize we should make an effort to be aware of the impact on the earth and community.

We decided to get a rain barrel and use it for all outside watering, so far it seems to work o.k. I miss the water pressure from the house, but in Durham water restrictions do not allow any out door water use.

Kathi also found a book at the library call "All New Square Foot Gardening".
She mentioned it to me and at the time I smiled and thought, how nice, but I aint gonna do all this work. Then I picked it up one night and could not put it down. It open a new world to me and had simple steps to follow. As I read the book, the lights went out. I found a flashlight and finished the book. I was hooked. This concept could enable communities and congragations an EASY way to work together and harvest food. The author has even taken the concept overseaes and trained communities how to do Square Foot Gardens in order for them to make a living.

The whole concept comes down to 4 by 4 foot squares and a special mix of peat moss, compost, and vermiculite. This soil is so rich and light, it is amazing. Since the soil goes into a box there is no weeding, ever..... Here is the magic mix and boxes we made. We also have a standard garden next to these boxes and plan to compare the success. So far Square Foot was easier to prepare and the amazing part, is how much you can grow in these small spaces. As we go through the season, I will keep you posted and place all pictures in the 2008 Garden album in our Kodak Photo Gallery.