Monday, June 15, 2009

Neighbor's garden

I wanted to show you guys this small garden done by my neighbor's in the back. That's some of my corn in the front, then the fence, then their corn. They took a small area about 12' long and tilled it. Then they placed black landscape fabric over it, weighted it down with some lumber, cut holes and planted a little corn and 6 tomato plants. It's doing well, the plants like the heat the fabric gives the soil and it acts as a mulch to keep it moist and keep weeds out. I think it's an excellent way to get some home grown food without a lot of work. It's perfect for people who don't really enjoy being out there. I won't tell them how much the snakes like that fabric too. Tons of snakes under there. Anyhow, I liked the idea for parts of the garden. I think I'll do it for my melon patch next year and save some weeding.

7 comments:

Nina said...

Looks very tidy. Snakes give me the willies. I've heard they're good to have in a garden because they keep some insects, larva, and even rodents at bay. They could also keep me at bay...

Unknown said...

Hey, it helps your corn too. I have heard that corn grows better in larger cluster because of some pollination business going on. So having your patch plus there's makes it a bigger bunch.

shmedelle said...

Hey, question for ya.
I am a first time planter here. With all the rain we have been getting pools of water surround the plants. The drainage in my yard sucks. Do you think it'll be a lost cause? Or, just wait and see? I got a black thumb.
How'd you get so good? Innate? Or years of experience/research?
The bugs won't even eat my garden!

gardenhoe said...

shmedelle, if it dries out in a few days, it shouldn't hurt anything. If it stands more than a week, I think it's pretty hard on the root systems. You'll know if plants start to keel over. Not much you can do.

Karla, I planted the corn really close and have lots of it grouped together. It seems to be growing great that way. I don't own a combine so I didn't see any need for the traditional rows. I'll keep posting on how it grows and produces.

shmedelle said...

K. Thanks, glad your felling better.

Anonymous said...

A few years ago I helped a neighbor clean his barn right before spring. He had stacks of hay in a corner that had not been moved in over a year. He made his way to the back of the barn and picked up a square bail, noticing that a long straw had gotten stuck in his shirt sleeve, he looked down to pull-it-out. Only the straw was a little foot long rattler that had been getting warm in the hay. He removed his shirt as fast as any sorority girl I've ever seen, and went home to change his shorts. The 3 barn cats all ran out of the way as he cussed them all for useless on his way home.

Pat said...

LOL @ fast as any sorority girl! Good story. We have Copperheads and Timber Rattlers, it's very rare to see them though. What we DO have that's icky is, Water Moccisins (sp?) otherwise known as the Cotton Mouth. They usually live near water, but, they'll get up in the yard when we have lots of rain. They're territorial and mean as hell.

It's funny, but, everytime I've hayed, I get stung by a Bumble Bee hiding in the bales..every freekin' time!