More than1,000 people visit my Internet
Gardening page each month, and some ask about my personal garden. In
response, I'll post here a few photos of my 2006 garden. Each year the garden is
different. Past years are at the following pages:
Aerobic Garden 2005
Aerobic Garden 2004 (read here to learn why my garden is
"aerobic")
Aerobic Garden 2002-2003.
Here's a view looking uphill to the southeast as we stroll up to the garden. Our path takes us past the grape vines and the bluebird house (two successful families used it this year) and toward the rows of black raspberries and everbearing red raspberries.
| I had a wonderful crop of black raspberries this year. In this picture you can see one of the new canes that will produce berries next year poking up through the center of these ripening berries. Black raspberries do require several hours of pruning each year when grown in a small yard, but they are worth the effort. I planted one of these rows 26 years ago, and I take care to start some new plants each year through tip layering so the bed is constantly renewed. I started the second row about five years ago from new plants started in the first row. |  |
When we arrive at the top of the hill and face toward the west, we see the young garden filled with promise. Four rows of hilled potatoes (two of red Pontiac and two of Kennebec) are in the right foreground. Eight California Wonder pepper plants are in cages on the left, with six caged tomato plants beyond them. Just before the asparagus bed are four rows of corn, along with several broccoli plants to the left of the corn. Between the tomatoes and corn, and to the right of the tomatoes, is space for the acorn and butternut squash vines that will soon cover those areas. The asparagus ferns shield the view of the summer squash plants growing near my neighbor's fence. You can see all these details more clearly if you click on the image to open a much larger version of this photo (2500 pixels wide) in a new browser window. (Be sure that automatic image resizing is turned off in your browser so you will see the full width of the 2500 pixel image.)
Way down in the far right corner of the garden, hidden behind a low pile of wooden stakes, is a double row of black-seeded Simpson lettuce. Non-gardeners may not realize that lettuce, which loves cool weather, will be long gone from the garden by the time the tomatoes are ripe in August, unless you do some extra work, that is. More about that later, I hope.
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This morning at dawn I was up on my hill picking black raspberries for my breakfast cereal. Several pints of jam and a few quarts of whole berries are already in the freezer.
Of course, the asparagus is finished for this year, having provided several weeks of good eating. Then we had plenty of broccoli for steaming and dipping raw into my favorite homemade pepper-parmesan dressing. We also grew several varieties of radishes, with the larger ones making especially good radish sandwiches on my homemade bread. The spinach is almost gone, which is expected now that the temperature has been reaching 90 degrees Fahrenheit with the start of summer yesterday. Fortunately the black-seeded Simpson lettuce is still producing. It makes a great salad with my favorite Catalina dressing topped off with very finely shredded bleu cheese.
By July 4 the garden was entering its most attractive stage, though only summer squash, lettuce, and beets were at the eating stage at the farthest end of the garden. The broccoli and radishes were only memories, though space is reserved for more broccoli and some cauliflower in the fall. The potatoes in the foreground were thriving under their leaf mulch. The tomatoes had grown nearly to the top of their cages. The butternut and acorn squash vines were beginning to spread over their newspaper mulch. In the distance the corn was growing rapidly. The pole beans had just begun climbing the teepee-shaped support made out of 2x2 lumber.
My granddaughters arrived during the first week of August just as the garden went into full production. They had been talking for weeks about helping in Granddaddy's garden during the harvest. Elizabeth had gained garden experience in the previous two years, but this was Katharine's first opportunity to know the joy. In this panorama looking toward the southeast they have finished feasting on raw stringbeans (the main reason I grow pole beans) and are walking toward the winter squash and making a sharp right at the edge of the corn. The eggplant are in the foreground. The clear space to the left of center is reserved for spinach, lettuce, and beets for the fall.
The black-seeded Simpson lettuce was way past eating stage, but the girls probably enjoyed it more this way. Behind them is the butterstick hybrid yellow squash and zucchini squash, with the asparagus ferns just visible to the left. |
 This is strange looking lettuce, Granddaddy. |
 Here's another one, Granddaddy. |
Elizabeth recognized that the Silver Queen corn was just ready to eat. She wasted no time getting some for supper. (Compare this picture with her first experience picking corn in 2004.) |
Toward the end of the week, we got down to the serious work of digging for new potatoes. There is nothing more exciting in the garden than sinking a spading fork into the soil and watching food literally pop out of the ground. Both girls were excited about the dig. Two-year-old Katharine was not intimidated by the large spading fork.
 Does anybody want to dig potatoes? |
 This fork is NOT too big for me. |
On Thursday (October 12) I picked two dozen ripening tomatoes, several peppers, 4 eggplant and the first fall broccoli. This was just in time as the temperature dipped to 27 degrees overnight thanks to the glorious, clear sky lit by the waning moon. This morning again it was 27 degrees at 5:30 AM. The tomatoes and eggplants are dead, and the peppers are nipped pretty badly. Still, I picked more than a dozen green tomatoes suitable for frying. Of course, the broccoli and cauliflower are loving this weather. We should be picking broccoli for at least the next month. I'm hoping the chill will persuade the cauliflower that it is finally safe to produce some heads. Meanwhile, I'll be mowing the lawn this afternoon despite the wind and chilly temperature. I'm planning to start digging my 80 feet of potatoes on Sunday.
On this beautiful afternoon, I dug about 160 pounds of potatoes, both red Pontiac and Kennebec. Some of the Kennebecs weighed in at nearly 1-1/2 pounds, but most potatoes had the good sense to grow no larger than 1/2 to 3/4 pounds. We also took down the tomato cages and pulled out the tomato, eggplant, and pepper plants. Soon it will be time for the final tilling. Please excuse the lack of photos, but the garden at this stage is not so photogenic.
It rained all day yesterday (Friday), and today black clouds are flying across the sky and the wind is gusting to 35 or 40 miles per hour. It was a great day to pick the first head of cauliflower, along with spinach, Swiss chard, and a head of broccoli. Fortunately last weekend was beautiful and I managed to finish the fall tilling in most of the garden.
Today I picked the last head of cauliflower and my garden is at rest. The spinach I planted in August is bedded down for the winter, ready to produce a very early spring crop in 2007.
Well, my garden was not at rest after all. Today I picked a bucket of spinach that had been hiding under some leaves from the big oak in the backyard. I also found about 1-1/2 pounds of very nice broccoli side shoots that I will enjoy in salad this week. I cut down the asparagus ferns which had finally turned almost completely brown. I also cut the red raspberry canes to the ground this afternoon. This time I think the garden really is at rest and ready for winter, though I also found some beets I'll pick later this week. Then, unless this very late warm spell continues for another week and the spinach puts on a growth spurt, the garden really will be at rest. The spinach will hunker down for the winter and be ready to brighten my early spring salad in 2007.
Page created June 22, 2006
Updated 11/27/2006
Harry_M_Kriz, [hmkriz@vt.edu]
University Libraries
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University
Blacksburg, VA 24061-0434
