Vegetable Garden


Our vegetable garden has been neglected over the past several years as we have been putting more energy into tree planting. In 2008 I created 4 four foot by twenty foot raised beds by the double digging method. We will maintain these gardens but also will be establishing a much larger garden for crops like pole beans, winter and summer squash and corn (the three sisters of Native American lore and practice). We plan on using successive plantings of green manure crops to increase the organic material in the soil as well as suppressing the weeds in this new garden. I want this garden to be large enough to allow half of it to always be growing a green manure crop. I think that this technique will be a great way to enrich the soil of the garden and help control weeds, insects and diseases. Buckwheat and winter rye will be the green manure crops that we start with and in the future I would like to try various legumes.


Tomatoes underplanted with greens.

Interplanting various vegetables with one another, successive plantings of crops and intensive planting methods are being used in our garden.


Coriander growing under tomatoes.

Our garden produced a wonderful crop of greens and herbs which we used daily in preparing meals. The tomatoes and potatoes did get blight during the summer of 2009. Since we planted different varieties we found varying degrees of resistance to the disease. Matt’s Wild Cherry Tomato showed no sign of disease but all our other cherries melted away....... horrible sight!


Potatoes

We will rotate where we plant vegetables so that we stand a chance of reducing disease, pests and nutrient depletion. The Solonaceous family of tomatoes, peppers and potatoes benefit with this approach the most but it is also beneficial to rotate nitrogen fixing legumes to enrich the soil.


Fresh vegetables

All these vegetables are from our garden.

All Blue Potatoes

I love the visual diversity of vegetables, purple potatoes are so entertaining.


Beautiful Peppers

I get great enjoyment out of growing, harvesting and eating peppers.


John’s stir fry........ yum!