Prospective Gardens

In twenty years, I want to have a beautiful, sprawling garden.

There will be bounteous fruit trees, berry bushes and raised vegetable patches that help sustain my family and beautify our backyard.  We'll to  contribute to the health of the soil by gardening organically using the some of the concepts of permaculture.

As part of this system we would have a few chickens, and maybe bees if we're feeling adventurous enough.

So,  secretly I'm a little hippie.

Of course,  I don't know how to run a garden like that,  I don't know how to grow anything really, and I'm told raising chickens is way harder than the books make it seem like. 

Of course, I have twenty years to get to that point. So I think I can manage it.

As my first real baby step, I'm going to be a part of the local community garden this year.*  My goal is mainly just to try gardening for real this time.

The space I have is somewhat small, only about 3 1/2  feet by 10 feet, so I'm going to focus on a few key plants that I love eating and that I think will be interesting to grow.

<- north

We'll mainly have bell pepper plants, and then strawberries interlaced with basil.  Although I might throw a cantaloupe plant in there as well.  

I don't get these delicious fruits too often because they tend to be slightly more expensive, which is why I'm growing strawberries and bell peppers instead of a ton of potatoes and parsnips.

At the same time I think I'll try to grow some salad greens on my balcony, where it's going to be nice and shady.

What interesting things are you doing this summer?

*really this time, we paid the fee and everything.