Backyard Farming Connection Monthly Update
It took the entire month of May to get the gardens completely cleaned out and ready for planting, but we have planted about 80% of the garden space with a bit more work to get done in early June. This week my two oldest kids are graduating high school and we have a busy summer ahead so we’ve been planning ways to simplify the garden spaces this year so we can still grow the food we want without spending all our time working!
Here are a few things we’re doing differently this year:
We’ve cut down our growing space - we are hoping to grow almost the same amount of food in a smaller space and focus our energy where it counts. The first step was to improve the soil. We’ve tried many gardening methods over the years (you can see some of our favorites) this year we are using raised rows and raised beds.
We we mowing much less of our lawn. Over the years we’ve worked to massively scale back our huge lawn. The trade offs are that we have poison ivy that grows in when we don’t mow and so many ticks. This year we are trying to be strategic and have areas we’ll move weekly and areas that only get mowed monthly. See how to make your lawn more eco-friendly.
Interplanting flowers and vegetables. We’ve always done this, but this year I’m taking it a step further and planting veggies in my cut flower bed - I’ll report back in the fall!
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What’s June Look Like?
June we will be cracking down on the weeds as we will be traveling in July and if I don’t get ahead of things - I will come home to a jungle! We’ve ordered a large pile of mulch and as things come up in the garden, I’m mulching around them. Besides that we will be focusing on using the food that is actually coming out of the garden in the kitchen.
Updates: Backyard Farming on Substack
I’ve been busy putting out new articles and newsletters to help support growing on your own homesteading. Here are a few recent articles you might find interesting:
Click on the Image below to learn more…
Happy Homesteading,
Gretchen
3 years ago I decided to go on strike and start a no mow campaign. I scraped the lawn, removing all grass. Signed up for chip drop and caught a break…receiving over 100 loads in just 6 months. Covered my entire front yard with 6” of wood chips. That winter I planted 24 fruit trees…peach, plum, pear, apple, fig and a handful of artichoke plants.
Today this yard has plenty of fruit plus watermelon, cantaloupe, potatoes, tomatoes, kale, mustard greens, squash, zucchini, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and a handful of Brussels sprouts. No fertilizer, no pesticides and very little watering…big deal in zone 9a.
Wood chips eventually make the best soil. Takes a while to break down and you do need to add more every year. Wood chips also help absorb odors in wet chicken pens and in our pig pens…which makes the ultimate soil for our raised beds.
So beautiful and inspiring!