Agraria Homefront

We have had a lot of rain lately, and the forecast is calling for record flooding by the middle of next week (2/20) in our area. So I took the two dry days we had and got my front yard mapped out with black plastic and some tarps to start killing off the grass. I have amended my design some, especially as I am studying permaculture this semester too, and trying to keep my garden in line with its philosophy of using what is on hand. My husband reminded me that we have a large amount of beautiful leftover logs from his parents house they built quite a few years back. So I am partially going to use the black tube type edging around the tree stump for my strawberry patch and the use the logs to build the perimeter of the bed and then for some further definition inside that perimeter. I am planning a small walkway through the entrance, which will be on the bottom right on the above picture. That is going to have a trellis for green beans and nasturtium, made out of two four foot planter boxes and some leftover cattle fencing we have.

I have planted a lot of seedlings, and the first batch, seen below that Laura and I planted on 2/8 started sprouting after 3 days, and this picture is around day 9. We got some great organic and very natural potting mix, and its working really well, so we may have gotten a little ahead on that, as we can't really plant out in our area for at least 4 more weeks, so may have to do some repotting and reseeding if necessary.

I am super excited about growing nasturtiums this year, its a plant I had long forgotten about, as it is grown fairly well and by many in South Africa where I grew up. The seedlings were very eager to sprout, and will require some transplanting before its time for them to go outside.

Which I was able to do this afternoon, the sunflowers and nasturtiums are all repotted in Solo cups, to stop the overcrowding and combat their leggy-ness

This is one of the designs I really like, and may use a modified version for my final design, to accommodate the slight slope of the area I am using.

I was considering putting a park-type bench at the entrance to the garden to the right of the tree stump, but found this picture online, and love it, as I grow a great assortment of succulents and have an old chair almost just like this in my backyard that is just out there for decorative purposes.

For trellis for peas, more green beans and possibly tomatoes, my daughter, her friend and I, harvested a lot of bamboo out of a neighbors yard, to make teepee like trellis, a design we found online.

With all the rain coming in, I got a head start on getting some cooler weather lettuce, asian greens, peas, mullein and cilantro going in my back yard beds.

This is an area to the right of where my new bed will go, that I have used as my herb garden for the last 3 years, I will be adding a few extra flowers and herbs to this to complement the new area I am developing.

Finally got the tarps and black plastic down as the map for the new area. The entrance is gonna be at the front directly in the middle, then around the stump, the area is a little raised, we are gonna trim the stump down, and the plant a small strawberry patch around the stump, which will also give the shape of the garden, a softer edge. On the top of the stump my plan is to possibly carve it out a little and plant some, or put something in a pot that will flow down over the stump, or make a succulent display in a container to sit on top of it.

I found this beautiful old Ball Mason jar at a Neighborhood estate sale to house my Immune-a-Tea, my inspiration for the new garden area.