Many of you have followed the transformation of one corner of my backyard from an overgrown pile of debris last March to the now Reclaimed Firepit area and the 'Ragtag Garden'.
As summer is coming to a close and gardening is winding down, I'm trying to see what I can still do while the weather is decent to get set up for next year. The buckets don't require any prep at this time. I'll save the soil amendments til next spring after I've figured out what's going to go where.
I've decided to chip away at a couple other areas and expand the 'Ragtag' concept to the entire yard. Ragtag is my term for using what I have on hand or can scrounge up at little or no cost.
The smaller of the two projects I have in mind may not necessarily be easier, but that's okay as both of them are going to be a challenge. In addition to the container garden just revived, I'm hoping to do the same thing for three raised beds near the firepit area. As you can tell, these have been neglected longer than the debris pile was. The last time I used one of them was a potato growing experiment in the bed with the T-posts and twine. Slugs decimated the crop and that was that.
The other two beds have actual trees in them that are going to be big obstacles. They're black walnut, if I have my ID correct. Dense wood and these are reasonably straight trunks. I'm thinking they'd be great for trellis supports if I can get them down in decent shape. The height will be perfect for pole beans considering my double-decker tomato cages were woefully short this year.
Once those trees are removed and the (mostly) dead branches from the nearby cherry tree are trimmed back, this spot should get a decent amount of afternoon sun. When the beds were first used, we managed to get yellow & green bush beans, radishes, lettuce, basil, snow peas, and a few other things to produce a decent crop. Some elbow grease, a saw, a spade and a lot of cussing will have these beds up and running again by next spring.
The largest area in need of attention is the other back corner of the yard. I'm calling it The Jungle. There are enough vines in there for Tarzan to feel at home.
There used to be a metal shed and a small playhouse in this spot. Both structures are long gone, but you can still faintly make out where the shed was in the second shot. The picture after that is looking East along the fence line. There's virtually no opening to get back in there, so it's going to have to be a frontal assault. At least that way, I can stack up the wood to be dried by the back gate - out of the way - while I knock down the grape vine and volunteer trees to make way for a future project to be named later.
I doubt if I can get much more sun in here due to the massive tree canopy, but it does get some sun in the morning already. I may be able to work with that, otherwise, I'll consider locating a compost pile and/or a firewood drying station there. Those decisions can wait til the area is cleared, so I have plenty of time to see what will be best down the road.
And, yes, I am apparently a glutton for punishment. ;~P
This little diagram should help you sort out where everything is positioned.
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