Locating the garden beds.

I wish I had paid more attention to which parts of our yard were in full sun last summer - it's hard to tell in the dead of winter what the best locations for the raised beds will be.

I had been considering the front yard, on either side of our walkway, for two 4X4 beds each, but now I wonder if those spots will be shaded by the house for too much of the day.

The area alongside our house might be promising as well, but again, I'm not sure how much of the day it will be in full sun. I also wonder if being so close to the neighbor's fence is a good idea.
She's a gardener too, but from what I've read on some local gardening sites, some neighborhoods don't seem too keen on front yard vegetable gardens.

I'd also like to put a couple of 2x2 beds in the front parking strip. I've tried several times to do something interesting with that space, but so far nothing has lasted.

There has also been some local drama to do with raised beds in the parking strip, but as best as I can tell, it's allowed as long as you aren't creating an obstruction.

Someone down the street from us has a couple of small beds in their parking strip that they use for summer squash every year, and I think it always looks lovely.

The backyard is a more neighbor friendly option - but any beds in the back yard will need something around them to keep the chickens out.

This weekend I plan to finish getting this spot set up - I've decided this is where I'll put my first planting of peas. I'll probably start with Oregon Sugar Pod II. I plan on going to a couple of garden stores this weekend to see what seeds are in stock. We're having such a mild winter so far, the peas can probably go in sometime in the next few weeks - easily by President's day.

The last spot in the backyard is where the chicken coop used to be.
I'm sure the soil in this area is very fertile, but I'm not sure how much shade there will be from the fence and the Wisteria. However, since the grass is already dead there, I think I'll put in a bed and give it a try.

Yet another project.

Once again I am starting an ambitious project that will likely be difficult to follow through on. As my previous languishing blogs will attest to, new ideas don't tend to hold my interest for very long.

However I have high hopes for my new gardening project, and I will make every effort to see it through at least one growing season.

I have several gardening books out from the library, a trusty local seed catalog, a wishlist of vegetables I'd like to grow, and a spreadsheet started to help me figure out timing and spacing.

Two weekends ago we went down to Metro and picked up an Earth-Machine composter for the back yard, and last weekend we picked up some supplies at Home Depot.

Noah has already assembled two raised beds for me, with at least four more on the way. I think raised beds are the way to go for us, because I'm sure our soil needs all the help it can get. I plan on using a Fred Meyer gift card that I received as my year-end bonus at work to help fund soil costs.

The hardest part right now is deciding where the best spots are for placing the raised beds. In the dead of winter, it's hard to remember which bits of our yard get the most sun.

I hope to position most of the raised beds in the front yard, both because it has the most uninterrupted space and because the backyard is the domain of the chickens and the dogs - who all like to dig. The chickens especially would make a mess of any garden bed, and putting up fencing around the beds would be an added inconvenience.

The chickens are contributing to the garden project though, as their manure and the shells from their eggs are both very valuable additions to the compost. I'm sure they will enjoy sharing in the garden's bounty as repayment. They currently get to eat just about the entire crop of raspberries that grow in the backyard.

I'll post more on the chickens soon, along with pictures of the coop. Another ambition of mine is to be on the chicken coop tour this year - after attending the tour every year since it's creation, it might be nice to try the other side of the experience.

Pictures of the garden plans, as well as of the raised beds going in will be coming soon. Hopefully with the internet watching, I'll follow through.