Monday, May 7, 2012

A Horseshoe Shaped Vegetable Garden

Last summer's vegetable garden didn't turn out so well.  My poor veggie plants were sad, spindly things thanks to not enough sun and sub-par dirt.   This year I was determined to change that by building a new garden for my veggies.  The best available sunny location was in my side yard, on the south side of my house.

The 'Before' Picture
I didn't have much space for it (it is a side yard, after all!), so I decided to make a horseshoe or U-shaped bed, inspired by the keyhole garden design.   Since the rocky clay is so difficult to dig in, I also decided to make it into a low, raised bed.

First step - clearing away all that grass!  That was supposed to be a mulched area.  Isn't it amazing how grass grows so well wherever you don't want it to?


I used rocks as walls, lined the edges with landscaping fabric so the dirt wouldn't fall through the cracks, and then filled it with dirt - nice, composty-rich dirt.


I left room by the downspout for a rain barrel which is going in as soon as I get it painted.  

The 'After' Picture - all done and planted
Green beans and cucumbers are in the back on the trellis, then I have tomatoes, peppers, okra, basil, carrots, cilantro, and nasturtiums on the ends.  I have high hopes - already the plants are looking better than last year's!

Nasturtiums 'Empress of India' - pretty and edible!

9 comments:

  1. Interesting idea for your veggie bed - I love that you've got that rainbarrel so near. I tried that Empress up north and killed it - yours looks much happier :)

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  2. It looks great! I love the accessibility of keyhole beds, and your horseshoe design is a great idea. It's so nice to be able to reach everything easily. Seems like creating a raised bed was also a really good move. Love the rocks! Were they all from your property?

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  3. It looks very nice. I hope it grows nice too! I will have to stop thinking square. All of my gardens are in 4X8 or 4X4 squares, but yours looks like someone could have designed it.

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  4. You made maintenance really easily accessible and did it in a pleasing design. The rocks should help insulate the soil too keeping it cooler in summer.

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  5. Great design, and I am thinking super convenient to be located right by the future rain barrel!

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  6. How many hours of sun does your new garden get?

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  7. What a great idea, Indie! I only grow tomatoes so I'll pop over to your place for the peppers, okra, carrots…. :)
    Astrid

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  8. I saw a video on keyhole gardens on youtube when I was researching veggie gardens. Looks like you're off to a great start. Last year was sad for me gardening-wise also.

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  9. All the smaller rocks were from my property. I had to go get the larger rocks, though, as I just didn't have enough rock. The new veggie bed gets sun for most of the day on that side, so hopefully it will do well! The green beans get a little less sun, being right next to my porch, but I've heard they will do okay with some shade.

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