It is truly amazing to watch how much we are able to produce in three 4’ x 8’ Birdie Bins (sturdy aluminum 3’ tall) from Epic Gardening. I enjoy watching Epic Gardening and Jacques in the Garden on You Tube so we decided to buy 6 bins last year. Of course we thought the ADU would have been finished months ago (more whining about ImKat builders later) but Dave and I are still driving back and forth multiple times a week. Sigh…But these bins are getting me quite excited for our winter growing season.
Since we were not here in March as expected (ADU not even started) we decided to try with just 3 bins and they are located in front of the main house on the circular driveway. There was already water to the area and it gets all day sun. Add in brand new, good organic soil and Voila- super happy plants!
As I wrote in several blogs, this seasonal garden is way, WAY over planted and producing so much! The method is called “Square foot “ planting and I see it can work but you have to stay on top of it. After we left for a week during big winds…it got away from me. There are three kinds of tomatoes and the San Marzano and chocolate cherries are ripening so fast. At least 8 San Marzano a day and 12-15 chocolate cherries every day! There are also so many Green Zebra tomatoes but they are staying firm on the vines. All of them way overgrew their cages, fell over in the wind, and have all but smothered the squash and cucumbers under them . I hack away 20 feet of vines daily but still they attack!
Good thing Matt and Jenny like tomato-y sauces so much!
The summer squash are still producing although both the Patty Pan and green zucchini plants are barely hanging on. The yellow “zucchini” are still going to town for sure. I also hack back handfuls of its leaves several times a week. I usually get at least one monster squash a week and I do not understand how I can miss seeing a bright yellow crazy sized squash for days! But I do! It has almost completely covered the poor jalapeño plant but it just grew super tall and still gives us plenty of peppers. And the winter squash are now coming in like crazy. The giant Lakota Squash are about half picked, Butternut is giving 2 or 3 squash a week and the Delicata are ripening under all the craziness that is the green zebra tomatoes.
We have also enjoyed some really good melons. We missed most of the cantaloupe (it over ripened on the vine) but the honeydew are very tasty. I really didn’t think we’d get watermelon since they have been squashed under the San Marzanos but we have at least three little ones. They are supposed to be personal sized but these are even smaller than that. The peppers are coming in nicely and the tomatillos are super productive. I love the little “paper lanterns” that they grow in!
The permanent garden is also doing well. We’ve gotten a few raspberries but really all the berries, and the kiwi are growing out roots this year. So far the huckleberry plants are hanging in there. The artichokes are pretty big but no signs of flowers yet. They also will probably produce next year. The grapes have been marvelous, so sweet and crisp, but alas, they’ve been harvested so we wait for more next year. Still thinking about planting at least one green seedless vine but we’ve all gotten used to the sweet Red Flames. They are one of Gabe’s favorite foods. He also LOVES (!) the summer squash and melons. He is a great eater.
The orchard is pretty quiet right now but the apples are slowly getting ripe and the persimmons continue to grow. The trees we put in this year are growing well so next year looks quite promising!
So I am very excited to start planning for the winter planting starting about October. We will have six bins for winter although one of those will be the onions and garlic for Jenny’s salsa garden! They take about 9 -10 months to grow. I plan on a full bin of Romaine lettuce and another of peas. Maybe a third of butter lettuce. Then collard greens…getting excited just thinking about it. Get outside and enjoy nature’s bounty!