My Not-So-Sunny Garden of Eatin'

My Garden of Eatin' is a work in progress-currants, cherry, peach,
raspberries, strawberries, chives, onions and herbs-
but is there enough sun for veggies?

Worked hard the last two days to get the veggie garden ready for planting.  I call it my ‘Garden of Eatin.’  It’s the only place in my yard with full sun other than right outside my front door.  (OK, full sun is a stretch.)  I’m worried tomatoes, squash and peppers won’t do well there.  I’d hate to limit my veggie production to beans, peas, and leafy greens.
 

Future veggie garden-no herb bed and an ugly compost pile with no bin

When we moved here this section of the property was just a bunch of buckthorn, garlic mustard and Virginia creeper.  We cleared that out and I put in some raised beds. (OK, my raised beds were just some mismatched logs from the woods, with no rhyme or reason to their placement.)   Now I’m trying to make it look more domesticated and have started replacing the log beds with more orderly-looking cedar boards.  In true Cary style I planted fruit trees and bushes before coming up with a real plan so I can’t make it as symmetrical as I’d like.  Sigh.  I guess this particular garden area will be a genuine reflection of who I am…haphazard.

Right now it's a bit busy-looking but
once there are plants in the pots, it'll look better

Anyhow, to get to the meat of this blog post, while trying to scare up some full-sun space to use for growing veggies, I ended up clearing out the section behind a rotting tool shed.   Sounds simple right?  Well, it turned into quite the project.  I had to shore up the steep slope behind the shed to control soil erosion, even out the ground, re-lay some flagstone that was under several inches of dirt from years of neglect, and finally, remove all the garbage the previous owners had piled back there, including a corroded metal garbage can.  Turned out there was just enough space to put a compost bin and some containers for plants.

I initially planned to take the garbage can to a metal recycling place but on a whim, I put it over my well instead, using the garbage can’s strangely pristine lid to cover up the rotted can bottom.  Surprisingly, I really like the rusty metal and have decided to keep it there for the year.  It can go to the recycling place next year when I hopefully either have some money to buy a nice trellis or the time to build one.  I’m thinking some kind of edible vine, like a maypop, might be nice there-hiding the well from view and providing yummy treats too!

Same spot as above, a year ago-I was using a plastic rock to
cover my well but it took up a lot of space

I've started putting in cedar board beds (top left) to
replace the old beds made from logs
and split-rail fencing I found in the woods (middle)

The compost bin is also temporary-- old metal wire--rusted, twisted, and UGLY (years ago I accidentally melted all its plastic fasteners).  Its purpose is to buy me time to come up with something more ascetically pleasing.  See, behind the shed is a great location-easy for me to get to from the house, hard for the neighbor’s dog to get to, and away from my oak trees.  (I think I mentioned in a previous post that spoiled fruit attracts picnic beetles which are a vector for oak wilt disease.)   The only down side is that it’s in full view of my neighbor’s kitchen window, so to hide my ugly bin I also made a “decorative” screen out of landscape fabric and a pallet that our new shower stall came in (we’re redoing our basement so that’s why there’s no extra cash for fun garden stuff).    My neighbor will only see the screen and some cannas I planted in front of it.  I, however, will have full access to the bin from my side.

So, to sum up, I’m worried about my lack of sun, feeling happy about reusing crap I found laying around, excited about how much better my veggie garden is looking now, and hopeful that I’ll have a successful harvest this year.   Worry, happiness, excitement and hopefulness-gardening is just so emotional!