The Evolution of My Veggie Garden

 

This last Spring, I decided to move my veggie garden.  In the past few years it took up a small area up against the north side of my house, and I never really got much out of it.  I believed that it simply did not get enough sun to work its magic.  So, I got this great idea.  I was going to turn a tree ring I had built the previous year into a full blown vegetable garden that would have as much sun as it could get.  This is how it all got started.......

 

 

 This tree was my inspiration....at one time this was all that was here.

 

 

Then that little tree ring turned into this....now mind you this was no easy transformation.  I dug up all of the sod by hand with my trusty little shovel and had to place each border stone with special care. And if you look closely you can see the tree still standing just as it was.

 

 

Then came the plants.....

 

 

 

With all the sun they were getting, they grew very quickly.....towards the end of the season this entire garden was completely full. I had to walk on the outside perimeter to collect the goods as there was absolutely no space in the middle left to navigate around it.

 

 

I harvested many special treats all season long.....squash, tomatoes, onions, and every type of pepper one can imagine.

 

 

I also had a window sill herb garden that combined with the outdoor garden made for some amazing meals.

 

 

This was just one example of the benefits I was able to reap from my harvests....a juicy grilled chicken breast garnished with cilantro, and grilled summer squash with peppers and onions as a side dish.

 

 

And this is the last harvest for the season, and boy was it a good one.  We supposedly have our first possible freeze coming on Saturday, so the garden will be closed for the winter.  I thought about planting a winter crop but opted out to do a little soil work instead.  However, because the crops I planted this year consumed every inch of the garden I built, I already have plans in place to expand it next spring....so while the temperatures fall my brain will be dreaming up and new and improved version of this garden for next year.