The Big Difference in the Garden…

Last year, our garden was a total bust.

We amended the hard clay with our own on-farm compost, formed the beds and planted the seeds. We toiled and sweated. We weeded. We got almost nothing…nada. Many weeds grew back, but we had very little produce to show for all our hard work. So frustrating!

Looking back, I’m guessing that the compost we used had not fully matured and had too much chicken and horse poo that had not broken down. Composting can take a year if the pile isn’t turned and watered regularly. It can be a tricky procedure.

Even though we’d been gardening for several years, we never took it very serious in the past. It always depended on how much time I had after everything else was taken care of and pretty far down on the priority list. I actually wanted to skip the garden this year, but Darrin insisted we give it a go again.

So, we expanded our itty-bitty garden into a smallish garden (30’ x 50’) and brought in several loads of mushroom compost from a local nursery, thanks to our friend Mike at Chef’s Harvest Farm for the compost tip ;)

Darrin buried a water line from the house out to the garden, then ran drip irrigation in the beds and put the watering on a timer.

Bingo! What a game changer. …Until the chickens and ducks got to the greens and demolished a few rows. Up goes the portable fence. Now we’re back in business.

Since we were expanding the garden this year, and being a lover of flowers, I also took the opportunity to plant rows of zinnias and sunflowers. And as I’ve mentioned before, vegetables love to have the company of flowers. It benefits everything in the space. The number of flowers has actually outpaced the number of veggies.

Being mid way through the season now, I can confidently say this garden season has been a success.

We are harvesting tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, squash, beans, onions and beets. We have a dedicated space to create a high tunnel to grow lettuce, spinach, kale and greens in the cooler months. The high tunnel will also serve as a nursery to start seeds and provide shelter for more tender plants. Here in East Tennessee, we can grow year-round in the high tunnel!

The zinnias and sunflowers are going strong. I’ve started seeds every few weeks to keep the flowers blooming all summer. Next year, I’ll add some perennials and greenery to use as bouquet fillers.

Farmer’s Market attendees are enjoying our selection of flower bouquets and I love making the arrangements. It’s a good creative outlet for me.

Gardening can be maddening, frustrating, rewarding and healing. There is always more to learn and more to grow. I believe everyone should grow a little something. Even a potted herb in the windowsill to start. It’s such a pleasure eating what you grew.

This year, the compost and the irrigation made all the difference for us. At least we can check those two learning curves off the list!

BuckeyeBarnTN.com offers pasture raised chicken, eggs and turkey to folks that care about the animal and the land. We use organic practices and provide humane conditions, respecting the animal and land along the way to growing nutritious food.