I have my seed stash, sorted it into categories and ready to plot out my new garden plan. I’ll be honest, this will probably be the most organized and intentional I’ve ever been with my garden plans. I usually kind of fly by the seat of my pants, sow a bunch of seeds and then just go out on planting day and pop them wherever feels good!
This year I feel the need to be a lot more intentional and plan ahead. I’ve already changed my mind in my head several times, trying to figure out the best plan. The reality is, what we end up doing this year will probably morph and change as we get to know the property and the climate better.
We had initially planned to place the main garden out behind the house in what is part of the paddock surrounding the immediate house yard. We deep bedded it with wood chips and wintered the chooks in that spot to help prepare it for spring. In hindsight, we deep bedded it a little too deeply and it is no where near ready to plant in. Three months was just not long enough for the wood chips to break down adequately.
So for the immediate plan we have decided to place garden beds inside the house yard, building them over the grass in the no-dig, back to eden style. We have already done this with the potato bed and got them in the ground.
We will basically follow the fence line for the garden beds and use the cyclone fence to grow plants up. Hubby is also building me two raised beds in the centre of the yard, not too far from the mudroom door. We are developing these into hugulkultur beds. These proved to be wonderful in our Australian garden beds.
Many Months Later…
Well, it is now deep winter and the spring and summer gardens have come and gone. I never did get to finish this article and as per usual, my garden was less planned than I wished. I sowed my usual random, scattered, put it wherever feels right at the time, type garden. In the end, as disorganized as it was, our first Texas garden gave us a beautiful abundant harvest.
We grew potatoes and okra, cowpeas and jalapeños. Green beans and peppers, herbs and flowers. It was beautiful and lush and green. As I sit here with the cold grey winter outside and the garden deep in sleep, I remember the garden that was, and a little thrill of hope runs through me. The expectation of a new season and fresh growth.
Lessons Learnt From the 2024 Garden
- The raised beds worked really well and the areas of garden that were not as raised suffered from poor drainage and water logging. Our soils have a heavy clay content and drain very slowly.
- Wood chips and heavy mulching are my friends. Mulching helped retain moisture in the intense heat and keep the weeds down.
- Plants growing under shade, such as nearby trees, fared better in the summer heat.
- Some plants such as bell peppers, tomatoes and squash, do better in the early spring or fall before the bugs can take hold. I need to start these plants earlier than I did last year.
- This year I will plant fewer things but more in line with the foods we like to eat. Less of some, more of others. So for us that means more tomatoes and capsicums (bell peppers), potatoes, less okra and cowpeas.
- Planting in the front yard with the dogs did not work. If we try that again they will all have to be fenced off.
- New requests for the garden from the children include blueberries, strawberries, grapes, apple and plum trees. And more flowers. And more herbs.
2025 Garden Plans
So with all these lessons in my back pocket I begin the exciting task of planning another garden year. With the addition of our family milk cow, Matilda, I feel the need to simplify the garden this year. Streamlined and less adventurous but just as beautiful and hopefully yielding an abundant harvest.
As I write this it is almost mid February which means I need to get the potatoes in the ground and start soon with bell pepper and tomato seeds.
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