I don't garden to raise food or to save money, or for any such "practical" reason. I garden because I love gardening, and because it is good for my health to be outside in the sunshine and fresh air. I
like weeding and digging. What I really dislike is not having anything to do in the garden! I keep my garden small enough so that it is not a source of stress to get it all prepared and planted in the spring, and harvested later on. Once everything is planted and growing well, if I didn't have weeds to pull, there wouldn't be much to do out there!
But my gardening methods do tend to keep weeding to a manageable level. I have part of my garden in framed-in beds, 4'x8', with 18" paths between. This prevents anyone from walking in the planting area, thus eliminating soil compaction. In the spring, I till the beds once before I plant. From there on, it's hand weeding only. But I keep the paths weeded with my trusty Mantis, and the more compacted they get, the better - weeds don't do so well in compacted soil either!
I plant my framed-in beds using the "square foot" method. The larger, open garden area is for squash, etc. This year I have crimson clover growing in that entire area, which tends to keep the weeds down a bit too. My garden is totally organic. Now that I finally have a Vita-Mix, the garbage is blended and applied directly to the garden. Much more pleasant than a smelly compost pit, and the plants love it! (Less bother too!)
I don't water my garden, except when absolutely necessary, as our water is very high in iron and other minerals, which tends to poison the soil if used too freely. I prefer to preserve moisture with mulch in dry seasons. However, this year, we have had adequate rain throughout the growing season to date, so I have not done any mulching.
This year, I am growing more flowers than vegetables. Besides for my always-included tomatoes (6 varieties this year) and lettuce (8 varieties), I have 10 varieties of pansies, 3 of violas, 6 of snapdragons, 2 of nemesia, 2 of African daisy, 2 of nasturtium, as well as bachelor buttons, nigella (love-in-a-mist), dianthus, and marigolds planted among the tomatoes. This year I also planted an herb bed, with catnip, chamomile, 2 kinds of parsley, bunching onions, chives, and basil. However, germination of most of these herbs has been very poor this year, so I am planning to start them indoors next year, instead of planting them directly into the garden in the spring, and hoping for better results.
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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.
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